There’s no getting around it: Applying for jobs can be a lonely and frustrating process. If you’ve ever experienced any of the following events, you are not alone:

1. You submit your job application and receive a perfunctory “don’t call us, we’ll call you” e-mail back.  You’re still waiting…

2. You get invited to interview. They tell you they will be making a decision next week. You’re still waiting…

3. You get asked for your references. Your references are called. You’re still waiting…

No matter how far you progress in the process — whether you’re asked for references or never even hear back on your application process — the silence of not hearing back from employers is difficult: It is ego-bruising, frustrating and most decidedly un-fun. In fact, StartWire was created to give you access to more information on your job application status where it’s available. We believe you have the right to know what’s happened to your application — throughout the job search process. Through our Application Connect program and sponsorship of the Candidate Experience Awards, we’re encouraging employers and hiring managers to treat job applicants like customers — not like the worst blind date they’ve ever had!

We’ve interviewed many companies who “get it” and who treat applicants like guests who deserve to be communicated with throughout the employment application process — from when you apply to when, and if, you are not selected. Smart companies, recruiters and hiring managers roll out the red carpet for every applicant — not just the ones who get the job. They recognize that even if they don’t have the right job for you now, they may need you later. They treat you as you wish to be treated, even if they don’t have the job for you now. Companies who are particularly good at this include Adidas, General Mills, Google, and Herman Miller.

Starting today, we’re kicking off a series designed to give you more than a glimpse on what happens behind the hiring curtain. Our goal is to demystify the process: From why it takes so long to get a job offer even when a company is ready to hire you to what it means when a job ad disappears and reappears with the same title, but a different job description.

In the weeks ahead, we’ll be delving into specifics of what happens behind the curtain. Today, we begin with the job search equivalent of the dating aphorism, “sometimes the reason you don’t hear back has nothing to do with you — it’s all them!” Got a question? Please write a comment below or send us a private message through our Feedback channel.

It’s hard not to take it personally when you don’t hear back about a job, but often, there are a host of reasons you aren’t called that have nothing to do with you. From different perceptions on “what the ideal candidate should look like” inside an organization to changing corporate financial performance, goals, and even nepotism, hiring can be complicated.

We’ll delve into this, but as always — one of the best ways to ensure you stay in the game is to continue putting yourself out there — even when you haven’t heard back as you hoped. So even if you think a job offer is a virtual certainty, don’t be afraid to pursue more opportunities in the short term — having an abundance of options is rarely a bad thing! So get out there in the application pool, let us know what you’d like to know more about, and hold your head up high.

Each week, StartWire News features insider tips from recruiting directors and talent acquisition pros. As we look ahead to 2012, we’re encouraged by the uptick in hiring — and we want to share some of the best of the best with you so that you can land the job you want — fast! 

This is the second of two installments on this topic. You can find the first one here.

Show you’ve got “humble confidence.”

We look for individuals who have a collaborative style and what we call a “humble confidence.” Can you listen to and build on the ideas of others yet respectfully advocate for your own ideas, too?

Julie Motta
Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition for Whirlpool Corporation

Get social. Engaging with recruiters online can help you get hired.

Get online. If you engage with organizations today on social media, you will get a little bit of a bump. You will receive extra attention. All of those avenues of social media engagement can help. This is a new world for employers so we are being extraordinarily careful to engage a little bit better, and to give more feedback.

Stacy Van Meter
Senior Manager of Social Marketing/Employment Brand for Deluxe.

Find a way to get introduced to someone inside the company.
 

Over 30% of our hires come from referrals. The biggest advantage you can have is when people know you. Get someone inside the company to advocate for you. Find the job, than find someone who can vouch for you, and apply for it. By the time the job is posted, it is almost too late. Hiring success often comes from someone you know.

Adam Eisenstein
Recruiter for McGraw Hill

Be accessible. Tell people how they can find you.

People assume that they aren’t going to get into Google. The reputation is such that it is very hard to get into Google. And so some people don’t even try.

I didn’t go to a great school. I didn’t have an amazing GPA. But I work at Google. So could you.

Don’t take yourself out of the game by making assumptions and choosing not to apply. I’ve hired people who don’t have college degrees.

Jeff Moore
Lead Engineering Recruiter for Google

Jeff Moore is a Lead Engineering Recruiter for Google and has over 10 years of recruitingexperience in the High Tech and Software Industries.  Jeff is currently responsible for recruiting world class engineers to join Google’s offices across the United States Eastern Region including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Washington DC.  He is an active blogger with interests in social networking and mobile technology.

Google is the king of search engines, how do you find candidates?

We find candidates every way you can imagine — from programs, employee referrals, events, online applications. No stone unturned. We do look at people who have applied for jobs in the past and haven’t been a fit at the job they applied for. We do that all the time. We hire a lot of people who have interviewed before and didn’t get hired. A lot of companies miss out on good people by not going back.  We don’t.

How does a candidate get your attention?

Having a clean, clear crisp resume that shows off skills. File that one as obvious. Employee referrals and having done good work is important. A cool research project or a great internship. Those kind of things really jump off the page.

What does a good write-up on a project look like?

A good write-up explains what you did, how you did it, what skills you used. What the results show and the impact of your work on the company. Talk your potential hiring manager or recruiter through the project through cradle to grave – show the outcome that it made. That’s huge. We like to see results, as well as the why. We want to know how it worked.

What makes a great candidate beyond the tech skills?

The ability to communicate. We are very collaborative. You’ve got to be able to communicate, work outside your team, and communicate what you want to get done.

Do you have any “never do” tips for individuals for working with recruiters?

I think the biggest one – to be honest  — is being shy when asking for questions, checking in, or asking about status. Don’t be shy if you want follow-up. A lot of people don’t do this. You should do this.

Any bad assumption that you’ve seen job seekers make in applying for jobs with Google?

People assume that they aren’t going to get into Google. The reputation is such that it is very hard to get into Google. And so some people don’t even try.

I didn’t go to a great school. I didn’t have an amazing GPA. But I work at Google. So could you.

Don’t take yourself out of the game by making assumption and choosing not to apply. I’ve hired people who don’t have college degrees.

Are there any questions I haven’t asked that I should be asking? What’s the question, and what’s your answer?

Where is Google hiring?

The answer is everywhere. 2011 will be our biggest year in company history. There may be a role in your backyard.  Look for it.

Use it now – actionable – advice for job seekers:

Actively network. Network, network, network. Whether its with friends, colleagues, etc. It’s the networking that will help you find the job.

Like what you’ve read? Catch more of StartWire’s exclusive insider Q & A interviews as well as the lowdown on companies that are hiring through News.StartWire.com. 

Beautiful day in Manhattan, here’s a sweet networking opp for the evening sponsored by the Metro NY Chapter of the National Black MBA Association.

Event is tonight at The Griffin (50 Gansevoort Street in the West Village). Cost is $25 at the door.

Attire is business casual.

Details here.

Here’s a nice list of ten companies that are hiring in large numbers from ABC News Radio: Intel, Amazon, Google and Ford are a few of the names you may recognize.Others such as Quintiles and YRC Worldwide may not be as well known but have big opportunities.

Want to get in on a job working with one of these companies—but not interested in their core products? Look beyond the jobs you normally associate them with : McDonalds, for example, has over 75 positions with salaries estimated at $100K+ with job titles ranging from Strategic Sourcing for procurement to senior leadership positions in HR and Financial Services.

You can also frequently find jobs working with major clients of corporations or vendors. Love Amazon but don’t want to live in Seattle? Look at jobs in other metro areas that could utilize your skills. In New York, for example, Amazon is hiring a Director of Publishing, a Senior Manager of Inventory Planning.

LA Times reports technology companies are on a hiring tear.

Que the music for Welcome Back Kotter.

Google is ramping their hiring in Cambridge. Not surprising according to this great article in the Herald.

Kevin Willer will be heading up the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, a branch of Chicago’s Chamber of Commerce that identifies and boosts start-ups.

Willer launched Google’s Chicago office and grew it to 400. Here are his goals for his new job:

“We’re trying to identify high-potential entrepreneurs with big ideas and connect them with the right mentors and resources to help them become scalable businesses that can create jobs,” said Mr. Willer, 37

Source: Crain’s Chicago Business

P.S. Want to keep an eye on start-ups that may be hiring in Chicago? Set up a Google News Alert on “Kevin Willer and Chicago and hiring.” That way, you’ll get wind of hot companies poised for growth. (Modify the search string for leads in other cities and industries)

Add another 200 new jobs to the 6,000 Google announced earlier this year. The Detroit News reports the addition, with a spotlight on positions in Ann Arbor.

The lion’s share of Google job listings currently posted are in major metro areas from Silicon Valley and New York to Chicago. But a quick look at the listings for Ann Arbor shows the diversity of positions available nationwide:

The Ann Arbor office is looking for technical specialists for Google Book Search, Google AdWords and YouTube, as well as advertising associates, sales representatives, and account managers for online sales and TV, among others.

Source: The Detroit News