While there is obviously no one answer for why candidates who are a suitable match for a job don’t get the job, there are three main stages where jobseekera fail in the job search.
While there is obviously no one answer for why candidates who are a suitable match for a job don’t get the job, there are three main stages where jobseekera fail in the job search:
Marketing stage. If you are a jobseeker who is not getting interviews, then your marketing is failing you. If you are dropping your resume and not getting invited to interviews, then your resume is not engaging prospective employers. Another problem could be that your resume is fine, but you are not targeting the right employers.
First interview stage. If you are getting invited to meet with people but not getting called back, then you need interview help. There are 12 standard interview questions, and most every other question is a derivative of these questions. Practice your interview answers. When we work with jobseekers, we don’t drill every question – it’s impossible to predict how a question will be phrased. Instead, we explain the structure of these 12 standard questions so that our clients will recognize them regardless of how they are phrased (and regardless of what kind of curveball the interviewer tries to throw).
Final stage. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride? You might not be selling to the end. Sometimes jobseekers let their energy drop after a long series of interviews. Or they get arrogant assuming this job is “in the bag”. Or they start debating the job in their mind, before getting the offer first, and their doubt signals to employers that they really aren’t interested. Employers are in the driver’s seat in this market, so they can be choosy. They will be considering other candidates. The search is not over until you walk in the front door.
Overall, my biggest pet peeve when I was a recruiter was lack of enthusiasm. You see this at all stages – with a lackluster pitch, with a disengaged interview, with boring follow up. Remember that employers are people too – they want to be wanted. I often saw cases where the less qualified but more enthusiastic candidate got the job over a more qualified but less engaged one. So troubleshoot your search based on the above, and kick up the enthusiasm level.
Is Your Job Search Flexible or Just Unfocused?
As a recruiter, I’ve seen lack of flexibility on the recruiting side with employers clinging to every last detail in their ideal spec while perfectly good candidates get overlooked. As a career coach, I see jobseekers prematurely dismissing possible targets waiting for that perfect job. It’s true that you want to be focused in your job search (otherwise you dilute your efforts and come across as scattered and possibly desperate).
5 Questions to Test If Your Resume Is Recruiter-Proof
After recruiting in search and in-house for over ten years, I have read thousands of resumes. Due to sheer volume of resumes received and all the other things that vie for the recruiter’s attention in the hiring process – scheduling, interviewing, networking, reference checks, client debriefs, and more – the resume review process is ruthlessly quick.
Why Conventional Wisdom On Work Flexibility Is Always Wrong
In a previous post, I wrote about why employment statistics are always wrong. In a similar way, conventional wisdom on work flexibility is always wrong. It is impossible to generalize something that is inherently case-by-individual case. Therefore, any boilerplate advice or conventional wisdom is bound to omit a key consideration, underweight or overemphasize other considerations, or take too long-term or short-term of a view.
