Why Am I Not Receiving Responses?
At Ideal Interview Co., we have a tendency to focus on the “How” of various employment questions. How to Parse through an Offer Letter, or How Will You Find your Next Position, or How to Discuss Gaps in Employment. But for our own mental wellbeing, we need to try and understand the “Why” of the market, as well, because not only will that educate us about the market’s maneuverings, but it will place us and our applications in a larger context. It feels terrible to be caught in an uncooperative job market without understanding why we’re having such trouble. But providing ourselves context helps to alleviate that feeling.
From there, I want to start with something applicants ask me all the time: “Why am I not receiving responses after submitting my resumé?”
It’s one of the most frustrating, and ubiquitous, steps in the job search process. You’ve sent your resumé out to countless hirers, for positions that you feel are perfect for you, and then nothing! No response, no acknowledgement, no interest at all. How discouraging!
There are quite a few factors at play here, some of which are indeed about us as applicants, and some which are out of our control. Regardless, no applicant is spared rejection. Learning to live with, learn from, and move on from that rejection is mandatory if we’re to succeed in the manner we’d like to.
But let’s start with a learning opportunity. If analyzing the reasons for a given lack of response, we should first ask ourselves, “How close did our background match the job description?” It sounds simplistic, but especially when dealing with highly-trafficked online job boards like Glassdoor or Indeed or LinkedIn or ZipRecruiter, the algorithms which push various jobs to the top of our list are doing that for plenty others as well! Because they’re so inundated with applications, many hiring managers scan resumés quickly, sometimes using automated software to do so, searching for exact qualifications which match the descriptions of the position. Selected applicants are those whose qualifications directly matched the job requirements. That’s why, when submitting an application, it’s vital to specifically tailor our resumés to match the cadence and word choice of the job descriptions. It’s even okay to steal exact terms (though no more than a word or two at a time).
Specifying our resumé for each individual application becomes doubly important when we consider how often our applications are being filtered through Applicant Tracking Systems, programs designed to weed out all but the most “applicable” applications, depending on what parameters of “applicability” have been set by the hiring company. Using targeted keywords is a proven way of overcoming these automated systems. Again, sift through the job posting and note the emphasis on certain phrases or descriptions, then use these phrases to inform the descriptions on your resumés. It’s not pretty work, but it’s absolutely effective.
When we don’t hear back from a prospective employer, it’s possible that we’ve simply failed to accomplish the above tasks as well as others have. Regardless, it’s okay! As long as we are aware of shortcomings and know how to fix them, we’ll soon be in a better place to succeed. Consider reading our other blogs for more specific steps to building an application: Constructing the Dreaded Resumé, The Importance of Doing Research, and Crafting a Cover Letter.
And remember this too: Outside factors absolutely affect whether or not we hear back about a position.
Like the matter of our social media profiles, for instance. It’s 2022, and we have to realize that employers will look us up on LinkedIn. It’s been happening quietly for years, but now many employers are rather overt about it. This means we have to ensure that our LinkedIn profiles, especially, match our resumés. Maybe not in specific verbiage, but in overall information, certainly. Your online information should be made as professional and uncontroversial as possible before beginning a series of applications. If your online presence appears even remotely problematic, a company might decide against selecting you for an interview.
And lastly, remember that there are so many unknown variables occurring constantly within any given company; one or all of which might prevent you from receiving an interview request. Candidates are unaware, of course, about sudden hiring freezes, or whether an opening has been posted solely for a company to “build” their hiring databases, or whether internal candidates have been selected over external ones. It’s really just impossible to predict the happenings of a company at any moment.
All of which is to say that we shouldn’t despair about a lack of response, even after a series of unresponsive applications. Applying for jobs is a numbers game. The more targeted resumés we submit, the more successful we will be at securing interviews.
Please do read our other blogs at www.idealinterviewco.com/blog, and if you have questions about the hiring process, reach out to me, Nancy, at www.idealinterviewco.com/contact or on LinkedIn.