Some of you will have received our e-mail alerts advertising the GlaxoSmithKline Technical Development Scheme – but if you try to apply now, you get to a page saying (at time of writing) :
“we are not yet open for our 2010 Technical Development Programme vacancies”
Curious to know why they’ve asked us to advertise vacancies which aren’t yet open, I spoke to GSK’s recruitment team.
They’ve confirmed that they are keen for potential applicants to register their interest in advance of the opening date. That means that you will get e-mailed as soon as they are ready to take applications. Although they will have a number of rolling closing dates for jobs as they are advertised, like many companies, they will be considering applicants as they come in, so the sooner you get your application in after the opening date, the better.
For example, for undergraduate placements, they point out that there is a first deadline of November 16th, with a second round with a deadline of January 22nd – but if they find enough good candidates from the first deadline, they won’t need any more come January.
The lesson? In a competitive market, vacancy opening dates might be more important than the stated closing date. If in doubt, apply as soon as the vacancies are advertised, and if an organisation you’re interested in allows you to pre-register, to be alerted when their recruitment swings into action, I’d sign up straight away.
Manchester Postgraduate Careers Blog 