Is your resume preventing you from getting a new job?

It seems that when people apply for jobs and don’t receive interview requests, they are quick to blame anyone or anything. I’ve heard job seekers tell me countless times that they applied for over 100 jobs online without receiving one single interview request. They tell me it’s because of the current state of the economy or because the demand for jobs is far greater than the supply. While both of these reasons are true to an extent, companies are still interviewing and hiring. If you’re someone who has applied to a large number of jobs but you haven’t received a single interview request, it’s probably time to start asking yourself those tough questions.

Are you qualified enough?

Are your job expectations realistic that you can actually get the jobs you are applying for? Too many times people waste their own time applying for jobs that they are not suitable for. I recently worked with a young professional with 2 years of work experience and no managerial experience. In terms of salary he was earning the market value for a person with his skills and experience. For an entire month he applied for different managerial roles – all paying salaries of double what he was currently earning – and he couldn’t understand why he wasn’t able to land an interview. While it is important to aim high, it is equally as important to be realistic about your skills and experience.

If you’re qualified for the job, is your resume letting you down?

You may have fantastic skills, experience and achievements. You may even be the best person for the job. If this is the case, why are you not getting interview requests?

When a hiring manager first picks up your resume, what they see and what they read will be the first impression they have about you. I recently worked with a candidate who just finished law school and was running into a similar problem. He was at the top of his class and as a recent graduate, he was now looking at beginning his career in one of the top law firms. Every job this candidate applied for was right for him. A recent law graduate seeking the best and brightest. The candidate sent his resume out to every law firm in the city and didn’t receive one interview request. Even the smaller firms were not even giving him a chance.

Here’s what I saw when I took a brief look at his resume. The candidate had put his education and university roles on page 3 of the resume and had devoted the first 2 pages of the resume to the part-time jobs he had during high school and university. As such, by the time the hiring manager had read through page one of his high school work experience, the resume was being deleted before the most important part of the resume (his education) was even read. In today’s society, reports suggest that a job candidate has 15-20 seconds to catch the reader’s attention. By putting the most important information on the back page of the resume, the reader’s attention was focused on aspects of the resume that were completely irrelevant for the candidate in getting the job.

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Comment by Nick Tubach on September 13, 2011 at 11:47am: If candidates understood that the resume is their product literature, their brochure then much of what you say is good advice. The problem is that the majority of job seekers just send out 100s of resumes without doing the upfront research, networking and digging that is required to make their search successful. No matter how good the resume is if it is not sent or given to the right person, a decision maker who can see the value that the individual is able to bring to a particular company or position then it will almost never result in an interview. Candidates need to understand that companies only hire because they have a problem and once they understand the problem they need to ask themselves if they can solve it. Demonstrate that, sell that show that to a hiring manager and the chances are good to great that you will be interviewed.

Comment by Mat von Kroeker on September 13, 2011 at 12:23pm: On the flip side, most people I work with aren't that stupid or desperate to submit thier resume to a position they're completely unqualified for. I have seen and heard from candidates, time and again, they'll consider a company willing to train, they have the experience but only at a University level, Bachelors degree (Any degree? Like Criminology? Biomedicine?) or equivalent work experience? (3 yrs, 10 yrs?) The problem lies in the initial job description. HM's, HR and otherwise need to rethink thier job description(s)--- the "desired", "a plus" and "is a good thing thing to have, but not required for the position." ( --when it's exactly why they'll hire you.)-- NEEDS to be replaced by "Required. Period. No Exceptions. No Tickie?? No Washie!!" Some HR/HM's love to see people sweat-- entertaining themselves on some cerebral, subconscious, instinctual "Wild Kingdom" sort of way--- they will drag out a hiring/interview process ad infinitum as they "play with thier prey...." etc.-- and typically hire from within anyway.