Being unemployed and trying to land a job can be a long and tiring process that takes its toll on self-esteem and can cause a lot of anxiety issues especially when you aren’t getting responses back from employers you have sent your applications to. Not getting opportunities or callbacks to attend an interview can really take its toll on job seekers; if you are currently in this situation you find that you are constantly checking your email box in hopes of getting feedback, you start to get frustrated after a while and even lose self-confidence.
Some job seekers consider this silence to be worse than, getting rejected after attending an interview because they can leverage that experience to improve on their deficiencies, have a better idea of what recruiters or hiring managers want, and can improve themselves better for the next opportunity. Although this form of rejection feels so brutal, you have to try to know why you aren’t hearing back from the people hiring at your dream job. Understanding why this is happening can prove to be very helpful and is a necessary step to potentially getting into a room with recruiters.
So, we shall be discussing 6 of the leading reasons why you haven’t been hearing back from recruitment managers and possible ways you could improve your chances.
- You Weren’t the Ideal Fit for The Job
If you are desperate to find a job you might find yourself indulging the habit of applying for just about any job available in your field of expertise but in most cases, even though you have the required skill set to land the job or at least to get called in for an interview, you just might not be the right type of person the employer is searching for. In some cases, they might be looking out for a person with certain character traits, or of a specified age range, or someone who has experience working at that role for x number of years.
Though you might think this reason is unfair, to say the least, you have to consider that these companies or organizations are in constant competition with and want to be better than their competition, so, it isn’t anything personal really and your efforts and energy are probably best utilized into finding something or a job you are a better fit for.
What Can You Do?
The best way to find out if you are what the employer is looking for is to carefully scrutinize the job ad and job description, sometimes the requirements are clearly stated other times you would have to carefully look through to discover what they might want. Basically, you have to take the process seriously and carefully read through the job description before applying for any job.
- The Recruiter is Overwhelmed with Too Many Applications for The Job
According to Glassdoor, in 2013 corporate jobs attracted an average of 250 resumes from interested applicants and only 4-6 get an interview, the bigger job opportunities definitely attracts more. While some companies outsource their recruitment process to firms that specialize in handling the task, some companies have just one person or possibly not enough people looking through the many applications sent in, it is even worse if it is a big company and the job benefits are very attractive. In cases like these, a lot of applications don’t actually get looked at and therefore fall through the cracks, so, even though you are more than qualified for the job you probably won’t get any response if luck isn’t on your side.
What Can You Do?
While this seems like a hopeless situation, you can make your own luck and improve your chances by following up on your job application and reach out to the hiring manager to confirm if they had gotten your application, and even restate your qualification and availability to attend an interview. If the job description or ad doesn’t include the official contact details, you can research the company online to find out who they are and reach out to the person in charge of recruitments; most times their contact email address is provided on the company’s webpage.
- You Don’t Have the Required Skill Sets for The Job
Just like with the first reason we have discussed while applying to just any job vacancies might seem like the right approach, you might potentially not be getting a callback or email response because you are applying to jobs that are attractive but you don’t have the right skill sets or experience for because according to another statistic found on the Glassdoor website, 72% of CEOs are concerned about the availability of certain skill sets. Again, it is important to understand that employers only want people with the best skill sets and experience to handle the job and aren’t just going to bring in just about anyone to fill the position just for the heck of it. For instance, if you are applying to a job that requires someone with a higher educational qualification than you currently or someone that has undertaken training and has more advanced certifications. If you don’t have these requirements, you will most likely not get that email invite for an interview.
What Can You Do?
If you have a dream job in mind, you should consider enrolling for courses or getting the best training and certification you might require to land you that job and not just the minimum but, at the moment while you don’t you should stay patient and only apply to jobs you are qualified for.
- Your Resume or Cover Letter Isn’t Right
You might be qualified for the jobs you are applying to but if your resume isn’t formatted right or optimized to fit the job description, you most likely will get passed on because according to a statistic found on topresume.com, 75% of resumes don’t get looked at by the recruiter because they are screened out by their automated applicant tracking system, which basically functions to sort out and ranks resumes sent in by applicants. Also, you should know that it is very competitive out there as a lot of job seekers are constantly improving on their cover letters to sell them better to hiring managers, so if yours don’t stand out you might not get interviewed.
What Can You Do?
When it comes to designing or tailoring your resume for a certain job opening, you can do this by taking note of keywords using these keywords to optimize your CV. Also, you can employ this tactic to improve your cover letter to catch the attention of the recruiter. Another great idea is to hire the services of resume experts or take advantage of resources available online to improve your resume and of course your chances.
- You Are Being Too Much of an Eager Beaver
While it is advisable to follow up on your job applications so as to improve your chances of being noticed, being over-eager and berating the recruiter with too many emails, calls, or even visiting the company just applying for the job can reduce your chances of getting called in for that interview especially if the recruiter doesn’t consider your persistence as a trait they admire. In this case, being aggressive about what you want isn’t exactly the right choice.
What Can You Do?
The general rule of thumb here is to wait a week or two before reaching out or waiting out the stipulated period application window. When you do follow up thick less quantity and more quality.
- The Position Has Been Filed
Sometimes when you do apply for a job, you most probably haven’t sent in your application on time or the recruiter had already found what they are looking for in an earlier scheduled interview.
What Can You Do?
While it isn’t a bad idea to put in an application for a job posting that has been out there a while ago if the opportunity seems like something you would like, you should stay patient and get yourself ready for other opportunities that will surely come up. A statistic available on Jobvite 2017 Recruiting Funnel Benchmark Report shows that only 1 out of 6 job applicants actually were invited for an interview by the recruiter, so know that you’re not alone, improve yourself, your resume, and other resources that you might need to get the job you want, and stay patient as you hope to get the chance to impress at your first job interview.
