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It would seem that you are doing everything right: you read the job description and understand that you meet all the requirements. Take the time to brush up your resume and think carefully about what to write in your cover letter. You submit your application knowing that you are the perfect candidate for the position, but… nothing happens. Why and what to do about it?
1. You don’t sell yourself well enough.
This means that you do not talk about your successes and achievements in your cover letter, not wanting to seem like a braggart.
It may quite rightly seem to you that you have achieved everything you have achieved not alone, but with the team (or even solely thanks to it). Or maybe you even think that you are “just lucky” in some way, but the truth is that as a result, someone else is invited to the interview – more courageous and self-confident.
You simply do not let the recruiter know that you are really suitable for this job, that you have enough experience and competencies. How to be? Look at the situation from a different angle and understand that the more you tell about yourself, the more you will help the HR specialist understand that you should be invited for an interview.
2. You use jargon on your resume
Alas, this is a fairly common mistake even among real professionals, especially for those who feel that they have “stayed too long” in one place – in one corporation or industry.
Jargon here refers to any words and terms that may not be understood by people outside your company or industry. Let’s say you work in the finance department of a pharmaceutical company, but you would like to get a similar position in an IT company.
If your resume is littered with terms that only pharmacists understand, a recruiter at a tech company you’re interested in may find your experience completely irrelevant, even if it really isn’t.
Instead of throwing in professional terms, try to analyze how your achievements at your current job will help you cope with the responsibilities in a new company and how best to convey this to the HR specialist without forcing him to decipher your resume and cover letter with a dictionary.
3. You are “lost in the crowd”
Even if you avoided the first two mistakes, there is still a risk that your application for a vacancy will disappear into a “black hole” – simply because there may be dozens, if not hundreds of candidates applying for the same position. Therefore, your task is to stand out, to make sure that they pay attention to you.
How to achieve this? At a minimum, do not limit yourself to just one response to a vacancy on a job search site. Take the time to find the recruiter’s contacts on the company’s website and send him or her an email. Try to strike up a conversation and establish contact – at least as much as possible in correspondence.
In short, instead of doubting yourself, your skills and experience again and again, think about whether you are approaching the job search process and responding to interesting vacancies in the right way.
Approaching a position is not even half the battle, but only the first step towards getting it. But by following the tips above, you will significantly increase your chances of success.