Too Few Interviews?

I get many, many pings from professionals who are applying but believe they are getting too few interviews. They are often incredibly frustrated by the number of rejections they have had some coming moments after they applied to positions they believe were ideal. The first thing I ask these professionals is: "Are you networking?" And the answer is, almost always: "No."

If that's your situation, if you want more interviews but aren't networking -- that's definitely the place to start because it's highly possible that the conversion rate you are getting is the conversion rate for the job search you are undertaking.

Truth is different job searches have different conversion rates.

Entry level job application:interview rate is different than CFO application:interview conversion rate. Mid-career creative jobs convert at different rates than do programmer jobs. Job conversion for remote roles is an example where the conversion rate variance is tremendous. In fact, if you are seeking only a remote job, generally speaking that's the lowest possible conversion rate of applications to interviews. Remote roles just get more applicants. Think of it this way, if the job required going into the office in Brooklyn, NY five days a week, the applicants are really limited to people who live in Brooklyn or are willing to move to Brooklyn. Sure there's a few who might not mind the commute from another town into Brooklyn but the vast majority of people living around Brooklyn wouldn't be willing to commute to Brooklyn twice a day for a job. If that same job is remote, now every borough can apply; every state, every country. The number of applicants is much higher.

So if you focus your energy on adjusting the other five variables in the process: (1) positions you are applying to, (2) application, (3) resume, (4) cover letter (5) LinkedIn profile/social media, it's very possible that the number of interviews for applications doesn't change by that much. In other words:

It's very possible that the conversion rate, for you, is just that rate and no amount of changes to the application materials will bring the rate up.

Also, there's this: clearly those materials worked to get the interviews you have gotten. And that itself is a signal for those employers, at least, you nailed it. So messing with it could drive your conversion rate even lower.

That's why if you want more interviews, the first thing to do is work on networking -- maybe focusing first on organizations for roles you already submitted an application to. Clearly those were organizations that got your interest in the first place and maybe by investing some energy into building relationships in the organizations you can secure an interview.

Many times the lack of networking is a chronic problem for the professional -- they know they should have done that for every job in the past, but they haven't. They believe they have very weak skills in this area. And often that is the absolute truth as avoidance generally doesn't improve a skill. Then they want to know why this is so much more impactful today when it didn't seem to be before?

The answer could be the change in market. It also could be that today they are seeking a role that is more competitive to get. It's also possible that the organizations they are targeting today are just more competitive to get into. And, of course, it could be that the organizations they are targeting hire mostly through referral. That's not unusual in the case of top organizations.

Next they ask, "how can I get better at networking?" There really are only 4 ways to go about becoming a better networker. I've listed them below from least expensive ($) to most expensive ($$$$).

Google It - $

There's literally millions of hours of video and blog content on networking. Google the topic and have at it. Somewhere in that content you will find approaches that will work for you. And then just implement them. If you now start getting interviews, that's proof positive that networking was what held you back.

LinkedIn Premium - $$

Sign up for LinkedIn Premium. Ask the question in the Premium Career Group. There 2,999,999 members of that group. You will get lots of experts chiming in with ideas on how to network. Somewhere in that content you will find approaches that will work for you. And then just implement them. If you now start getting interviews, that's proof positive that networking was what held you back.

Online Group Coaching - $$$

Sign up for an online, group coaching program. There's literally tons of companies now offering this for a fee. Just Google "online career coaching." You will find that anywhere from $5 a month to $50 a month, they will give you access to live sessions to ASK THE EXPERT you issue. No doubt there's upgrades available for personal service where you can submit your networking question and get an answer from their team.

Strategic Coaching - $$$$

Sign up for a strategic coaching program. This is where someone meets with you and reviews everything you are doing (typically for about 90 minutes) and then provides you step-by-step support to address any and all issues until you achieve an interview. Some then offer an add-on services to upgrade your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn Profile. Often there's another add-on service if you get those interviews but can't seem to get the offers. And, with some, they even have a partner that will help you with offer negotiation. And even support during the first 90 days so that first review is **stellar**

Most people who sign up for our Strategic Coaching program have tried Google, LinkedIn Premium, and Online Group Coaching and then arrive at Strategic Coaching because they still aren't getting interviews for roles they want at organizations they want to join. There are some professionals who factor in the cost of their time and decide to jump right into Strategic Coaching. "It may seem more expensive," they say, "but it isn't. Once you factor in the time it takes to find, read, and process all that content to pull out that single gem that applies to my personal situation. Strategic coaching is the least expensive option."

Whatever your approach to getting more interviews, it is key to do something. Just sitting around hoping it will change by itself usually doesn't work. Just doing more applications won't work either. In fact there is is some research to suggest that if you have applied to 90 jobs and not gotten any interviews, applying to 190 or 990 won't change the outcome. It's like if you have a terrible golf swing and miss every ball you try to hit. Getting a second bucket (or 15th) won't change the result. You have to address fixing the swing.

And one last thing -- please continue to ping me with your questions! I'm here for you! My #1 mission in life is to see that every single professional out there lands a dream job!!