It's the grim reality of any job seeker and specially in South Africa where the unemployment rate is a staggering 24%, candidates need to refine their approach to get noticed.
Kunjan Zaveri reckons he's applied for more than 1,000 jobs online since being made redundant earlier this year. But, he said, he heard back from exactly… none.
For some job seekers, hitting the “submit” button on an online job application feels like launching a CV into a black hole, never to be seen or heard from again. For any candidate the lack of any response at all — even a polite rejection form letter — is jarring and frustrating.
So, what should you do if you’re constantly hitting a wall of silence? You won’t likely be able to seek feedback from the black hole of applications, but you can do a few things to improve the odds of your CV being noticed, and getting a call for an interview.
Quality over quantity
For starters - be selective.
“No one should be applying for ‘thousands’ of jobs. Or even hundreds,” said Mary Ellen Slayter, a career expert at online job-search website “It's simply unlikely that someone would be qualified for that many positions to begin with - You're setting yourself up for disappointment.”
Instead, focus on whether you have the right skills and training for the jobs you actually want.
Peppering doesn’t work
Many people make the mistake of simply peppering their CV or resume with keywords, thinking that will be enough to get them through - keywords alone won’t work, and applicants need to adapt their applications to that - your resume should not be a list of facts but rather a narrative that tells a story.
Instead of writing a generic job description for each of your work experiences and leaving it unchanged no matter what job you are applying for, a well-written narrative would adapt each job description (and other sections too) so as to emphasize the specific experiences, skills, and vocabulary that the employer is looking for.
Do your homework
Edit your resume to reflect the needs of the organisation, or role requirements, even when a comprehensive position description was available.” Not taking the time to customize your resume gives a really bad first impression - it comes across as sheer laziness, which can appear disrespectful to the person screening your application at the other end. According to Mary Goldsmith, an Australia-based executive career coach.
Research the company before you complete your application. Check to see if the organization has a company page on business networking site LinkedIn.
Look for clues about how to develop your application, suggested Goldsmith. See if you know anyone working there. If you do, ask them about the company and what they look for in people. Check employee profiles to get an understanding of the type of people they recruit and what they value. “Use this information to modify your application and decide if you're a likely fit and if the application is worth pursuing,” said Goldsmith.
Name dropping
If you have experience at a well-known company, take advantage of it, suggested Steven Yeong, a recruiter coach at Hof Consulting in Singapore. Highlight your experience in your CV. “Most companies have a tendency to want to hire people who have worked for competitors,” he said.
Always a better way
No matter how well you craft your resume or CV, it still can’t beat a personal contact who can recommend you to a hiring manager or recruiter. Networking is still the number one way to find a new position.
