{"id":372146,"date":"2020-02-09T13:30:24","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T11:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=372146"},"modified":"2020-02-07T15:15:16","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T13:15:16","slug":"top-5-reasons-why-you-never-hear-back-when-you-apply-for-a-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/372146\/top-5-reasons-why-you-never-hear-back-when-you-apply-for-a-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 reasons why you never hear back when you apply for a job"},"content":{"rendered":"

People often wonder why they never hear anything back after they hit \u2018send\u2019 on the email with a resume attached or on the on-line job application, notes recruitment specialist Glassdoor.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re very lucky, you might have a preliminary email exchange with a recruiter and then never hear from them again. It\u2019s a depressing experience and one which also casts a shadow on the hiring company\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n

So why does it happen? Is it you, is it them, or is it just something every candidate must prepare for in the hiring process?<\/p>\n

An oft-cited recruiter\u2019s complaint, according to Glassdoor<\/a>, is that as many as 50% of people applying for a given job simply aren\u2019t qualified.<\/p>\n

Adding to the challenge, most large companies \u2013 and many smaller ones \u2013 use talent-management software to screen resumes, weeding out up to 50 percent of applicants before a human even looks at a resume or cover letter. The deck is definitely stacked against the job seeker. So how do you breakthrough?<\/p>\n

Meghan M. Biro at Glassdoor provides her top 5 reasons why you\u2019re not hearing back after applying for a job, with five suggestions for ways to avoid the resume black hole.<\/p>\n

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1. You really aren\u2019t qualified<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If a job description specifies a software developer with 3-5 years of experience and you\u2019re a recent graduate with one internship, it\u2019s unlikely you\u2019ll get a call. Avoid disappointment \u2013 don\u2019t apply for jobs for which you lack qualifications. Most job descriptions are written with very specific requirements.<\/p>\n

Yes, the company is trying to find the most qualified candidate; yes, they are trying to weed people out. It\u2019s not personal, it\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

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2. You haven\u2019t keyword-optimised your resume or application<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Job descriptions are salted with keywords specific to the skills or attributes the company seeks in applicants. A close read of the job description is a necessity, as is keyword-optimizing your resume and cover letter, if you\u2019re using one, or email.<\/p>\n

If the job description lists words in a certain order, e.g. a list of programming languages required, use the same order in your resume.<\/p>\n

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3. Your resume isn\u2019t formatted properly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might think distinctive formatting will set your resume apart, but automated programs don\u2019t care if a document is pretty. Help a machine out. Be consistent in formatting \u2013 consider using separate lines for former employer, job title, and years worked.<\/p>\n

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4. Your resume is substantially different from your online profile.<\/strong><\/p>\n

LinkedIn, Dice and other online profile sites can be useful tools, so it\u2018s important to make sure they match what\u2019s on your resume. This may seem to be a contradiction \u2013 in #1 I advised keyword optimization \u2013 but it\u2019s really common sense. Jobs worked, employers, years on the job and other details should match. The subtext here is always tell the truth.<\/p>\n

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5. The company received 500 resumes for one job posting, and yours was 499th in.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking for a job is a job.\u00a0 Do your research \u2013 know which companies you want to work for, organisations where you sense culture fit. Every morning scour the job postings and jump on anything for which you\u2019re qualified (and in which you\u2019re interested).<\/p>\n

Being early with your resume or application does matter. Check back often in the first few days to make sure the listing hasn\u2019t changed. Often a company will post a job and halfway through the process change the description.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to game the system. Your best bet is still a personal referral, and even that may not be enough to get a call. A guy I know gave his resume to a woman who worked at a company where a good job had been posted.<\/p>\n

He received an automated email noting his resume had been received but never heard another word. After a month he asked his friend to check with the recruiter. It turned out the job description had changed, but the recruiter never bothered to let the referring employee \u2013 or the applicant \u2013 know. This isn\u2019t unusual, unfortunately. So what can you do?<\/p>\n

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How You Can Get Noticed:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Research interesting companies on social media. Find out who the recruiters are and follow them. Many will tweet new postings, so watch their streams and jump on anything for which you are qualified. And if they tweet news saying the company\u2019s had a great quarter, retweet the news with a positive comment.<\/p>\n

2. Consider starting a blog in your area of interest or expertise. It\u2019s a social world; time to build a trail of breadcrumbs leading to you. Include the blog, and links to any especially relevant posts, in your emails to recruiters with whom you\u2019re working.<\/p>\n

3. Get professional help with your resume. Either a resume writer or an SEO expert can help you increase your odds of getting through the talent management software. If you can\u2019t afford this step, read the top career blogs for advice.<\/p>\n

4. If at all possible, don\u2019t wait until you\u2019re out of work to find your next job. I realize for many people this isn\u2019t possible or might even be offensive, but your chances of finding the next job are best when you\u2019re still employed.<\/p>\n

5. Network. Old advice, but still true. Be visible, be upbeat, be informed about industry trends and news in your area of expertise.<\/p>\n

Finding a job is tough, no question. I\u2019ve talked to other recruiters who say they only respond to 30 percent of applicants. The odds are good you\u2019ll be in the 60+ percent who hears nothing a lot of the time. Don\u2019t take it personally \u2013 it\u2019s not a rejection of you, it\u2019s a reflection of the times. If you don\u2019t hear back, know you\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

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Read: 15 job interview questions you should be prepared to answer<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People often wonder why they never hear anything back after they hit \u2018send\u2019 on the email with a resume attached or on the on-line job application, notes recruitment specialist Glassdoor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":372160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-372146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372146"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":372190,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372146\/revisions\/372190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}