Why Your Job Application Isn't Getting You Interviews (5 Steps to Make It Awesome)
Your resume has been polished, perfected, reviewed by peers, managers and even people working in HR. It is perfect. Every word on the page is strategic and has been painstakingly reviewed and each sentence is just right. What’s more, your cover letter is a text book example of communication clarity: it's concise and lets some all-star personality shine through.
So why aren’t you getting any calls for interviews? You’ve applied to 20, 50, 100+ job postings and haven’t gotten any traction. Not even an email with regrets... What’s the deal?!
This can be crazy frustrating and induce feelings of shame and not being good enough. I know, I've been there.
It’s not you, it’s your application
If you’re using the same resume and cover letter for all your applications, your chances of getting an interview are slim. If you’re reading this and smugly thinking that this doesn’t apply to you because you “tweak” your application by changing the company name, incorporating the target company values, and changing things around in your resume’s “summary” section, I’m talking to YOU.
As desperation for a job starts to set in, and the silence of responses becomes deafening, the quality of your application packages has probably gotten worse (i.e. less individualized) and the volume of applications starts to go up. Let’s face it, you’ll take ANYTHING at this point!
STOP. You’re doing it wrong.
Focus your effort on a few, high-quality applications
You need to focus your effort on a few, high-quality applications. The strategy is to spend more time on tailoring your application package and less time filling out the annoying online job posting boxes. Here’s a step-by-step approach to use in your next application.
WARNING: This takes time. This project took me ~6hrs over the course of a week to craft a single application. The first one is time intensive, but it will get easier and easier as you go and develop a process.
Step 1 – Examples
Draft an example or response to every single job requirement, skill requirement or previous experience requirement from the job posting. This draft can be super rough. Don’t waste your time crafting the perfect wording, just get the examples down.
Step 2 - Themes
What are the personal characteristics that tie everything together?
Look through all your examples for 3-4 themes that can pull things together. The themes will become obvious once you draft your examples and read through them a couple times. What are the personal characteristics that tie everything together? Knowing this will help you tailor your communication to the hiring managers needs.
Step 3 – Cover Letter
Use the 3-4 themes you identified as the framework of your cover letter and include 3-4 matching examples based on the themes. Check out my video post on writing cover letters.
Congratulations! You have just gotten into the hiring manager’s head and are now speaking directly to their high-level needs in your cover letter. They will be thinking “WOW, this person has exactly what we are looking for”!
Step 4 - Resume
Use the remaining examples from the first step, especially examples that are further removed from your cover letter themes, to complete the summaries for your past experiences. Your resume is going to fill in any gaps that your cover letter themes may not be able to cover.
DO NOT repeat any examples from your cover letter on your resume. Duplication is a waste of space and time. Hiring managers won’t bother reading the same thing twice.
Your experience summaries should not be job descriptions
Your experience summaries should not be job descriptions. People reviewing your application package know there is more to your job then the 4 bullet points you include. Use the resume to summarize key achievements that are relevant to the job you are applying for.
Check out this enhancv blog post for a really clean way to summarize your achievements on a single page.
Step 5 – Peer Review
Have a couple people you trust to be honest (I mean brutally honest) review the job description and your application package. Take their suggestions into consideration. Repeat as necessary.
All done! You now have a targeted application package that is relevant for exactly 1 job application. As you spend time drafting additional application packages, you will quickly develop a “bank” of achievements, examples, and skills that you can use on future applications. Think of each application as being a modular design, and stay open minded to move things around.
BE CAREFUL. You may be extraordinarily proud of a huge accomplishment you had in the past, but don’t be afraid to leave that out of an application if that accomplishment is not relevant. The more experience you have (different jobs, roles, volunteering positions etc.) the more important it is to chop things out. Being actively involved in different initiatives is supe rhelpful to develop skillset and have clear examples to provide on your application pac (here's a video on why you should get involved and participate in activities beyond work and school)
You are not defined by your resume and application
Remember, you are not defined by your resume and application. These are just the things you want to HIGHLIGHT to get an interview and show how you are going to fit into the culture.
Feel free to reach out to me with a LinkedIn message or email if you want some general coaching or help with your application. I’m always down to help where I can!