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All the Rage: Telltale Signs of an Angry Applicant
Some employees are so disgruntled in their current position that they become angry job applicants for new positions.
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When an employee gets angry at work and fires off a slew of job applications en masse as quiet retaliation, that’s rage applying — and in a post-pandemic, post-just-about-everything world of upheaval and constant personal reassessment, it’s a big deal. While it’s totally understandable that employees would want to seek more meaningful, better paying, and more accommodating gigs, most employers probably don’t want to be on the receiving end of an application submitted mostly out of spite.
Dead Giveaways
Some disgruntled employees have reported firing off as many as 15 rage applications per day, but you’re not always going to be able to spot them in the wild. There are, however, a few red flags that burn bright with rage application energy.
For one, beware of template vibes (not to mention resume fraud). Plenty of legit applicants use slick resume templates, but a total lack of specificity can be an indicator of a mass application. If you use online application services like LinkedIn’s Easy Apply, generic submissions that don’t seem to specifically cater to a desired role at your company should be viewed with suspicion. The more specificity, the more likely you’re dealing with a bespoke application, one that comes from a more genuine place than “I hate my current manager.”
Likewise, getting resume-bombed by the same applicant across multiple departments at your organization, or even across your company’s different geographical locations, is a dead giveaway.
Preventing a Rager
As an employer, you also don’t want to be the current workplace of a rage applier looking for their way out. Employee retention has evolved alongside other existential company crises — nowadays, working professionals appreciate a pleasant, homey workplace with as much transparency and flexibility as they can get. But that still leaves plenty of room for tried-and-true essentials, like making sure your employees see personal paths to growth and are on the receiving end of meaningful feedback and positive reinforcement.
In short, make sure your crew is heard, seen and appreciated, and you’ll have a much better chance of keeping them more engaged than enraged.
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