3 Common Mistakes That Ruin Your Chances Of Receiving Interview Calls

Most job seekers share with me that their?major pain point?is that?they do not receive an interview call in spite of sending multiple job applications. It is a frustrating experience as a job seeking professional but you?can certainly turn this situation around by avoiding the 3 common mistakes. On the face of it, you may find it painful to go the extra mile to avoid these slip ups however when you take appropriate action, you will stand out as a candidate, attract the attention of recruiters and start receiving interview calls. So the gain far outweighs the pain.

?MISTAKE 1:?‘Cursory’ homework

Not doing in-depth?homework regarding the pain point of the job before you make an application. Simply studying the website and job description is commonly done by all job seekers which places you in direct competition with all other job seekers.

Solution:?Even?before you send in your resume, you need to?literally behave and think as if you are already an employee of the company. It means getting into the shoes of the employer to understand the pain point of the job. You have to think of yourself as a business consultant who is marketing his/her services to prospective clients. Similarly you are marketing your skills and expertise to the prospective employers. ?Studying LinkedIn company pages of target employer companies, connecting with vendors, employees, ex-employees to find out about the pain points of the job and the organisation gives you great insights and is mandatory.

?MISTAKE 2:?A ‘generalised’ approach

Using a generalised approach ?across different positions is like?gifting the same size shirt to 10 of your friends.?Does that work? You know the answer.

Solution:?A]?Develop a pitch letter customised as per the pain point of the job. It should strike an?emotional chord?within the reader and not be limited to being a nicely formatted document with keywords.

B]?Your communication across the career tools and other forms of communication with target employers needs to address the pain points and find that connect by?demonstrating?with relevant success stories that you are the?solution provider. Your resume needs to be tweaked as the job’s requirement and?your LinkedIn profile needs to be optimised as well.

?MISTAKE 3:?No networking with target employers

Depending upon online job applications and not reaching out to target employers to explore the hidden (unadvertised) job market.

Solution: You need to develop value based relationships with target employers by networking. Using the referral route to get introduced with the key decision makers and getting a foot into the door to start a conversation is important. Having a structured approach and using LinkedIn as a platform to network?to present yourself as a solution provider is a crucial step. With this kind of an approach you cut the clutter and are able to engage with recruiters. The chances of your application receiving attention goes up dramatically.

So with these tips since we are more learned now, let us now avoid these?common mistakes and start receiving interview calls?from prospective employers. Start becoming evolved job seekers.

?Happy Job Hunting!!!

Sarabjeet Sachar, Founder & CEO, Aspiration

Job Search and Interview Coach