Online job recruitment is up, according to the Monster Employment Index, which was created by Monster World Wide Inc, to measure online job posting websites. The index increased 25% over last year, which means that more employers are posting positions online, as well as more employees have started to rely on these sites. This increase is especially beneficial to those seeking entry-level jobs, as that is where many new graduates and first time job seekers start to look.

The big question to ask though, “Is it now too easy to apply to jobs”? I was guilty of sitting down, finding between 5 and 10 listings a week and sending off my resume and cover letter so fast that when people would call to follow up, I sometimes had no idea who I submitted my information to, or what the company really did. When employers called me back, I was always good about retracing my steps and seeing what I had submitted, but would I have applied to so many different companies and jobs had it not been so easy? Probably not.

However, I was able to expose myself to companies that I might not have considered because their listing was convenient on the online sites.

I never expected to hear back from every job that I sent my resume to for consideration. But what really didn’t seem fair to me was once I had interviewed with people, they never called me again. Or I would call to follow up on the first or second interview and get no answer, voicemail, or some vague timeline of when the decision would be made.

Candidate care should be a huge part of human resources. There are a couple of companies that treated me so poorly by not getting back in touch after second round interviews that I still have a little bit of bitterness towards the brands. I’m an adult, I can handle not getting a job, but I’d like to hear about the situation. Yes, there are more applicants because of the ease of these online sites, but that also means the market is competitive and candidates should be contacted in a timely manner- they could be applying to 15 more jobs while they wait.

There are two sides to every story and I know HR departments are busy and constantly needing to get back to people, but from the side of someone who just got her first job about a month ago, the more in touch the company was, the better impression they left on me. And the winner of the good impressions contest was BRANDEMiX- I started here mid-June!