It can be frustrating when you send out resume after resume and you don’t get any calls in return. But there are reasons why this may be happening. It could be something as simple as they found a candidate that exactly met their needs and are looking no further. Another reason could be that they are interested, but they have received such a huge response to their job opening that it is going to take them a long time to get back to everyone and schedule interviews. I advise you to practice patience and don’t assume they aren’t interested.

Some other possible reasons are:

  • They stated clearly there were minimum requirements and you did not meet those. Therefore, they won’t even consider your resume. However, never let this hold you back from applying to jobs when you don’t meet all the requirements because you never know who else will be applying.
  • You could be overqualified or under qualified for the job. If this is the case, they may choose to pass over your resume. It doesn’t happen all the time, but they could actually hold on to your resume for another position within the company.
  • Your resume and cover letter are not closely targeted to the job opening. Employers want to see resumes and cover letters that demonstrate how you are a good fit for the position and how your qualifications will closely fill the positions requirements. Use the job announcement as a guide when creating your resume and cover letter.
  • It doesn’t hurt to follow up. Contact the company and follow up about your resume submission. This shows initiative and will give you peace of mind. This will also help you to stand out from the crowd.
  • Your resume and cover letter were sent in a format that the employer could not open. When I help people with theirs, I provide a Word document, a plain text document, and a PDF file. This will cover all the bases so you can ensure this won’t happen to you.
  • They checked out your social media profiles and found something they didn’t like. It is perfectly acceptable to have fun outside of work. But you do not want to have social media profiles that are outrageous. To learn more about this, check out my blog post on how social media can affect your job search. With that being said, you want to have some online presence. A great way to provide professional information about yourself is to have your LinkedIn profile created and completed.
  • Do you have gaps in your work history? This makes employers uneasy about hiring you as they think there are reasons why you have these gaps. It is also important that what is on your LinkedIn profile matches what is on your resume.
  • You don’t have keywords in your resume and cover letter. Employers scan for these keywords and if they are not in there it can cause yours to be passed over. So take a close look at the job posting for keywords that should appear on your resume.

Don’t be frustrated if you are not getting calls back. There are several reasons which you can fix. Make some adjustments and get your resume and cover letter out there.