Why You Are Not Getting a Job Interview, and What You Can Do about It

Not an email. Not a call. Not a message. Nothing.??

So here comes the (inevitable?) reaction: frustration. You spent all this time preparing your CV and cover letter, completing information in your LinkedIn profile, reading job offers, making applications, and what do you get in return? Silence. Nobody even cared to say thank you, but no.?

What can you do about it? First of all, avoid entering the vicious cycle: feeling frustrated and taking that energy with you to other job applications. Second, remember this great truth: there are things you can’t control, and there’s nothing you can do about them. For example, there may be other candidates with more experience and knowledge than you. But there are things you can control, so focus only on those.?

Let’s see the possible reasons why you are not getting a job interview that are under your control, area by area.

Technology

• You don’t know the technology they need you to know. What can you do about it? Do your homework first. Learn what you need to know, and then apply for the job. Evaluate if the technology you don't have is the most relevant point of the application, and also, stop applying for those roles until you have some experience.?
• Your knowledge of the technology is basic, but they need someone with advanced knowledge. Here too, evaluate what you need to learn, gain experience, and only then apply for the job.?
• The CV does not show that you have the experience they want with the technology needed. Make sure to be clear here: mention what technology you used, how you used it, and the experience you have.
• The order of technologies in your CV is not working in your favor. Let’s say, for example, that the role requires you to have experience with Android, which you do. However, the first thing I read in your CV is that you have experience with Oracle databases (and you mention Android later). What’s the problem with that? Remember to always order the technologies according to what the role requires. If the people reading your CV? first see the technologies that are not the ones required for the role, they may think that you have more experience with those,? and not so much with the ones that they need.

First impressions matter. How your CV is written and how the information is presented is crucial.?

Experience

• You don’t have enough years of experience. What can you do in this case? Explain the experience you do have, and work on side projects to gain more experience.?
• You just measure experience with time (I have X years of experience…), but forgot to explain that experience. What have you done, exactly? What have you used that technology for? How??
• Not sharing what you are capable of doing and how you can do it. If you have worked for Google, Amazon, etc.,? then you might not need to write much in your CV, but if that isn’t the case and you don’t have many years of experience, you have to mention what you can do and how.?

English

• Your level of English is not enough for the role. Be honest with yourself. Will you be able to perform at your best with the level of English you have?
• If you have poor vocabulary, spelling and grammar mistakes, that will generate a BAD first impression, which is almost impossible to fix. Proofread your application documents, use the autocorrect feature of Google Docs, Grammarly or any other application, and ask someone else to proofread them too.?

CV, cover letter and LinkedIn profile

• The CV and cover letter may not have been tailored for this job. Make sure you tailor them for each job you apply for.
• They may not be up to standard (bad organization, grammar mistakes, typos). Again, first impressions matter. Do your best to present yourself in a professional way.?
• Your LinkedIn profile may be outdated. Always keep it updated.?

In the end, if you don't get called for an interview, it is because your CV didn’t help you. It is common not to have absolutely everything they ask for. That's why it's so important to know how to write and organize the information in a way that positions you better.

There are times when you don't have what you need and then you have to do your homework first.?

The candidates that we at Pitcheers recommend to our client companies have high chances of getting an interview, because we assess them first to see if they meet the company’s requirements. However, it can happen that new clients who don’t know us very well yet want to read the CVs first and filter candidates themselves. In this case, if the CVs are not good, chances are the candidate will be rejected.?

So remember, the reason why you are not getting an interview may be beyond your control. If that’s the case, don’t feel frustrated about it and move on, keep on applying for other jobs.? But there are many things that are within your control: make sure you do your best to prepare yourself as much as you can, and to present yourself in the best light possible. That, you can surely do.