When you are job hunting, it can be disheartening if you don’t hear back from employers. But gaining an interview can be a challenge. At Careerwise, we are experts in helping our clients progress through their job search, gain interviews, and ultimately achieve their career goals. Here is our guide explaining what to do if you are not getting interviews.
Tailor Your CV
Although applying for jobs is time consuming, it is worth the extra effort to tailor your CV each and every time you send it out. A CV that has been put together specifically for a certain position stands a much better chance of showing you off as a must-interview candidate. Each job is unique. If it is the right job for you, you will likely be able to draw on past experience to show why you are so suitable. Address the specific requirements that are listed on the job advert – how can you use your CV to show that you can cover each and every need of this specific role?
Create A Stand Out Covering Letter
Likewise, many candidates send a formulaic covering letter with their applications. But a little research should allow you to personalise your letter. Make sure you are selling your accomplishments, rather than just expressing what you’d like in a job. Highlight what you have to offer the company, in addition to the concrete achievements you will have listed on your CV.
Edit Your Application
Even if you now feel you have written an excellent tailored CV and covering letter, it is worth taking a little extra time to go back and edit your application. You might have written very persuasively about what you can bring to the role, but if your writing is littered with spelling errors and typos, you will immediately be dismissed from the “to interview” pile. This isn’t just a reflection on your linguistic skills; to a prospective employer it will seem like laziness and lack of attention to detail. Taking that extra amount of care can be the difference between getting in the room for the interview or not.
Get The Length And Design Right
Another problem with many applications is that they are too long. Your CV should be your highlights reel; you need to make it easy for employers to skim over and still get a strong sense of who you are and why you’d be perfect for their advertised role. You don’t need to include everything you’ve ever done – just keep to the jobs you’ve had that have given you relevant experience. Likewise, a strong and clear design is more important than you might think. Make sure your CV is visually appealing and easy to read by leaving plenty of white space on the page; using a clear, simple font; and breaking down your information into digestible sections.
Network, Network, Network
In a busy job market, it’s important to be forward thinking when you are searching for your next role. Don’t sit around waiting for the perfect job to appear. Who do you already know who works within a similar role – could you ask them for tips or mentoring? Or do you know anyone working at the company you’d love to work for? Perhaps you could invite them for a coffee and ask if they know of any work that is likely to come up soon. Networking sites such as LinkedIn offer the chance to create links with other professionals in your field. If you’ve already invested in these relationships, they are much more likely to interview you when you apply for the role they are advertising.
Be The First To Know
Staying ahead of the game can also be achieved by signing up to job search websites. You can choose the types of role you are interested in, and receive alerts when something relevant is advertised. This can be a way to get ahead of the rest and ensure your application is top of the pile, making it much more likely that you will be called for an interview.
CareerWise is Ireland’s leading specialist recruitment agency, based in Cork, Shannon, Galway, Mayo and Dublin – bringing together employers with the perfect employees. We specialise in the Engineering, Supply Chain, Science/Pharma, IT and Accounting industries in Ireland, and we look forward to working with you. Contact us online now or call us on +353 (0)21 206 1900 to arrange a consultation.
Mike Morrissey has extensive knowledge of production, quality and engineering, having worked for Dell, Creative Labs and Tyco Safety Products /Sensormatic.
His expansive operational experience is grounded with training as a Six Sigma Black Belt.
As a lead auditor, he is very familiar with compliance and quality standards and has project managed the implementation of the environmental standard ISO14001. He has successfully utilised his project management and team leading skills in implementing numerous cost-saving and process improvement projects.
Since joining CareerWise Recruitment, Mike has graduated with a Diploma in Personnel Management from UCC and is a Chartered member of the CIPD.
|
Stay up to date with the latest jobs entered onto our system, emailed to your inbox.
CareerWise Recruitment. EastGate Village, EastGate, Little Island, Cork.
Phone: +353 (0) 21 206 1900
Email: info@careerwise.ie
