Four Mistakes That Prevent Us From Getting More Job Interviews
Many aspiring professionals have a strong set of skill and they could work well in many roles, such as analysis, research, budgeting human resources, project management and others. However, their applications don’t seem to lead to enough interviews. So, what are these people doing wrong?
1. We rely too much on our resume:
There could be a possibility that our resume doesn’t really support the kind of job we are applying. Many people use a single generic resume when they apply to many different companies. It is a good idea to spend some time to modify our resume, so it will better match the position that we are applying. Also, instead of relying too much on resume, it should be better to network actively. By networking, we could get fresh information on specific job openings. Many job opportunities are not published in newspapers, so it would be a lot better if we have an access to the hidden job market.
2. We network improperly:
It is a good thing if we finally decide to do networking, but we still need to do this properly. Many people give a laundry list of things that they done and demand their network for information of where they could fit. This is probably a lot to ask. Instead, we should know precisely the kind of roles we are targeting. We should be able to highlight our background and explains people about the specifics of our skills. Someone from law school may think that it is obvious that his/her skill translate to a legal-related position. However, we should be able to identify these roles ourselves; because the job market may not really require our set of skills. Without doing the proper ground work, we would be like an outsider who doesn’t really understand the new area. Obviously, no employer would likely choose someone who barely knows where they could fit in the industry and how they can properly contribute. The latest condition in the industry could be different than the ideal settings taught by lecturers in the university. The market could be shifting towards new trends. In this case, we may need to learn some extra skills.
3. We expect to get everything from our current network:
There are situations where our network simply can’t provide us with enough insider knowledge. In this case, we shouldn’t expect to get detailed job opportunity information of our dream companies at all times. Although we need to network to gain more information on many things, some areas could still be inaccessible. An obvious solution would be to expand our network. Our old network could be consisted of old employees in the industry, many of them could have moved to other companies or changed their careers in a new industry. So, without refreshing our network, it is possible that our network would eventually lose its capability to provide us with fresh, new information. At first, we could choose social media to establish a new network in our preferred industry.
4. We choose the wrong scope and responsibility:
OK, so we have modified our resumes and expanded our network. We also better understand the new trends in the industry and can choose roles that could allow us make significant contributions. Unfortunately, there is another pitfall where we tend to choose a role that’s too big in terms of responsibility and scope. Professionals typically move to other companies expecting to get higher positions and better salary. They may have managed multiple projects in previous companies and they feel matched with any operational requirement in the new company. However, there’s a possibility that they are comparing oranges to apples.
How To Ace a Job Interview? Applying for a new job may require multiple refinements and small steps along the way. There is a bigger opportunity for us to get the job interviews we want, if we make proper adjustments.