Hello everyone.
Thanks for following up.
This is my third episode - meaning you may need to read up the earlier posts to get yourself on track as par the ongoing discussion.
We have been talking about improving your CV to have a greater chance in the sight of these sophisticated recruiters.
Please note that I’m not arguing about your CV being the sole reason for your not being able to secure an interview all the while. Mind my words. I mean ‘secure an interview’ not ‘job’.
This is because securing an interview precedes securing a job in the corporate sense.
Remember, you have to scale through the three hurdles below to get that dream job;
Phase 1: Resume/CV screening
Phase 2: Aptitude test
Phase 3: Oral interview
For each phase, an ideal firm should keep updating you as you scale through the ladder. For instance, if your CV impresses an employer, they should send you a success message that should also invite you for an aptitude test. The same is done when you scale through the aptitude test, the interview phase until you receive your appointment letter.
So you can now begin to ponder how possible it would then be for you to secure a job when you haven’t ever survived the CV screening phase. So how then would you make the shortlist for an interview? In short, how would you get picked for the job?
Fine, I know scaling through phase 2 and 3 won’t be a big deal for most of you. But getting there is the issue we are up to address with these posts. I know you finished with a very good grade from one of the most respected institutions in the land. Some of you even have more than half a decade of experience in your field of expertise. Others have the age advantage still working for you.
…BUT the question you have continually ask yourself for like two years going now is “why then have I never ever made the shortlist for an interview”?
Well, One of the best way to answer your ‘why’ question is to see these statistics made available to us by some researchers about applicants and their CVs. Mere looking at their work, you might be pushed to kill yourself for ignorantly giving in to silly little mistakes which have remained contributors to your sleepless night of awaiting a phone call from no one.
Well, it’s nothing to be ashamed of; we have all been guilty of some of these at some point.
Be clear and concise
Firstly, make sure you are being clear and concise because nearly half of all CV’s that are more than two pages long are discarded.
On average, recruiters will spend no more than 5-10 seconds looking at your CV, which is why it is imperative that you have all the keywords that they are looking for i.e. include the words that are in their job description.
Exude professionalism
Your style and the tone of writing can be another BIG factor for why you aren’t getting any job interviews. 43% of CV’s are discarded because they are written in the third person and if there are any spelling or grammatical mistakes, it is very likely that your CV will get thrown away.
In addition to the style and tone of your CV, ensure that everything linked to your job application is professional because 76% of CV’s are ignored if you have an unprofessional email address. Do you even have a LinkedIn account?
Be aware of your competition
Did you know that for any given position there is an average of 118 people that apply for the position? Shockingly only around 35% of candidates who apply for jobs are actually qualified for the role. Make sure you are applying for jobs that are on your level; otherwise you are wasting everyone’s time.
Other revelations made are that;
1. Poorly a formatted resume that looks boring and like everyone else’ which makes you appear like a weak, uninteresting candidate.
2. Not being able to sell yourself, your experience and your skills in a compelling way making employers cut you out.
3. Sending the same CV to different employers without tailoring it to a specific job or industry.
4. Making typographical or grammatical errors on your CV that makes you look like a disorganized person (jeez!)
5. Not showing employers that you have the relevant skills they need for the job.
So you see, the fact that you spent hours writing your CV, doesn’t mean employers will spend more than 10 secs to read it. And even if you apply for many jobs, it doesn’t increase your chances of getting hired or even getting an interview from any of them.
I guess you know that already.
If you want to get more interviews and land your desired job fast, then you have to send “BETTER” applications.