As an active member of
LinkedIn, logging in daily, I come across a variety of interesting articles
that lead me to ponder further. The article that I read yesterday was titled “5
reasons why you never hear back after applying for a job.” (Meghan M. Biro, Glassdoor)
This article mentioned many points and in some cases I agree with what the
writer identified, and in some cases I don’t fully agree. Below are a few highlights and thoughts pondered...
REASON NUMBER 1 – WHY YOU AREN'T GETTING CALLED BACK:
You Really Aren’t Qualified:
The article stated that
job seekers should not apply for work if they don’t meet the qualifications
outlined in the job advertisement and I don’t fully agree with that. Yes, I agree
not to apply if an employer is looking for a Master’s Degree with 10 years’
experience, and you’re a recent Degree/Diploma graduate with no work experience however; don’t always
judge the qualifications outlined in the advertisement to determine if you
should apply for a job that you really want. Apply for positions where your skills
match the key responsibilities outlined in the job advertisement. If you are a recent graduate and the
job calls for 2-3 years’ experience, still apply! You might just get your lucky
break. Also, be aware of the language used in the job advertisement. If you see "University Degree, College Diploma and/or relevant years of experience" STILL
apply! If you have 3-5 years of experience in the field, and no Post-Secondary
education, you still meet the qualifications. The employer is asking for
education OR relevant years of experience.
REASON NUMBER 2 – WHY YOU AREN'T GETTING CALLED BACK:
You haven’t keyword-optimized
your resume or application:
This is a tricky one
that I love and hate all at the same time. For those of you who know me, you
know that I have a creative flare and love to use it. Keywords can hinder this
creativity, if they are not used properly. However; they prove to be very
beneficial in the recruitment process. Quite often, when a job seeker submits a
resume, a Management teams reviews the documentation or the Human Resources
Department would do this. The review of the resume is what you have to offer based on the job advertisement, hence the keywords. If the
organization is extremely large in nature, all resumes could first go through a
scanning device. If you resume matches an appropriate number of keywords a
human being may actually look your resume in detail. If your resumes do not
match an appropriate number of keywords the scanner sends your resume to a
documented location based on other keywords, in case a position more suited to
your resume and skills becomes available. My best advice here is to learn to utilize
keywords and become familiar using them. Your resume should be targeted and
modified for each position you apply for. I know this can be confusing, so come visit VCCS and we can certainly help you with this!
REASON NUMBER 3 – WHY YOU AREN'T GETTING CALLED BACK:
Your resume is not properly
formatted:
To ensure that an
employer can review your true attention to detail your resume must be
consistent and properly formatted. Ensure that your resume is not coming up
“jumbled” on the employers’ computer database and that if one employment title
is formatted to bold, that all
employment titles are bold. Just
stay clean, neat and consistent. A good idea may be to put your resume in PDF
format before you send it to an employer, so that your margins and formatting
don’t become “wonky” when the employer opens the file. If you’re not sure what
I’m talking about, come visit VCCS or send me an e-mail. I can take you through
the steps on how to send a resume as a PDF file.
REASON NUMBER 4 – WHY YOU AREN'T GETTING CALLED BACK:
Your resume is substantially
different from your online portfolio:
The online portfolio
that the writer is talking about here is your LinkedIn page or your Facebook
page. Make sure that the dates of employment, education etcetera match what’s
on your resume. Sell your skills on social media! Always make sure your profile
is appropriate! Employers are looking!!
REASON NUMBER 4 – WHY YOU AREN'T GETTING CALLED BACK:
Your company received 500 resumes
for one job posting and yours was #499:
Apply on the first day
of the posting whenever you can! Some employers receive so many resumes that
they only look at the resumes collected within the first day of the
advertisement going external! The early bird truly gets the worm. While in some
cases resume number 499 of 500 is still considered as much as resume number
001, it is best not to test that theory and just apply as soon as you can.
To read the full
article visit http://www.businessinsider.com/top-5-reasons-you-never-hear-back-after-applying-for-a-job-2012-7
For more information,
questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact me, Amanda Middleton, at
amiddleton@careerservices.org
Until next time, take
care and good luck with you job search!
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