hireINSIDER: Size Up Your Job Search Competition

In any competition, comparison is only natural. For example: CareerBuilder is based in Chicago, and the last couple of weeks the office has been abuzz with talk of the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup performance.  Today, everyone here is wondering: Do the ‘Hawks have what it takes to beat the Flyers?  Who has the better offense? Will the younger players crack under pressure? Luckily, there are plenty of team statistics, player biographies, and game recaps out there to reassure us all that yes, the Blackhawks have a pretty good shot to win it all.

Until now, one of the most frustrating parts about job searching has been the lack of insight into who you’re up against. For example, if you see a job that you think you’d be a great fit for, wouldn’t it be helpful to know if all the other applicants had their MBA, while you only hold a bachelor’s degree? Or if your current salary is 20 percent higher than most of the other applicants? Knowing such information might prompt you to skip over that job posting, and concentrate your efforts on something more aligned with your qualifications and goals. It would also help you determine your chances of landing an interview — easing that job application “Black Hole” that online job seekers seem to battle with on an ongoing basis.

Well frustrated job seekers, we give you hireINSIDER — a new CareerBuilder tool that will help you figure out just how you stack up to your job-hunting competition. hireINSIDER is a free tool launched just last week, which provides job-seekers with a real-time, detailed Job Competition Report, broken down into the following indicators:

• Current number of applicants for the job
• Level of education
• Years of experience
• Average current salaries
• Top college majors of applicants
• Top languages spoken
• Employment status
• How many applicants submitted a cover letter

Additionally, job applicants can also sign up for a free hiring status report for jobs they have applied to.  In exchange for sharing their own information about where they are in the hiring process, the report will tell the applicant how many other job-seekers were contacted by the employer for an interview, how many were not contacted and if a hiring decision was made.

For those who want an extra insight on what they’re up against, an additional report can be purchased, which further details information like fellow applicants’ years of management experience, number of direct reports, and recent employers and colleges attended.

Below are samples of some of the information you’ll get in a hireINSIDER report:

Number of applicants:

Employment status:

Education level:

Top college majors:

Top colleges/universities attended:

To access hireINSIDER and find out how you stack up against your fellow job seekers, go to CareerBuilder.com, and start submitting applications — hireINSIDER will automatically pop up after you apply for a job.

Will hireINSIDER improve your job search? Check it out and then let us know what you think in the comments section below.