Applying For Jobs But No One Calls Me Back

Do you currently find yourself in a position of applying for multiple jobs every single day yet never seem to get a call back or interview request? Why does this happen? If you have the right skills and experience surely you should have hiring managers calling you to arrange an interview?

Unfortunately job seeking is not as simple as just applying for jobs and waiting for the phone to ring. Demand for new jobs is more competitive than ever and with more and more people applying for jobs via online websites it is now much easier to send off your resume in a much shorter time period. I recently worked with a job seeker who had been laid off after 10 years of loyal service with the same company. This person told me that she was applying for up to 20 jobs a day. When I asked her if there were 20 new jobs being advertised every day that suited her skills she said she didn’t care. “The more jobs I apply for the greater my chance of getting an interview.”

In my experience, if you are applying for jobs and never hearing back it is typically down to two main factors. Reason number one, is your resume is not good enough to attract the hiring manager and therefore your resume is most probably being deleted before the reader even has a chance to recognize the skills that you can bring to the role. The second reason you may be getting overlooked is simply that you are not qualified, skilled or experienced enough for the types of roles you are applying for.

Your resume is just not good enough:

Before you apply for another job take a long hard look at your resume. If you were the hiring manager would you hire yourself based on your resume? Your resume is your marketing document and as such needs to be written to highlight your value added skills that you can bring to your next job. If you are applying for a management position you need to emphasize your management experience. Don’t assume that the hiring manager will know this information unless you provide evidence. For example, rather than just stating “5 years of management experience” which does not tell the reader much information apart from the obvious, you need to include further explanation to highlight this experience “5 years of management experience leading expert teams, capable of analyzing all areas of operations and implementing dynamic improvements, cost savings and overall growth and profit” – From a hiring managers perspective it is obvious which statement stands out.

Are you qualified for the job you are applying for?

Although you may think you could perform a certain job and maybe if given the chance you would prove to be the perfect person, unfortunately if the employer needs certain requirements they then expect that those applying for the role have these requirements.  If the job requires an accountant with minimum 2 years of experience with specific skills in auditing, it is not reasonable to think that they will hire a graduate accountant with less than 1 year of work experience. My advice is don’t waste your own time by applying for roles where you don’t meet certain expected requirements.

Final thought:

If you are not receiving interview requests and feel that you are being ignored every time you apply for a job, you’re not alone. Job seeking is a tough business, but in order to give yourself the greatest opportunity of finding success you need to ensure that your resume is written, structured and presented correctly. Every time you apply for a new job you may need to adjust or tweak your resume. Remember that the best resumes are those that are achievement based and written to target that specific job you are applying towards, be it military resume for volunteer military service, executive resume or something else.