Is the tortoise better than the hare? Maybe. Although, many potential employers will never know. There seems to be a trend of posting jobs and closing them in less than a day. Which means, the people who are fastest to submit their resumes are the ones considered.

Let’s call them the hares.

They’re the people who start their mornings by scanning job sites, and then industriously submitting their resumes, hoping they’ll get more than a tertiary scan by a hurried recruiter. It’s a good strategy, especially if the role closes within 24-hours.

From the employer’s point-of-view, it doesn’t guarantee they’ll receive resumes from a diversity of candidates, who may not apply until later in the day or after they get home from their 9-to-5 job. These are the tortoises. Slower, perhaps, more thoughtful when applying.

This scenario is analogous to opening the doors of a store, and after twenty or so customers have shuffled in, concluding business for the day. Never mind that half the customers don’t have the money to buy anything.

Even though the U.S. unemployment rate was just 3.8% in September 2023, it comprises 6.36 million people. When you add in the jobseekers who’ve given up on searching, along with those who are working part-time because they can’t find full-time employment, the rate creeps to 7%.

As of today, 1,080 companies have laid off nearly 256,000 people, 81,000 more than all of 2022.  No doubt, recruiters are overwrought with the number of resumes they receive. However, they should consider leaving the submission window open a few days to provide time for everyone – the hares and the tortoises – to apply.