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
Zaveri, a former human resources analyst for Cisco, it
sure feels that way.
“I haven't heard anything from anyone,” said Zaveri in
an email. Zaveri, who grew up in London and now lives
in Lithuania, said he wouldn’t mind it so much if the
rejection came after an interview. “It at least would give
me a sense of satisfaction and present me with the idea
of weaknesses and areas to improve.”
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 — and this might
seem counterintuitive when you’re feeling desperate to
land a job — 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 Monster.com, in an email. “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. “If not, it's time
to find ways to develop them, even if it's through more
education or volunteer activities,” said Slayter. “No
(resume) formatting tricks can overcome a lack of
provable skill.”
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 the applicant tracking
system (ATS) software that 75% of large companies use
to screen applicants. But keywords alone won’t work,
according to Matt Sigelman, CEO of Burning Glass, a
Boston-based job market and career analytics company.
ATS software has become much more...click to read more -
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