1. Your resume is not ATS-optimized
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which are artificial intelligence systems used to decipher if an applicant is qualified or not, are used by 95% of Fortune 500 companies, according to CNBC. If your resume lacks the proper formatting, keywords, education, titles, etc., ATS will consider you as an unqualified candidate and discard your resume before a hiring manager even sees it.
Unfortunately, you could be the perfect candidate, but if your resume can’t pass ATS, it is more than likely that you will not be called back for an interview. For more on ATS and how to beat it, you can check out our article here.
2. You’re either over or underqualified
If you’re applying for a position that is far greater than your current role, you may lack adequate experience. There’s nothing wrong with that fact; however, hiring managers may be reluctant to take a chance on someone who has not yet proven their capabilities.
If this is the case for you, setting SMART goals is a great way to make yourself more qualified, and you should even consider acquiring some certifications to boost your professional experience and capabilities.
Now you may be thinking, why would being overqualified for a role keep you out of the running? Believe it or not, this happens a lot more than you may think! Oftentimes, applying for a job you are overqualified for may cause the hiring manager to assume you are applying for a temporary position when they have to fill a long-term need.
While we all know what happens when you assume, it won’t stop hiring managers from looking more seriously into candidates whose resume and experiences align more closely with the listed job.
3. There’s a hiring freeze
A hiring freeze refers to when a company suddenly stops hiring new employees that are not considered essential. Unfortunately, companies won’t typically announce that they are in a hiring freeze, so it is important to keep a close eye on the job market and how companies are doing financially as that is often a reason they may abruptly stop hiring.
If you’re interested in a specific company, follow its executives on social media like LinkedIn or schedule informational interviews. Doing so will help you stay informed on the company’s operations and what you need to do to receive a job interview. For more on hiring freezes, check out this article and this article.
4. Someone else already accepted the job
There are few things more irritating than applying to jobs that have already been filled but are still posted on job boards. Most companies receive hundreds of applications all the time, so they may not always be keeping up with their active job listings. While this may feel more out of your control, it actually isn’t.
Staying on top of job listings using sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, or even Glassdoor is a great way to be one of the first applicants that apply. The sooner you apply, the better. For more job boards, check out this article.
5. Your social media accounts are sending the wrong message
Social media is a great way to express yourself and connect with others; however, it can become a slippery slope for you in the job market if you aren’t tactful. It is often one of the methods hiring managers utilize when trying to get a sense of who you are prior to calling you in for an interview.
A great rule of thumb when interacting on social media is that if you wouldn’t show it to your grandmother, you probably shouldn’t post it. Another method is to create professional accounts that are public. Use these accounts to follow and interact with those in your industry versus doing so on your private accounts, which will make these public and professional accounts more visible to hiring managers and recruiters.
The interview is merely one aspect of the hiring process, but it certainly helps you get your foot in the door when job seeking. For more on how the hiring process works, check out our article here, and don’t forget to keep checking in for new articles every Tuesday and Thursday.
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