Recently, a research carried out by a group of Human Resource Personnel shows that over 70% of job applicants do not get shortlisted for aptitude test or interview. It can be quite rigorous searching and applying for several jobs, yet you are not shortlisted.

According to another research, an opening published receives a minimum of 1000 Resumes from several applicants and only 3% of these applicants get shortlisted for that role.

From the above data, it is only logical for job seekers to ask this question; “What do employers look out for or what do they want?”
As frustrating as searching and applying for jobs can be for job seekers, employers are not obliged to shortlist all candidates as it is the goal of the employer to hire the best candidates only. Since it is the dream of every employer to hire the best candidate, there are usually set goals and expectations to aid the selection process and meet their set recruitment objectives. The big question now is; what do employers expect from applicants?

To provide some responses to the above question is Chinedu Oguaghamba (MSc, MIT, ITIL, NSE, AWS); a data processing and IT support officer of Hotnigerianjobs.

Responses to the above question are as follows;
1. Your CV and Cover Letter must be tailored to the particular role you are applying for at all time. Research shows that 78% of job applicants make use of generic CV and Cover Letter for all their applications. And 90% of the employers make use of some software to screen candidates CV and Cover Letter; so immediately your CV and Cover Letter are placed on the software and they do not meet up to 50% of the keywords for that position, your CV and Cover Letter will be dropped. So candidates should always tailor their CV and Cover Letter to the role being applied for. (Note: Your CV and Cover Letter must also be free from typographical and grammatical errors).

2. Your skills and qualifications must meet the requirements of the particular role being applied for. Research shows that 70% of the applicants don’t have the required skills for the job they are applying for.

3. 60% of today’s jobs are email applications; so applicants should learn to use elevator pitch in the email body with a well-crafted email subject line. However some jobs do come with instructions of what should be used in the subject line; applicants are expected to always work with such instructions as they form the first criteria for eliminating candidates.

4. Lastly, cultivate the habit of proof-reading your applications and email before sending them, this will help you greatly to spot any error that can lead to your application been dropped.