Why Am I NOT Getting Interviewed?!

What your file may look like in a
human resources management database.

by Megan Elliott, Social Media Developer

I know I’ve said this a million times when I’ve been on the desperate job hunt, and I probably will a million more times throughout my working lifetime. The job search is frustrating, it’s tiresome, and it is intensely hard to keep a positive outlook. The advice out there all seems to be the same, and unfortunately, you start just tuning out what other people are saying about what you should be doing.

What are you doing wrong, and how can you fix it?

It may not have anything to do with you. See, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so everyone has a different career path. Not everyone graduates from high school and goes straight to college – not everyone who goes to college from high school knows what they want to major in and takes four years to do it – not everyone has been able to start working in their field of choice right away.

I’ve mentioned screening software in earlier blog posts, but not gone into any sort of depth. Well, here’s why: I don’t agree with the use of it because, like this author, I think it is a limiting device for human resources to say “Well, we didn’t find anyone who matched our exact requirements, so we’re just not going to fill that open position this time around.” The software takes the terms that a human hasplugged into it and scans each application and resume for those specific terms. It doesn’t know that “communications specialist” as a job title has the same weight and similar responsibilities as “media specialist,” as I pull examples from my own resume, unless the human plugging terms in has specified them as valid terms for the software.

And the questionnaires! You have to answer the questions SPECIFICALLY according to the human who selected those questions wanted them answered or, again, your resume gets tossed into the virtual trash bin before anyone human can lay eyes on it. You have to be aware of the keywords that they’re searching for – combing the job description for clues to the specific ones they want to see.

All of this ends up being the bulk of your effort when filling out job applications, and is probably why networking is still your best chance of getting an offer of an interview. If you don’t use the precise keywords for your resume and/or cover letter and the questionnaire, you don’t get the call. A human with the knowlege of what you can do and the quiet endorsement of just making sure your resume gets into the appropriate hands makes the difference.

We can help with the keyword identification in the job description, but as one of my coworkers put it, “In other words, when the job description says ‘communications,’ you put communications down. When they say ‘media,’ you put media down.” Make sure you use the same words that they use, and you’ll be much better off.

What Do You Like To Do?

www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip

by Megan Elliott, Career Coach

The first step to applying for a job isn’t necessarily the cover letter or the resume, or even looking for jobs …It’s figuring out what it is that you would like to do!  This can be tricky and really hard to do on your own.  Luckily, there are many websites dedicated to helping narrow your career interests and find a good fit for you.

Many of our Ticket Holders have never been employed and others have not been able to work for a while.  At ERS, we use the O*Net Interest Profiler to help Ticket Holders find jobs they would like to do.  We want to help you find a job that makes you excited to go to work.

There are other, less involved ways to figure out what you like doing, like this list from CareerBuilder.com.  Career Builder’s list is based on personality types.  While the list doesn't explain the education requirements for a particular career, it does give you a brief description of each personality category and lists the average salary.

Our career coaches prefer using the O*Net profiler, because it lists your interests and what they mean.  Each interest is then broken down into categories like education and training, so you can see what you need in order to obtain that type of work.

These two examples are not supposed to be the end-all-be-all of your job search, because if you find something that you are really interested in, and you meet the qualifications of it, why not apply for the job?  You never know what might happen. 

As always, your Career Coaches are here to help you every step of the way.  Give us a call today!