Why your resume was not selected - Part 1

The average Recruiter gets thousands of applications every week. One area that applicants will appreciate is to recieve specific feedback about why their applications did not sail through. Though some vacancy adverts go out with the clause "only shortlisted candidates will be contacted", applicants will typically appreciate it if they knew exactly why they were not considered. On the other hand, even with the use of technology via application tracking systems, the typical response is more generic rather than particular to why each respective application did not scale through.

This series aims to provide some of the feedback and provide a basis for the potential or prospective job applicant to prevent the receipt of a future rejection mail.

1. Your application was a mismatch for the advertised vacancy. This is one of the major reasons why Recruiters have tons of applications. A lot of people apply for jobs that are a mismatch to their experience, talent and inclination. For instance, screening through applications for an Accountant role, you may come across applications with candidate backgrounds and experience in Fashion Designing, Education and Security. In some climes, mismatched applications are flagged in an applicant tracking system and barred from future applications. It also creates a lot of work for the Recruitment Team. It is advised that you only apply for jobs that you stand a strong chance.
2. You do not meet the minimum requirements: It is important to pay attention to job advertisements so that you do not miss out on the stated requirements such as educational background, years of experience and specialist skills. If the job advert requires 10 years of experience, you are not likely to be considered if you have 6. What you can do is to send a seperate mail or application so that the Recruiter can have your resume in the database in the event that something else comes up. It is advised not to clog the application database if you do not meet the mark.
3. Competition: For every advertised job, there are thousands of applications. It goes to show that there are more applicants than available jobs. The Recruitment process is competitive. As a candidate, it leaves a more positive experience if you are called for an interview and you were not selected rather than not being called at all. Being selected for an interview will indicate that at least you stood a chance. If you were not called at all, it means that a lot of people were ahead of you. You can track the company on LinkedIn and you may be lucky to see the profile of the successful candidate and make comparisons that will provide you some insight and areas of development.

A lot of other reasons exist but we will be dealing with them in subsequent editions on a weekly basis. I assume we could be done in a month and move on to other areas within the Recruitment process. See you next week!

News and Announcements:

1. Watch out for a new Book that will soon be available on Selar "Proven Career Principles from Joseph". It captures the practical career lessons from Biblical story of the life of Joseph and showcases his value proposition that made him move from a dreamer to a Prime Minister. It will be available in the coming days on https://kehindeakintobi.selar.co/
2. The Book "Choosing a Career" is available on Selar.co/gsm5 . It offers a practical guide on how to make an effective, fulfilling and rewarding career choice. The feedback has been amazing!
3. A weekend Virtual Career and Job Search Master Class is in the works to be featured on Zoom. If you will be interested in this, please feel free to reach out. Links and details will be shared subsequently.