"Previous Applicants Need Not Apply"

Beancounter

When you see the words "Previous Applicants Need Not Apply" in a job advert how would you read that? If you previously applied a couple of months ago? 6 months ago? Anytime?

I ask as there is a vacancy advertised locally that I really fancied a year ago and has come up again but it has that sentence at the end of the ad.

DCFC79

Ive seen this a few times and not sure whether it means if you have applied in the past dont apply or as you have applied we will contact you in due course as we have your details but i think its the former.

donquine

Beancounter wrote: »

When you see the words "Previous Applicants Need Not Apply" in a job advert how would you read that? If you previously applied a couple of months ago? 6 months ago? Anytime?

'If you have applied before, we probably don't want you.'

Beancounter wrote: »

I ask as there is a vacancy advertised locally that I really fancied a year ago and has come up again but it has that sentence at the end of the ad.

The real question is not how much time has lapsed since your last application, but what you have done in that time. If not a lot has changed, then you're essentially the same candidate they considered previously and decided not to hire. If what you offered back then was what they wanted now, they would have been in touch, not advertised to the general public. In those circumstances, I think it would be wasting your time to make a fresh application.

If however over the past year you've gained more responsibilities in your current job or changed jobs and consequently gained new experiences that are relevant to the job being advertised, you're not the same person who was considered 12 months ago. You bring something new to the table and if you had been able to offer such skills previously, your application might have been taken further. Who knows.

In such a case, assuming the advert requested an application in writing, I would write a cover letter drawing the interviewer's attention to what's different about you now and why they should consider you this time. Definitely worth a shot.

Good luck.

Leela

I'd say submit an application anyway, you've nothing to lose.

Nicki

I've always assumed that it is a second advertisement for the same job, because the first field of candidates did not yield any contenders. So if you applied for the job when it was first advertised and weren't shortlisted there is no point in applying again. If however you applied for a different vacancy at some point in the past, there is no harm in applying again. But that's just my personal interpretation of the sentence. What's the worst that can happen if you take a punt and reapply though?

sagalout1954

I'd definitely go for it again, but make sure my application/CV was 'styled' differently as it doesn't seem to have got you shortlisted first time around.

It's unlikely they'll be comparing names of applicants this time with last time to make SURE you haven't applied twice. It's just that they don't want to plod through reams of paperwork from people who didn't appear to be what they were looking for a second time.

mandragora_2

Do a bit of research before applying - tailor the new application even more to the post/company and any circumstances which may have changed locally in the intervening year (eg anything which will have had an impact on the organisation/business- new developments in the area; tougher times financially for customers; competitors closing down/opening up etc etc).

Savvy_Sue

Phone and check? If they've just advertised, not found anyone suitable and immediately re-advertised, then someone who applied a year ago isn't the same sort of 'previous applicant' as someone who's just been rejected in the last batch, IYSWIM.

DCFC79

Maybe the applicant who as employed last time has left for whatever reasons, you might not have been offered the job due to sometihng which the successful candidate had so mayeb they might give you a chance

Beancounter

Well, I took the advice on this thread, reworded my CV, added some more relevant stuff I had omitted last time and I have been given an interview next week!:beer:

Thanks for the advice folks!