5 More Reasons Your Resume Didnt Get You an Interview

5 More Reasons Your Resume Didnt Get You an Interview ShareShare1 I pointed out five ways your resume can fall into that mysterious black hole in the HR department. Here are five more ways your resume can crash. Dont let it happen! Maybe you never heard back because your resume wasnt ATS-friendly. Many common types of formatting can cause your resume to be misread by applicant tracking systems, including: putting crucial information in headers and footers (which are ignored by the ATS), using a Word template, sending a PDF rather than a Word document (and .doc is still generally safer than .docx, by the way), putting a credential after your name, or using a functional format where job titles and companies are not immediately followed by descriptive content. Or maybe it didnt have the right key words. Both for the ATS and the human eye, its crucial to have the right keywords in your resume, especially in the job titles and descriptions. How do you know what they right keywords are? Look at the posting. Tip: The #1 most important keyword is often the job title, so if your company has given you a vague title like Analyst II but youre applying for Data Analyst, write it like this: Analyst II (Data Analyst). it didnt fit the job. Its usually not worth your time to apply online to jobs for which you dont have at least 9/10 of the stated requirements, unless you have a connection. you dont fit the mold. This one is painful to hear, I know. Even if you have all the qualifications, if your job history is unconventional youre likely to be passed over. For example, if your most recent job isnt similar to the job youre applying for, or youre applying at a large company when your experience is at small ones, or youre self-employed (however successfully), employers may have a hard time imagining you in the role, and may simply move on to the next candidate. you didnt have a connection (your job search strategy needs an overhaul). Any job seeker with a referral has a major advantage. In fact, all of the issues listed above can cease to be show-stoppers when you have a referral. This is why experts recommend that you spend most of your job search time cultivating referrals at the top 40 or 50 companies where youd like to work. For tips on how to do this, read my post How to Use Info Interviews to Get Hired Faster. Your resume doesnt have to fall into a black hole. You can transform your job search practices to adapt to the realities of what works. If that feels like a huge challenge, dont go it alone work with a coach to plan and execute a cutting-edge search that gets your qualifications taken seriously. 5 More Reasons Your Resume Didnt Get You an Interview ShareShare1 I pointed out five ways your resume can fall into that mysterious black hole in the HR department. Here are five more ways your resume can crash. Dont let it happen! Maybe you never heard back because your resume wasnt ATS-friendly. Many common types of formatting can cause your resume to be misread by applicant tracking systems, including: putting crucial information in headers and footers (which are ignored by the ATS), using a Word template, sending a PDF rather than a Word document (and .doc is still generally safer than .docx, by the way), putting a credential after your name, or using a functional format where job titles and companies are not immediately followed by descriptive content. Or maybe it didnt have the right key words. Both for the ATS and the human eye, its crucial to have the right keywords in your resume, especially in the job titles and descriptions. How do you know what they right keywords are? Look at the posting. Tip: The #1 most important keyword is often the job title, so if your company has given you a vague title like Analyst II but youre applying for Data Analyst, write it like this: Analyst II (Data Analyst). it didnt fit the job. Its usually not worth your time to apply online to jobs for which you dont have at least 9/10 of the stated requirements, unless you have a connection. you dont fit the mold. This one is painful to hear, I know. Even if you have all the qualifications, if your job history is unconventional youre likely to be passed over. For example, if your most recent job isnt similar to the job youre applying for, or youre applying at a large company when your experience is at small ones, or youre self-employed (however successfully), employers may have a hard time imagining you in the role, and may simply move on to the next candidate. you didnt have a connection (your job search strategy needs an overhaul). Any job seeker with a referral has a major advantage. In fact, all of the issues listed above can cease to be show-stoppers when you have a referral. This is why experts recommend that you spend most of your job search time cultivating referrals at the top 40 or 50 companies where youd like to work. For tips on how to do this, read my post How to Use Info Interviews to Get Hired Faster. Your resume doesnt have to fall into a black hole. You can transform your job search practices to adapt to the realities of what works. If that feels like a huge challenge, dont go it alone work with a coach to plan and execute a cutting-edge search that gets your qualifications taken seriously.