I enjoy the Ukrainian job board Djinni for two reasons: it specializes in IT or tech-centered jobs, and it shows the number of applicants for every posted vacancy. I find the second one incredibly important.

When I search through the job listings, I often see vacancies that look really appealing to me. Maybe the job is really what I want to do, and maybe the requirements are not something that only Odysseus can do (who watched the recent Christopher Nolan's hit, you get me). Let's imagine the job title says Data Engineer. It immediately catches my eye. Data engineering is what I want to do, and it is normally a job that is paid way above the average. Not to mention that it also often provides the opportunity to work remotely. I also see that I correspond to most of the requirements. My immediate instinct is to open the vacancy page and start preparing the application. Then, I notice an important detail: the vacancy was posted a couple of days ago, and it has already gathered 235 applications. The bucket of water spilled on my fire.

Why am I not feeling positive about applying for the job anyway, despite the fact that I can be a great match? Am I not confident in myself that I can win the competition? Am I afraid of competition? A-ah, I don't think so.

The thing is that the selection processes with too many applications become a lottery for the one who applies, even if they are at the top of the competition. I have seen the recruitment process from the inside in most IT companies I have worked for, and I guarantee you that no perfectly fair system of selecting the right candidate exists! Simply put, it's a mess!

First of all, despite the vacancy still being active on the website, normally HRs stop reviewing the applications when they collect some manageable number of applications - up to 10, 20, 30, depending on a recruiter.

Secondly, the Applicant Tracking Systems sort out resumes automatically. These systems can easily trash the resume of a really strong candidate but let in a CV of someone who doesn't know what they are doing when applying for a job.

Thirdly, even if you think that you are a really strong candidate for this role, you must understand that in the pool of 100, 200, 300 (and more candidates), the chances are really high that you are not the strongest. How many people dream of becoming famous actors and singers? Hundreds of thousands, millions? But Hollywood can accommodate, probably, only up to 50 world-renowned celebrities. If 10 thousand people really badly want to get to a pool party, but the pool can accommodate only 25 people, guess how many people will end up drinking tequila shots while soaking in the warm water?

Lastly, like in dating, there is an idea in recruiting that the best candidates are the ones you pursue yourself. Not all agree with this, of course (including myself), but from my personal experience, the hiring process was always more successful for me if a recruiter contacted me first.

And remember! For each application, you need to tailor your resume and prepare a quality cover letter. Otherwise, you're just spamming the recruiters.

We, as people, enjoy thinking and assessing a situation from the point of view of representation. If the opportunity is representing my idea of what I want and where I see myself, then it's my opportunity. It's correct, and there is nothing wrong with it. However, the mathematical rules work as they work, no matter how representative the opportunity is for you. Most people just don't assess probabilities statistically. Statistical thinking is not natural to a human being. We like to think in terms of representation.

I personally prefer precision over quantity. I'd better spend more time looking for vacancies that fit me and have fewer applicants than spending time on the vacancies where my application will probably be lost. I try to apply only for the vacancies where it's under 10 applicants. If it's more than 10, then I must be a really good match for it!

You can go either way. It doesn't mean that my way guarantees success, and the opposite way is doomed to fail. However, you should always keep in mind real probabilities when you make your choices. I just hate to show myself where nobody is looking!