5 ½ Reasons You Haven’t Gotten a Job Offer?
The economy is clearly still lagging, but as time goes by, your friends and colleagues are getting jobs, so why not you? Sure, luck is one factor, but if you have the sneaking suspicion that you are always the bridesmaid, but never the bride, it may be time to take a hard look at what you can do to improve your job search.
1. The most obvious place to start is with your resume. Not only is it important to have an error free, compelling document, it is also vital to get that resume into the right hands. I spoke to a candidate who had only submitted his resume to 10 companies and all of his submissions were to online job postings. No wonder he got no response. Similar to the dating game, you have to get your resume out there. Strut your stuff!
Be sure that no stone goes unturned when it comes to sending your resume out. Research companies, identify hiring managers, and network to uncover unadvertised opportunities. If you have tried to create a resume on your own, but don’t seem to be getting any response, it may be that you need professional help. Hiring a certified professional resume writer could actually be the most cost effective strategy for you. Think about the lost wages. Even an extra week out of work costs you money!
2. If you are getting interviews, but never get a call back, consider your story. If your phone interviews are falling flat, you may be conveying the wrong message to the HR person or hiring manager. Sometimes less is more. By training yourself to answer questions briefly and succinctly, you will avoid the pitfalls of being labeled a poor communicator. Many job seekers make the mistake of explaining everything in great detail (too much information – TMI) on an initial phone call. Keep your messaging simple and to the point in order to be more effective.
3. Your personal presentation is less than ideal. While you may not be able to lose 25-50 pounds overnight (yes, weight discrimination does exist, even though it is illegal), you can certainly do your best to improve your personal appearance. Your clothing, hair, nails, teeth, etc. matter. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), reports that attire and grooming can have a significant influence when it comes to receiving job offers.
4. You lack the right skills. If you have been spinning your wheels for any length of time, it may be time to get some additional training. If you are in the field of accounting, for example, and all of your peers who have their CPA have gotten work, but you are left out in the cold, certification could make sense, even if you have been putting it off. Be sure to research carefully. When it comes to training and certifications, you want to be sure that your investment in both time and money will help yield the desired results.
5. You are not following up. As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. While you don’t want to pester potential employers, touching base periodically to see if there are any openings, or if a hiring decision has been made, is a good idea. To quote another cliché, “out of sight, out of mind.” By keeping yourself in front of prospective companies, you stand a better chance of being contacted once a suitable opening is available.
5 ½. In a leap of faith, you falsely assume the potential job you are interviewing for will be yours to have, so you stop searching for new roles. This is a BIG mistake that can cost you both time and money. Don’t stop pounding the pavement. The more interviews you get, the more likely you are to get hired.
Make no mistake, getting the interviews is challenging. I speak with clients every day who share their experiences with me. Many of them are interviewing and obtaining offers of employment in their chosen field. Take an honest look at what you can change in order to be a more effective job seeker, get started on playing your A-game, and proactively work on your own behalf.
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This blog's author, Debra Wheatman of Careers Done Write, provides executive career services including resume and cover letter preparation, job search / interviewing strategies and professional branding including how to effectively use LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media in your career.
Visit CareersDoneWrite.com to learn more about how we can put your career in gear with interview catching resumes and professionally written career documents.
Thank you for another thoughtful article Debra. I just wanted to stress that in places like India, it becomes necessary to be extra watchful of #4, simply because there are several organizations that look legit, but aren’t really, and you only find out after money has changed hands and you’re well into the program. It’s so crazy, I don’t think recruiters bother to figure out which certificates are fake and which are the real deal. They just pass that job on to the guys who do the background verification.