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5 reasons you are not getting interviews
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Here are 5 reasons you may not be getting selected for interviews:
1) Your resume is: confusing, boring, ridiculous, too technical or all of the above.
A resume is like a business card. It’s meant to get your foot in the door and start a conversation. It’s an attention-getting device. It usually has to get past a computer, then an HR temp/part-time screener, THEN an actual HR rep, before finally being reviewed by a decision maker. If you explain you are “ISO/TSI/ASAP certified on BAT4900 series CAB Conversion IV Management LEAN Terra-byte systems”….your resume is going NO where…because the only guy in the company that can understand what you just said is NOT reviewing resumes! Think about it. Save the technical jargon for the interview.
1) Your resume is: confusing, boring, ridiculous, too technical or all of the above.
A resume is like a business card. It’s meant to get your foot in the door and start a conversation. It’s an attention-getting device. It usually has to get past a computer, then an HR temp/part-time screener, THEN an actual HR rep, before finally being reviewed by a decision maker. If you explain you are “ISO/TSI/ASAP certified on BAT4900 series CAB Conversion IV Management LEAN Terra-byte systems”….your resume is going NO where…because the only guy in the company that can understand what you just said is NOT reviewing resumes! Think about it. Save the technical jargon for the interview.
If you have only one resume, you should only be using it to apply for one job. In other words, each application for a position requires a unique resume that is specific to that job.
The “good stuff”, which matches what the employer is seeking for the position, needs to be in the top 1/3rd part of the resume. If the employer posts a job description and features KEY words…those KEY words should be your competencies listed immediately after your opening Summary Statement.
A resume should begin with a professional summary listing your capabilities followed by a professional experience (work history) listing your core skills or and, when appropriate, your major achievements. The combination of these should match as closely as possible to the job description you're responding to.
The biggest mistake I see on resumes is the listing of job titles the applicant held with absolutely no indication of achievement in that position!
The biggest mistake I see on resumes is the listing of job titles the applicant held with absolutely no indication of achievement in that position!
For example:
XYZ Company 1997 – 2006
Plant Supervisor
Worked in this department and turned the machines on in the morning and off at the end of the day.
This tells your potential employer that you can turn on (and off) a switch…PERIOD. It doesn’t indicate that you can do it successfully 10 out of 10 times, you supervised 37 people while turning on the switch, you created an expense-saving program that focused on switch turning-on and off and saved the company $11 million dollars or that, due to your efforts, you were recognized as National Switch Performer in the company’s industry periodical!
Employers want to know:
1. What did you DO?
2. What were the RESULTS?
3. How can you do that for US?
2) You're not qualified for the positions for which you are applying. Sorry…this one hurts a little. Times have changed, technology has changed. If your resume brags about your “typing skills”, you need to change. If you counted inventory using pencil and paper…and not via a handheld IBM4683 data processing scanner…you need to get educated or apply for a lesser position to get your foot in the door and learn “new ways” of doing business.
If the position requires a CPA with 8+ years of experience and you once worked in a cubicle for 6 months doing accounts payable, you're not qualified. Don't waste your time applying for that position. Some folks disagree with me, but here’s my thinking: If you DO apply for that position and that company finds out you’re full of cow dung and “fudged” some of your information on your application, your name will then go into the “No way” pile. And if that same company needs a qualified typist that once did accounts payable…you STILL won’t be considered for a job you are qualified for…because your name is in the “No way” pile of applicants. Just don’t’ do it.
3) The job description is misleading.
HR professionals and hiring managers make mistakes.
If the position requires a CPA with 8+ years of experience and you once worked in a cubicle for 6 months doing accounts payable, you're not qualified. Don't waste your time applying for that position. Some folks disagree with me, but here’s my thinking: If you DO apply for that position and that company finds out you’re full of cow dung and “fudged” some of your information on your application, your name will then go into the “No way” pile. And if that same company needs a qualified typist that once did accounts payable…you STILL won’t be considered for a job you are qualified for…because your name is in the “No way” pile of applicants. Just don’t’ do it.
3) The job description is misleading.
HR professionals and hiring managers make mistakes.
Sometimes those mistakes occur when they write job descriptions.
Like resumes, many job descriptions are too often too vague, lack critical information, and are filled with fluff.
Like resumes, many job descriptions are too often too vague, lack critical information, and are filled with fluff.
There is nothing you can do about this, so keep going.
4) You lack any real job search strategy.
4) You lack any real job search strategy.
If you find yourself applying for “any” job available, you probably won’t even get that. I know this is difficult because of the quantity of applicants in the marketplace today, but you have to be patient, focused, and network your tail off.
Research the companies that you WANT to work for. Know their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. BE the solution for that company and they will open a door for you. Network with anyone you can meet in that company. Be the FACE that is seen in that company on an ongoing basis. Be a guest speaker for free, write a thought-provoking article for their company newsletter or industry magazine. Take the decision-maker to lunch to learn more about the company.
Give them a REASON to want to hire you. Give them a reason to not want you to be hired by their competition.
5) Not learning.
Give them a REASON to want to hire you. Give them a reason to not want you to be hired by their competition.
5) Not learning.
What did you learn TODAY? A new word? A new guideline for the industry? Did you read a new book relating to the industry you want to work in? Did you find an online source about that industry? Did you meet someone, attend a networking event, find a group with related interests, set-up a website showing your expertise, offer a free consultation, find a mentor and pick their brain, USE your time wisely….or did you sit on your rear end and whine about how “tough the job market is today!”??
STOP IT. Stop whining. START DOING.
And…you WILL get rejected along the way. Do NOT take it personally…keep going.
There is a reason that zoos keep monkeys in cages. They throw their own poop. You have the option of getting near that cage, standing FAR back, or going to see another animal.
There are humans that may get near you that also seem to enjoy throwing poop. You have the option of getting wrapped up in it, standing FAR back, or going to see someone positive.
You WILL…and CAN get an interview. Now, go do it.
Drop me a line at: James@TheJamesHamilton.com with article ideas, assistance with job search documentation or planning or just to NETWORK.
Until then.. Make someone happy.
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