Good idea to reapply or not?

[HotelMinion]

One thing that irks me is when some company is hiring, they claim they don't need anyone with experience, then write you a note saying to look for another job, and they put out the same old hiring ad. This has happened dozens of times and I don't reapply. As a general rule, I don't apply to the same company twice. Everyone says this is a bad idea. Is it? I say if a company rejects you, they don't like you. Isn't that true? Why waste your time then. Has anyone reapplied with good results?

[Pixelated]

No answer to this but I too am extremely interested in what others have to say about this.

I believe it is possible to be turned down the first time because they found somebody with a skill set that more closely matched what they wanted ... and then that person quit to go elsewhere, or didn't work out for reasons other than the skill set, or left for some other reason. You might, in fact, have been a very close second. So it might be worth your while to try again.

But since I too am on a job hunt right now, maybe that's just my over-optimism speaking ...

[bainsidhe]

I'd say it depends on the job.

For a place like *big box retail*, they hire en masse and not getting a job the first time doesn't mean much. Because they receive so many resumes, they'd just pull some of the better ones from the top of the stack and wouldn't even make it further down the list of applicants. I'd probably recommend talking to staff there to learn who some of the decision makers are regarding hiring, so that you can follow-up with that person and get your foot in the door. Either they still have your resume, or they'll ask you to re-apply.

For smaller places/departments, I wouldn't bother reapplying unless many months have passed, because it's probably the decision-makers themselves reading your resume and they chose not to call you. It still may not be a bad idea to follow-up on the status of your resume with the location or HR to see if your resume can be reviewed again.

In both of the above cases, I'm thinking these are retail positions. As I mentioned, it depends upon the job. Either way, I wish you luck with your hunt.

[lvsssycat]

Doesn't mean a thing if you are looked over the first time. Bad (lazy) management could have resulted in you first application to be overlooked. I am currently happily employed by a company that didn't even give me an interview 5 years ago. I re-applied last summer and am currently a manager.

[Kittish]

I've even encountered one or two places that won't hire someone the first time they apply. They only hire people who have applied multiple times. Something along the lines of "it shows they're serious about wanting the job" or some such. One place I encountered with this policy (unofficial, but there) was PayPal, in Omaha when I lived there. You had no chance of getting hired unless you'd applied several times and gotten a couple of interviews. Step mom used to work there. Took her like three applications and two interviews to land a position.