Not Getting Interviews? This Might Be Why.

I’ve previously written a few pieces about why your applications might not be landing you interviews. In them I talk about how important it is to tailor your materials, and specific formatting issues that might be getting in the way of you getting the consideration you deserve. (Here’s one, and the other.) In both pieces I touched on one of the challenges I see frequently and is worth diving deeper into: the sensibility and hook for your candidacy. 

Years ago in graduate school, one professor shared a tidbit of wisdom which over the 6+ years I’ve coached job seekers has been incredibly powerful (thanks NYU Prof. Schachter!): When employers are sifting through resumes, they’re trying to find potential candidates that, 1) can do the job, 2) will do the job, and 3) will fit it. 

Can this person do the job? 

The first question recruiters ask themselves is about understanding if there’s alignment and fit between the tasks the candidate would be responsible for and their past experiences, skills, and talents.

For example, if you’re applying for a marketing job, they want to know if you have experience in marketing. If the job description responsibilities include SEO marketing, social media, and Facebook ads, they want to know that you have experience in these areas. 

So, if you’ve been in research and are now looking to be in strategy-focused roles, you need to talk about your research work in a way that emphasizes the strategic, creative and/or analytical pieces. You’ve got to connect the day-to-day tasks you do to the ones in the job description to show you can do the job. 

Will this person do the job?

The second question is about whether the job makes sense for the candidate. Hiring managers want to understand why you applied for this job, in this particular organization. Are you going to want to get up everyday and do this job? Does it make sense - given all of the stuff that you’ve done in the past - that you’re now applying for this role?

For example, if you’ve been in healthcare for your entire career and are now interested in a social media company, why does that make sense? How will the recruiter know that their mission resonates with you and you have a connection to it?

This is why employers ask the question ‘where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?’ They don’t expect you to have a whole perfect career plan mapped out, but they want to understand that it would make logical sense for you to be at this job because of what you're trying to do longer-term and your interests. 

They want to make sure that if they’re hiring for a marketing role that they pick the candidate who truly loves marketing and wants to continue doing corporate marketing rather than someone who says they hope to one day become an interior designer, or a wellness coach (or something else unrelated). They want to know the reason you applied for a role at Amazon isn’t just because you think they pay well and are a top company, but because something about their mission connects to you and you’re energized by it. 

Make sure your materials show that the company’s mission makes sense for you and excites you for more than just the name brand recognition it brings to your resume. And if you can’t, that’s probably why you’re not getting those jobs. 

Will this person fit in?

This third question is about the chemistry, values, and workplace culture that you and the organization and/or team share. 

You should never try and pretend to be a different person than you are – own your own experiences, values, and personality. If a role is truly a good fit for you and the employer, you’ll share the same values and you’ll sense a positive rapport forming.

So, when you're thinking through your applications - resume, cover letter and eventually interviews - you want to hit all of these three pieces.

Think about the application process: In general, the resume is what confirms you can do the job -- it speaks to your skills, past experiences and accomplishments. Your cover letter reiterates that and starts to speak to your hook - why you’re excited about this work and role, and why it’s a fit for where you want to go.

And then your interview is a chance to really hammer home that you can do the job, really confirms that this makes sense for you, (and that you're excited about their organization and this role), and then builds on the third piece - the culture fit. Over the course of a few interviews, both you and the employer start to get a sense as to whether or not you're the right fit for the team.

So… back to why you might not be getting responses to your applications:

Are the jobs and places you’re applying for a good match in terms of your experience, interests and fit?

Will someone be able to clearly see why you’ve applied and what your hook is?

If you’ve spent your whole career in nonprofit fundraising, and now you’d like to do HR work at a tech company, how can your application show that you can do the job, will do the job, and will fit in? 

In many cases, it may just be too big of a shift to make in one job change. If you’re still set on making that big of a change, networking is likely going to be what makes or breaks your ability to get your application seen and your story heard. 

Sometimes this framework can be discouraging to folks who realize the big pivot they’d like to make may be really difficult - or that they’ll have to make two small pivots in order to get to something much different. 

But other times I’ve seen it really help folks strategically narrow their focus to types of roles and organizations that will make sense to those reading their applications. This means they’re spending less time overall writing resumes and cover letters because they’re sending out fewer, better quality applications that have a higher likelihood of converting to interviews and job offers. And that’s what we all want in our job search, right?!