As a recent graduate or an experienced professional looking to get hired but having a hard time landing interviews, the biggest battle you may have is wondering why. Why am I not getting an interview? Do the employers already have a candidate in place before advertising jobs? Who should I know to get hired? These could be some of the questions going through your mind.
From a recruitment company’s point of view, the reason you are not getting called to interviews could vary. It could be that your CV is not highlighting your qualifications for the roles in question, or the positions you apply for do not match the experience on your CV. With these two reasons, there is only so much you can do. That’s why the first advice you will receive from a career coach is about your CV.
But what if you know for sure that you have a professional CV that is well formatted? If you fall into this category, then it goes without question that you are applying to jobs that are not a great fit for you. In short, you have been applying to the wrong jobs and below are the signs how to know for sure.
Signs You’ve Been Applying to Wrong Positions
1. You don’t get responses from your applications
If you have been applying to open positions and not hearing back from employers and recruiters, then this should be a sign that the role was not a match. Most candidates keep applying to roles that don’t necessarily match their skills and experience over and over, yet they don’t get interviews. If you are a victim of this, then you might want to take a step back and evaluate the roles you have been applying for.
Do they meet your skills and experience? Are you applying to a job you are qualified for or one you think you can do? Just because you believe you can do something does not necessarily make you qualified to do it.
2. You don’t read through the job description
Most candidates have been known to skim through an advertisement without really reading it through. I used to be a victim but now I know better. If you take a look at an open position and go straight to the education and experience required, then you could be missing out on other important information. Some positions will include that you need to speak a certain language at the very end or that you need experience with a certain system.
It could be anything, and sometimes it’s never under the area you looked when you decided you were qualified. So always read through the description and ensure you meet at least 75% of the requirements before you submit an application. You could have the degree and experience required, only to end up lacking in another specific requirement.
3. You never tailor your CV for the role
While you CV should be a standard document that you use to send out for consideration in roles, it is important that you edit it to suit a position before sending. Why? Most recruiters focus on keywords on their CV during the selection process and if yours does not have any, it could be passed on. Focus on how your responsibilities read and how the ones in the description are. Know the difference between having knowledge in something and having experience is as these two mean totally different things.
Once you are clear on that, you can be certain about which roles to apply for and how to tweak your CV so you are among the selected.
4. You don’t know what you want
Are you at a place where you believe you can do any job as long as you get employed? Do you look through open positions and say “I can do this” instead of “I am qualified for this role”? As mentioned in point number one above, just because you believe you can do something does is no translation for you are qualified. You need to first identify what positions suits you best depending on your current qualifications, experience and even where you would feel comfortable.
Knowing exactly what you want eases your job hunt and allows you to focus on finding roles that are specific to your qualifications. It may take time to find the open roles than you will when you are looking for any position, but once you find it you can be sure of making the interview.
Aside from a bad CV, most people miss out on opportunities because they keep applying for the wrong jobs. Do not become a victim.
