Dear Mark,
I must have sent out at least 100 resumes so far, but I haven't gotten a single interview for a job yet. What am I doing wrong?
Danika Z., Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Dear Danika,
I get asked this question at least once a week by my readers. Each person has taken the trouble to put together a resume, scour the job advertisements, and respond by the dozens. But despite these efforts, there hasn't been a single invitation from an employer to interview for a position.
Why? There's a variety of reasons, however it usually comes down to this: employers in many industries and sectors still have the upper hand when hiring, meaning there tends to be more applicants than jobs available. Thus employers try to be selective about who they hire. Your resume is just one of many that they probably receive for each posting they advertise.
Here are some of the most common causes of not getting so much as a reply from employers you've applied to:
- Many employers don't even bother to acknowledge that your resume has been received (it's rude, and they risk offending you, but hey, that's what they do)
- They get overloaded with applications and maybe pick only the top 10 or 20 to contact for initial interviews
- Unless your resume matches very, very closely to what the employer is looking for, it is highly unlikely that you will be considered seriously for the position (except if there's something unique and appealing in your application that catches an employer's eye, or if they are hurting for better candidates than you)
- Many times job seekers send out “unsolicited” resumes to employers – that is, resumes you put out there despite the fact that no job is being advertised at a particular employer – and these mostly go into a slush pile or get expunged
- While your resume might actually be appealing in terms of content, any spelling or grammar errors could put you at risk of being eliminated from consideration
- After you applied to each position (or sent out a mass message to a whack of employers unsolicited), did you follow up with a phone call a few business days later? That extra step of contacting the employer to express your interest can be important, but getting to the decision makers can be difficult, so do your best
- You're too late: they've already hired someone yet no one bothers to tell you
- The so-called employer who'd posted the job advertisement is actually a recruiter or headhunter trying to populate their own database with potential applicants, so you might get contacted by the recruiter at some future point (or not at all by them)
I always ask readers who raise the “why no response to my resumes?” issue the following question: what percentage of your job search time is devoted to networking into the hidden job market, where the vast majority of employment is found, in addition to responding to published job openings? Not surprisingly, a lot of job seekers spend the bulk of their time sending out resumes, hoping it'll do the trick.
No doubt applying to posted jobs on sites such as Workopolis and others is a necessary and productive aspect of job hunting. Nevertheless, you have to make sure your resume is error-free and targeted to the specific type of job you're applying for; you should try to follow-up with a phone call to reinforce your interest in the position; and networking into the hidden job market should be the main way you look for employment. With persistence you will increase your chances of securing a job substantially.
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http://www.careeractivist.com/Mark Swartz, MBA, M.Ed., is
Canada's Career Activist. His insights reach millions as the Workopolis Career Advisor, as author of the best seller "Get Wired, You're Hired!," and as a professional speaker and coach on career/work issues. A former Toronto Star careers columnist, Mark's advice is forthright and practical. For many more free articles, and for personalized coaching, please visit Mark's site at
www.careeractivist.com.