Reasons Why You Aren’t Getting Hired
Have you been on dozens of interviews but still have no job to call your own, even though you thought everything went well every time you sat down with a potential employer? If you really have not made any huge interview faux pas there may be other, slightly less obvious reasons why you job search is taking longer than you had hoped:
Job Descriptions – Read it properly. Do you really meet all the criteria? In years past, when there were plenty of jobs to go around a few extra years’ experience could compensate for a lack of skill in a certain area but in a tight job market that is simply no longer the case. If you find yourself discounting (or losing out on) job opportunity after job opportunity because you cannot meet one certain criteria don’t just give up, do something about it.
Words mean a Lot – It is one thing to have a resume that is free of grammar and spelling errors but if that resume is full of “jargon” chances are it is hurting your chances of landing a job every bit as much as a resume that is grammatically incorrect as a first graders English essay. Use keywords yes, they catch the recruiters eye but do not stuff your resume full of incomprehensible nonsense.
Wrong Fit – Your interview suit is killer, you meet every point in the job description and your resume would make Bill Gates blush, but you still don’t get the job. Unfortunately there really is no perfect recipe for getting hired. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of personality or a clash with the unstated corporate culture. You just don’t fit and you will probably never even know why. . It’s all perfectly legal (if a little sad) but the point to remember it’s not you, its them.
Unreal Expectations – Are you simply aiming too high? Are you still sitting in the backyard at home scoring the classifieds for the perfect job while the bills mount up? We would all love to snag our dream job but the fact is you have to settle for one that is good enough. No one says that you have to go to work in McDonalds if you were previously a NASA engineer but you do need to be willing to make a few compromises if you want to end upon somebody’s payroll.
Top Five Things that Will Annoy your Interviewer
Even though many people read article after article about what they should and shouldn’t do at an interview, read up on the company they hope to join and spend a small fortune on a new interview outfit there are still some very common things that many of these candidates do or say during an interview that drives the person conducting it nuts. Annoying your interviewer is never a good idea, so here are the top five things you must not do to avoid ruling yourself out of the running, however impressive your resume (or that new suit)might be:
Too Much of a Good Thing – Preparing to go on an interview is not like preparing to go on a date. Your beau may love that expensive perfume you wear but your interviewer may not. Not only might they be allergic (a lot of people are) but human beings tend to equate certain smells with specific memories so if you show up slathered in the same cologne as your interviewer’s terrible ex used to wear she may subconsciously mark you as doubtful right away.
Clamming Up – An interview candidate who simply won’t talk, or who answers each query with a “yes, no or maybe” really frustrates many interviewers. Most interviewers these days ask deliberately open ended questions in order to try to learn as much as they can about the candidate in the short timespan they have. Go to your interview prepared to speak and keep a question or two in mind yourself when the inevitable ‘Now it’s your turn to ask questions,’ line comes up at the conclusion of your interview.
Using Slang – Even if an interviewer may occasionally use slang themselves in their everyday lives (and most of us do from time to time) they do not want to hear at an interview. Another big interviewer’s pet peeve? Candidates who say “like” or “uh” in every second sentence.
Lack of Eye Contact – You probably are very nervous but avoiding making eye contact with your interviewer because of that fact just does not give the right impression at all. If you really have problems maintaining direct eye contact with someone in tense situations try focusing on his third eye, just above and between the person’s two eyes.
Little White Lies – Every candidate wants to impress their interviewer but lying – even if they are little white lies or slight exaggerations – is never the way to do it. Do not be tempted to over embellish your accomplishments or leave certain things out that you should have revealed, since even if the interviewer does not catch it (which many experienced ones will very easily) chances are that a background check will.
Job Ads Decoded
Most of us know that online dating profiles are written in a special language that if you take the time to decipher it tells you a little more about the person posting it than they may have intended. The same holds true for some job descriptions. Decoding some of the language you encounter as you search for the right position may help you get a better idea about what you really might be in for. A basic primer:
“Great growth opportunities” – This line comes most often from smaller and startup companies whose dreams tend to be a little larger than their budgets. Roughly translated this phrase often means “if you work for us for 60 hours a week, for less than you were looking for, you may get to exercise some stock options when we go public.”
Before you consider a job like this think carefully. If it is in a field you truly love and your lifestyle can accommodate a little belt tightening it may very well be worth going for. If you need a little more stability though, growth opportunities don’t mean a lot if the company goes belly up in a year.
“Ability to Work Independently Essential “– Sometimes this phrase can be an indication that there is a lack of actual leadership at the company and that new employees have to be able to fend for themselves. For some people this might be a dream come true, no boss breathing down your neck every five minutes. If you snag an interview try to glean from your interviewer what the real day to day responsibilities of the position are. If she doesn’t seem to know (generate media coverage is not a good answer for instance) that’s a sure sign that you’d have to figure out most of it yourself.
“Flexible on Work Hours” – Although it is not always the case this line often means that the prospective employer wants you to be flexible, not the company. And by flexible they mean the willingness to come in on a Sunday afternoon on two hours’ notice or work long into the night to get a project finished. In other words they want you to accommodate them, not the other way around.
Cover Letters – More Important than You Might Think
Many jobseekers know how important it is to have a great resume and spend a great deal of time (and in many cases money) making sure that theirs is just right. But if you look at most of the job applications you encounter either on or offline they ask the candidate to submit a resume and a cover letter, and it is that cover letter that lets them down. If the cover letter is bad often the recruiter is so turned off by it that they never even bother to look at the perfectly crafted resume. Here are a few tips for an effective cover letter:
Keep it Short and Sweet – You are writing a cover letter, not your autobiography. A pleasant greeting, a few lines summarizing the highlights of your resume and a polite closing requesting an interview is quite sufficient. Any longer than that and a recruiter is likely to lose interest and move on to the next application in their pile.
Never use a canned cover letter – If you are going to send a cover letter take the time to actually write one that is specific to the job you applying for, not just the same missive sent out again and again to dozens of different potential employers. Human Resources personnel and recruiters tend to be able spot these a mile off and your application is likely to be passed over right away.
Be mindful of your tone –A cover letter is a missive from one professional to another and the tone should be professional yet relaxed. Don’t be funny, ridiculously wordy or over flattering. Most importantly though confident is good but cocky is very bad. You want the recruiter to read your cover letter and come away with the impression that you may indeed be a helpful, useful addition to their team, not that the author believes that they are living on Mount Olympus and deigning to come down to work with mere mortals!
Proofread – Failing to proofread the cover letter they are sending out is a mistake made by many a job hunter. They have worked to develop a flawless resume and then ruin the whole thing by attaching a cover letter that is badly written and has grammar and/or spelling mistakes. Keep jargon to a minimum as well, as excessive use of it just tends to make the recruiters head spin.
Here Come the Grads – What does the Future Hold for the Class of 2010?
Throughout the months of May and June there is an excitement on college campuses across the country that is unmatched by any other in academic life (except for maybe $1 beer night) as thousands of students get ready to leave their school books behind and graduate into the “real world”.
Heady times indeed, but what kind of job market can the Class of 2010 expect to walk into? According to a recent survey conducted by NACE (the National Associate of Colleges and Employers) their prospects are not as gloomy as one might think, given the current economic climate.
According to that survey in 2010 44 percent of the employers questioned do intend to hire college graduates. Last year 43 percent said the same thing so the good news is that the number went up (even if ever so slightly) rather than down. These same employers do admit however that they intend to scale back the compensation packages they offer to new grads though.
So what does the new college graduate need on their resume to put them ahead of the competition and land their first “real world’ job? Of the employers surveyed a massive 62% said that the candidate having completed some form of internship would be impress them greatly with only 31% caring about the level of class work a student had maintained over the course of their academic career.
When asked about what they personally might look for when interviewing graduates the top answer was a candidate that comes to the interview well prepared, asks intelligent questions and has some knowledge about the company that they are hoping to work for. In other words, exactly what they are looking for from any potential new hire.
So the bottom line is that there will be jobs out there for the Class of 2010, as long as they are willing to put as much work into finding the right one as they were their lessons over the last four years.
10 Resume Mistakes
There are several schools of thought on the best way to write a resume that is right for today’s business climate but there are some things that the vast majority of hiring managers from all industries agree should not be on a good resume. The top ten?
- Spelling and grammar errors – Do not be careless enough to send out a resume with spelling errors and grammar faux pas. Attention to detail is essential!
- Canned opening objectives – Using a generic objective will most likely be ignored – the hiring manager has seen it already.
- Listing personal attributes – Some people still insist on including things like their height, weight and other personal information. Unless you are a model or an actress such things should never, ever be on your resume.
- Interests and hobbies – Unless they pertain to the job you are being interviewed for leave these off.
- The minute details of every job you ever had – Hiring managers are looking for a brief synopsis of your experience not a blow by blow account of your days as a cashier.
- Too much bragging – Listing your accomplishments is important but if the wording goes over the top and starts to sound like you are bragging it can be a huge turn-off.
- Outdated information – If it has been more than 15 years since you left a job you should might wan to leave it off your resume. Assuming it is not very relevant to the position you are seeking now.
- False information – Stating you have a BS when it is really an Associate’s degree may seem like just a little white lie but making false statements on your resume can blow up in your face. Most employers these days do background checks and if you are exposed as a liar you can instantly kiss the job goodbye, even if you have already received an offer letter.
- Unexplained gaps in work history – Many people have these but they are something that most hiring managers notice right away. Choose your words carefully in explaining them on paper though. The hiring manager does not need to know specifics right now. If you state “left for personal reasons” they can then ask for more detail later if they need to.
- Lack of professionalism – Brightly colored or patterned paper, cutesy fonts and silly childish email addresses all turn hiring managers off right away. The chances of it getting read all the way through are slim.
Interviewing with Employment Agencies
Prior to an interview you most likely spend some time preparing: reviewing interview questions, answers, and company information. However, do you handle an interview with an employment agency the same as you do with a direct employer? Do you practice interview questions the night before? Do you dress in a suit? You are not meeting your next potential boss so do you need to take it seriously? In short, yes. Impressing an agency recruiter is just as important as it is for a potential employer. Here are few things to consider before your meeting with an agency:
Resumes Must Have Specific Key Words
“I’m perfect for the position. So why didn’t you call me?” Have you ever thought or said something similar to this?
The answer to that question in my experience is that candidates rarely demonstrate in the resume they are the perfect fit. Most important word is, “demonstrate.”
How to Ace a Phone Interview
More often these days employers conduct preliminary phone interviews with candidates they are interested in hiring, narrowing the pool they will eventually meet with face to face. The advantage to the employer is that telephone interviews cost less, are faster and can be delegated to an assistant.
While you will not be across the table from your potential employer you should treat a phone interview with the same seriousness you would a face to face interview. Being prepared is key. Here are a few tips to help you breeze through the phone call and secure that all important face to face meeting.
Background checks – What Job Seekers Need to Know
Does the idea of consenting to a background check make you a little nervous and feel your privacy is being invaded?
The fact is the majority of employers today, regardless of industry, conduct background checks on potential employees before signing off on a new hire. How deep an employer digs will vary though. Most background checks will investigate criminal and court records looking for past legal wrong doings on the part of a potential hire. Increasingly companies are also running credit checks, as some feel that fiscal responsibility is a good indicator of a responsible person.
