Never called for interviews... why?
It is sometimes easy to identify why your application does not lead to any interview. For example, if your cover letter has not been revised since 1996 and you address it to a certain Mr. Pantin, while the recipient's real name is Mr. Mantin, the latter will then return your application file with a highlighter on the typo, and everything will become clear.
But most of the time, the reasons for not being called for a first interview remain more difficult to identify. If the symptom is recurrent and persists, a real diagnosis is necessary to hope to find the causes, and of course, the antidote.
Your CV and cover letter.
Your CV or cover letter is probably not full of errors, but know that only one can be enough to remove you from the list of successful applications.
Is your grammar perfect? Congratulations! But will that be enough if the layout of your CV, the tone or the way you present your approach in your cover letter are not 'salesy'? Be concise, factual, sober (but not dull) and above all, highlight examples of success, both in terms of your operational results and your 'intangible' skills, such as your versatility, your reactivity...
Finally, you probably know this, but we will never repeat it enough: adapt your CV and cover letter to each position you apply for. Employers are experienced, and can tell the difference in a flash between candidates who spent five minutes on their application, and those who took the time and made the effort to refine it. Needless to say, they strongly prefer the latter...
The jobs you apply for.
Don't waste your time applying for jobs that are too big for your profile. If you don't (yet) have the necessary skills, experience or credibility to do a given job, your chances of being called are too slim to make it worth your while to invest time in it. For example, if you are 22 years old and have just finished your journalism school, you can be 99.99% sure that you will never be called for an interview for the position of publication director of the local newspaper. Instead of wasting time applying for these jobs, spend your time sharing your vision of the news in your field or your analysis of the evolution of its practices in a blog, for example. Participate in hubs dedicated to your profession on professional social platforms.
If you are diligent and relevant, in a few months you will be identified as an expert in your field, and professional opportunities will probably come to you before you have to solicit them.
How you apply.
Multiply the channels for obtaining job offers! And don't only use those that will force you to compete with hundreds, or even thousands of candidates. Even if you were the ideal candidate for the position, it is highly likely that fifty others are too, and the recruiter will not interview 50 people... Visit job fairs, whether real or virtual, and leave your CV with the recruiters you talk to. Even if they are not looking for candidates with your profile at that time, they will contact you more easily when the time comes.
And remember that it may not be your fault!
Finally, cheer yourself up by telling yourself that the reasons why recruiters don't call you for an interview don't always depend on you! Recruiters sometimes change their minds and decide, for various reasons, to put recruitment 'on hold' after posting a job offer. Sometimes, the chosen candidate will be identified internally, and no one will ever have looked at the piles of CVs received. Finally, some companies publish job offers only to cover themselves from a legal point of view, because their statutes oblige them to, while they have known for a long time the name of the person who will ultimately take the position. Thus, more often than you might think, the fact that your application does not lead to any interview will not be your fault, and will not mean that you are less good than someone else.
Posted on March 11, 2011
