Switching up your job seeking tactics

Many times, job applications go entirely unnoticed. A friend of mine recently tried something new because she realized she wasn’t getting any interview requests. Like most people, she would search through popular websites and apply for jobs straight away, always including a personalized cover letter and resume. Then she’d wait and “hope for the best.” And nothing happened. It was at this point that she started re-applying for the same positions. And guess what? She received a couple of invitations to interview.

This is not the first time I’ve heard of this happening. In this age of emailed applications and very little personal contact, it’s hard to figure out why the interview requests are not coming. Of course, this has a lot to do with the quality of your resume and cover letter, but sometimes it can also be just because of plain bad luck. In some cases, your application could have just gone unnoticed through no fault of your own. Below are some of the reasons for this:

Bad timing: You could have simply applied at the wrong time, literally. A hiring manager could have opened your email while in the middle of something and then simply forgotten about it a minute later.  It does happen.

Your application was accidentally deleted: Do you ever quickly go through your email list and hold your finger down on the delete button? You’re not the only one. If a hiring manager is posting advertisements on job websites, the probability of their receiving spam emails is quite high. They could have accidentally deleted your application.

Too many applications: A lot of times, hiring managers will have a stopping point for accepting applications. They either received too many or they’ve already narrowed the list down to just a few candidates. Whatever the reason, they won’t bother to delete the advertisement, and they might automatically delete your application. It is not uncommon, however, for them to become dissatisfied with their applicant pool. When this happens, they’re not likely to review the same applicant pool from before – they’ll focus on the new applicants.   

My advice is to always try again because you never know what may happen. I am not suggesting that these scenarios happen all the time, but they do happen somewhat frequently, so give yourself the benefit of the doubt.

Good luck!

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