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I stumbled on this site by accident last week, and find some of what I'm reading quite interesting. I'll admit that it's been a long time since I was a job-seeker, but I do remember some of those adventures quite vividly. I am now on the hiring side: a CEO at a 60-employee organization. And, having just been through a period of an unusual amount of hiring, I've seen few things that I wish I could have had the opportunity to explain to unsuccessful applicants. But time and legal concerns said no. So, at the risk of being flamed, I thought I'd share some of it here.
First: the possible reasons you didn't get past the resume screening:
- You didn't meet the base qualifications. Or at least what you submitted didn't show that you did. This is the reason for 90% of all resume-based rejections.
-Your resume and/or cover letter had typos, bad grammar, or improper usage.
-You didn't bother with a cover letter, or sent one addressed to someone else.
-Your resume arrived late in the process, when we were already focused on the candidate we want (but don't let the fact that it's late in the process stop you. That candidate may fail the background check or decline the job, and if yours is the right resume that's in front of us at that moment, well, just call it kismet. That's how I got the job that set me on the C path).
-You did something dopey in your submission. A resume in yellow lettering. Attacheda photo of yourself in a bikini. Used profanity in your cover letter. Trashed your current employer in your cover letter. Yes, I've seen all those things.
-Your resume has an "Objectives" section and your objectives are far from what this job is or ever will be.
-Someone here already knows you. And not in a good way.
Second, you received a phone screening interview, and then crickets from us:
-It emerged from the screening interview that you really don't have the skills we are seeking.
-You displayed no discernible personality (unless it's a job that does not require a personality). Or the personality you displayed was snarky, angry, or generally unappealing.
-You did not seem a good fit with the office (yes, a totally and subjective basis that cannot be fully explained. just be glad this was picked up on. when it isn't a good fit, and the person is hired, it's sheer misery for all concerned)
-You said something dopey in the screening interview. Used profanity. Trashed an employer. Said something racist, sexist, or homophobic.
-We happened to fill the position before we could get you all the way through the process. Bad luck. Sorry.
Third, you had an interview, or even multiple interviews and didn't get the job:
-it emerged from the interview that you didn't have the skills we were seeking.
-You were not a good fit with the team you'd have been working with.
-You did something dopey. Add to the usual profanity or trashing such things as nose-picking (yup, it's happened), showing up for the interview in a sweat suit, a see-through blouse, a tank top, flip flops, or some other inappropriate attire (again, yup, it's all happened).
-You showed up late without excuse or apology.
-You were rude to someone you probably thought "didn't count." Around here, everyone counts.
-You were terrific, but someone else was even more terrific.
-The opening unexpectedly disappeared (funding fell through, incumbent decided not to leave after all, etc). At least with this one, we will tell you that's what happened.
-You were totally awesome and we really, really wanted to hire you, but there was someone else just as awesome, and in the end we had to make the call based on a tie-breaker that ordinarily wouldn't matter in the least. I'm really, really sorry about that, and wish I had two openings to hire you both.
Yeah, that last one happened yesterday. We had three tie-breakers for this job: holds an actual certification in the field (points to person A for that); immediately available (yes, being unemployed can be an advantage; points to person B for that); lives in this city (why does this matter, you may ask? The answer might surprise you: we bought our building using an Enterprise Development bond from the city, and part of the deal on the bond is that a certain percentage of the people we hire must already live in the city; points to person A for this). So, we hired A because she had two of the three tie-breaking points.
Yes, some of this is tough. But this is what happens on the employer side of the job hunt. For what it's worth.
There are some that are duh, we should know that. The issue is the subjective stuff that can be "tie-breakers."
Say I scored 88 on my interview and another candidate did as well and we both had the same degree and experience, and both were fits for the company but this person is say a Diamondbacks fan and admitted that while I am not a baseball fan (I like other sports a lot more) and my team is the Yankees (I am a transplant from New York) and the office is filled with more Diamondback fans so the other candidate is picked on that subjective tie-breaker. It happens SOME times (I wouldn't dare say most but a good number like say a large minority or small majority.)
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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All of that may well be the reason someone is not hired, and I have seen some pretty bad resumes, but the most common reason is simply that with so many qualified candidates for every job, there was someone just a little better. When we have one opening for a job paying $80,000 and 125 candidates apply, 124 of them are going to be disappointed even if they did none of the above.
And sometimes, you have to be the right age and look the part. There was a job that, at one time, I reallllly wanted. I got a call right away, went through three interviews, excelled, (and I know this because I overheard them talking about me while waiting for yet another interview), but in the end, I lost out to someone who was younger than me.
I still wanted to work there so I kept applying and trying. After about a year, I finally got called again. Did my interviews and finally got hired. Now, I know, for a fact, that there were openings because I stalked their company website. I applied each and every time there was an opening for the position I wanted. When I did finally get hired, I found out when everyone else started and I began to do the math. "This is the person who was hired when the opening showed at that time, and that was the person hired when the opening showed at this time", etc.
Every single one of them was NOT more qualified than me, and frankly, in some cases, I'm amazed they got hired at all because they were completely incompetent or unprofessional, (in a position where being professional was necessary more than most jobs...and all jobs want you to act professionally). What was the difference? They were all about 21 to 24 years old. I'm older than that. So sometimes, it doesn't matter how wonderful you are, it doesn't matter how fantastic you were in the multiple interviews, it doesn't matter how "awesome" they think you are, (which is what I overheard while waiting for the next interview), none of that matters if a 20 year old walks in for the same job.
Don't forget that part of it. It's not always because someone did better than you, or was more qualified than you.
There are some that are duh, we should know that. The issue is the subjective stuff that can be "tie-breakers."
Say I scored 88 on my interview and another candidate did as well and we both had the same degree and experience, and both were fits for the company but this person is say a Diamondbacks fan and admitted that while I am not a baseball fan (I like other sports a lot more) and my team is the Yankees (I am a transplant from New York) and the office is filled with more Diamondback fans so the other candidate is picked on that subjective tie-breaker. It happens SOME times (I wouldn't dare say most but a good number like say a large minority or small majority.)
Heh.
When ya see an autographed pic of Derek Jeter on the hiring manager's office wall, it's prob'ly not a good idea to tell him that you're a HUGE Red Sox fan................
Even after hired and with some tenure, I kept my mouth shut around our plant manager when his Broncos laid an egg earlier this month. And I certainly thought twice about wearing my "Denver Sucks" T-shirt.
When ya see an autographed pic of Derek Jeter on the hiring manager's office wall, it's prob'ly not a good idea to tell him that you're a HUGE Red Sox fan................
Even after hired and with some tenure, I kept my mouth shut around our plant manager when his Broncos laid an egg earlier this month. And I certainly thought twice about wearing my "Denver Sucks" T-shirt.
The Denver loss is like the Team USA loss in hockey yesterday, a blatant one. A simple we lost or the better team won, would likely work. I mean it's not like you are bashing the Cowboys, everyone saw Denver and Team USA play but couldn't really get out of first gear.
A thing you forgot to mention that is very real is networks. A lot of that is just pure nepotism. You could young, good looking, professional, ect. You're not going to get the job over someone the boss knows, is related to, or has worked with before or is a friend/relation to someone the boss knows. A lot of unprofessional people get by on this.
First: the possible reasons you didn't get past the resume screening:
- You didn't meet the base qualifications. Or at least what you submitted didn't show that you did. This is the reason for 90% of all resume-based rejections.
-Your resume and/or cover letter had typos, bad grammar, or improper usage.
-You didn't bother with a cover letter, or sent one addressed to someone else.
-Your resume arrived late in the process, when we were already focused on the candidate we want (but don't let the fact that it's late in the process stop you. That candidate may fail the background check or decline the job, and if yours is the right resume that's in front of us at that moment, well, just call it kismet. That's how I got the job that set me on the C path).
-You did something dopey in your submission. A resume in yellow lettering. Attacheda photo of yourself in a bikini. Used profanity in your cover letter. Trashed your current employer in your cover letter. Yes, I've seen all those things.
-Your resume has an "Objectives" section and your objectives are far from what this job is or ever will be.
-Someone here already knows you. And not in a good way.
Or.......
- The software program that scanned your resume was looking for different "key words" than what you used.
- The "experience" shown on your resume indicates you are about 15 years older than what the company is really looking for but can never admit.
- There is no desire to hire an external candidate, yet company regulations mandate the position is advertised externally, thus wasting the precious time of the job seeker.
Second, you received a phone screening interview, and then crickets from us:.
First, thanks for sharing from your side. i do take exception to this line as it is extremely unprofessional of the hiring company. If you took the time to call me and discuss the job for an hour, you can spend another 5 minutes sending me a email stating that you are moving on. "Hearing crickets" is unacceptable if we had personal contact. Sure you have lots of applicants and sure you are busy; so am I.
If you have an online process, even if through a third party like Taleo, have you personally ever gone through it? As a CEO of a small company I expect you will have gone through the entire submission process personally. If a larger organization, then one of your SVP's should. So many times the process is broken. While this is annoying for the job seeker, you may be losing qualified candidates because your process is broken with conflicting instructions, bad links, compatibility problems among machines/browsers etc. I am shocked at how many problem processes are out there.
Lastly, remember that today's applicants might be tomorrows customers. I was recently approached by a vendor to do business with them. This was a fairly significant opportunity for them and they very much wanted the business. However, when I was looking for a job they were so rude, they left a very bad impression. So I declined to consider them in the bidding process. if you were that rude and unprofessional to me as an applicant, I sure don't want that from a supplier. That means everyone in your organization needs to share the same commitment to applicants time and efforts.
-You were terrific, but someone else was even more terrific.
-The opening unexpectedly disappeared (funding fell through, incumbent decided not to leave after all, etc). At least with this one, we will tell you that's what happened.
-You were totally awesome and we really, really wanted to hire you, but there was someone else just as awesome, and in the end we had to make the call based on a tie-breaker that ordinarily wouldn't matter in the least. I'm really, really sorry about that, and wish I had two openings to hire you both.
These are usually the reasons why I don't get the job. The majority of interviews I've been in always have resulted in an offer.
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