When interviewing, there are specific things that potential employers look for. And when those items are not being met, there is a decent change you will not get an offer to join that company. Do you seem to be having this happen time and time again? While it is not always the case, the following tips may help you to climb out of that hole and finally land the job that you are looking for.
- Cluttered resume/too long – Employers don’t want to spend more than a few minutes looking through your resume to see if you would be a good fit. They might even decide that you have poor communication skills since you weren’t able to communicate your selling points more effectively.
- You Have a Hard Time Explaining Why You Like Your Current Job – Obviously, there are reasons why you’re leaving and you probably don’t have super warm fuzzies over your current role. But you need to go into that interview and answer solid on what the items are in your current job that you enjoy. Don’t make it sound generic unless you can give a good example of why you really enjoyed it in your job today. Get a little fired up and passionate about it! And if you’re really having a hard time finding anything that is a positive in your current job, rely on past experience and why it would be exciting for you to get back into that type of work.
- You Do Not Have a Vision for Your Future – Employers want to know what your 5-Year Plan looks like. They want to know you have goals for your future and they especially want to know how the job you are interviewing for today would help you meet those goals. Think about this before your next interview. Have a well thought out plan on what you truly want. It will not only help you during the interview process, but it will help you in your career plan, as well!
- Embellishment of Skill Sets – When a job posts the specific skills they are looking for and you apply for it stating that you, indeed, have those skills, it is a no-brainer that the interview will not have a positive outcome if you can not explain how you have acquired or used the skill sets they are looking for in the past. While all jobs have some leeway on the amount of “learning on the job” you’ll be able to do, they expect you to have a solid knowledge for the things they are looking for.
- Job Hopping – Gaps in your resume that are unexplainable or job hopping a considerable amount in a short time proves to have worse consequences in gaining employment than age or unemployment. If this is something that has damaged your current employment prospects, make sure you are open about it. Why did you have so many jobs in a short amount of time? Make sure you are ready and able to explain this well. While you may have valid reasons for your choices, it is imperative to get this cleared up with prospective employers before it becomes an issue.
Hopefully these tips can help you to overcome the hurdle to gaining successful employment!