Applying for two jobs at the same company: is it a good idea?

How the same recruiter sees two applications

In a smaller organisation, and in many larger ones, applications for different roles go through the same recruitment team and often the same applicant tracking system. So assume the people reading your applications will see both. They will compare them, and they will notice if the two tell different stories about who you are.

That is not a problem in itself. Recruiters see it often, and plenty of people are a good fit for more than one role. A recruiter who likes you for one may even put you forward for the other. What matters is whether the two applications make sense together, and whether each one shows real interest in that particular job.

When it helps and when it looks scattered

Two applications usually help when:

• the roles are similar in level and skills, such as a business analyst role in finance and another in operations;
• you would genuinely take either, and can say why each appeals;
• the organisation is one you particularly want to work for, and you can show that.

They look scattered when the roles are far apart: a junior administrator role and a senior manager role, or a marketing role and an engineering one. They also look scattered when you apply for many roles at once. Three or four applications to one employer in a week can read as applying for anything, which weakens every one of them.

If you are unsure, ask. A short call or email to the recruiter or the contact person on the ad, saying you are interested in both and asking which suits your background better, often gets a useful answer and shows initiative.

Tailoring both, or choosing one

If you apply for both, tailor both properly. Each CV should lead with the experience that matters for that role, and each cover letter should answer that ad's requirements in its own words. Sending the same application twice with only the job title changed is the fastest way to look unfocused.

If you can only do one well, choose one. Pick the role where your fit is strongest, or the one you would most like to do, and put your effort there. A single strong application does more for you than two average ones, and if it goes well, you will be in a better position to be considered for the other.

Mentioning it in the cover letter

Be open about the second application. A sentence near the end of each cover letter is enough:

It shows you are organised and honest, and it saves the recruiter from wondering whether you meant to apply twice. Our guide to writing a cover letter in New Zealand covers the rest of the letter.

Keep your story consistent across both. The same dates, the same achievements and the same reasons for looking. Differences in emphasis are expected; differences in facts are not.

Tracking both against one company record

Two roles at one employer means two sets of dates, contacts and follow-ups, and it is easy to mix them up. Keep them side by side: which CV went to which role, who you spoke to, and where each process is up to. If one role progresses and the other goes quiet, you will want to handle each separately, and to mention the progress on one when you follow up the other.

In jobtracker.co.nz, each employer has one page under Companies that lists every role you have gone for there, with how far each got, whether they have replied, and the people you know there. When you add a job at an employer where you already have another open application, the job page reminds you of it, so you do not lose track of what you have already sent. You can see an employer with two roles, Kauri Point Bank, under Companies in the demo, which needs no account.

See every role at one employer together