I recruit for businesses and in my nearly 10 years of recruiting I have come across various kinds and types of situations. I just thought to share a few overlooked reasons why you may not be getting calls for interviews. (At least calls for interviews). Anyone with other reasons should please feel free to post them. Maybe we can help even one person land his next job.

1. Some people use boxbe or other mail verification services for their yahoo mails. If you do, you may need to remove it because if a prospective employer sends you a mail that bounces back asking him to click on something before the mail gets delivered, more often than not, they won't.

2. Many people use email addresses they do not check. Its amazing how many times I have sent emails inviting folks for interviews and they will send a mail weeks later saying how sorry they were for missing my mail and could they have new dates! Make sure you use a mail box that you are going to check frequently.

3. Check your mail regularly. Sounds farfetched but people send cvs and when they are responded to, there is no answer. If you can facebook, then you should check your mails.We need to remember that the world is faster now than it was, so when you apply for a vacancy, things move faster than before.


4. Truth of the matter is most employers want younger people, but if you are older but have a lot to offer as stated on your Cv, then leave out your age. Let them find out how old you are when they call you for interview at which point, they may choose to overlook the age requirement if you are good.

5. What does it really hurt to send a CV? Many times people will answer a vacancy ad where it is clearly stated that a CV should be sent, without sending any CV. If you have security concerns, then maybe leave out details that you feel could hamper your security, but you need to allow the employer browse through your cv.

6. When sending out applications to multiple organisations at once, leanr to use the BCC in your mail browser. That ensures that the person you are sending to does not see others you have sent to. Its sometimes annoying when you have to scroll down a mail before you finally get to the message because the person has set to very many people and the main message is way down on the page. It also sometimes irks that the prospective employer is just one in a long line of maybes.

7. Follow instructions, it can;t hurt. For example, if the instruction asks for cover letters, please send cover letters. If you do not send cover letters your application will not even be looked at. This applies to other instructions the recruiter is asking for.


Please feel free to add more or discard in totality.

Nikinash, i must commend u. Nice one dear. I even learnt one or two tins here. Pls since u work in a recruitment firm, i nid ur help. Am seriously looking for a job, i ve one nd half yrs xperience in marketing& administration job. Pls if u dont mind, drop ur email id, so dat i can send my CV or pls reach me with my own(janeossi@yahoo.com). thanks.

thank you so much for the tip, i must admit that i am guilty of most of the offenses.

Nikinash, thanks for your concern pls may i have ur email address i am in need of job. Here is my email id yinkfad24u@yahoo.com. Thanks

When we have vacancies I will post them accordingly.

Hey, thanks for the info! In a situation that you are requested to apply for a vacanvy by forwarding your cv to a given e mail ID. Are u going to send in application letter along with the cv or u send only the cv? Pls i need clarification on this. Thanks

Yes I would advice that you send in an application letter as well. It is better than just saying, find attached my cv. It shows courtesy and it shouldn't be long.

Thanks alot. If there is a good job, pls don't hesitate to forward it to cally_waja @yahoo.com

@Nikinash: thank you for sharing this tips with us. May God reward you for your kindness.

[size=13pt] you are at an interview with 10 different people applying for the same position, the interviwer asks.
Why should I employ you and no any of the other applicants..
Forget all the I am better
Hard working
Team player
Cambidge and oxford certs.
Cuz all the other applicants would give the same stories..

My question is how would you answer this to make you stand out and not sound stup.I'd?[/size]

Modenine and Mi who rap pass? See better person dey try help bobos get job no b all dos 2face and dbanj who dress or wire babe pass?.. Guy tanks for trying 2 see young blackmen and women learn hw 2 fish jare. Props

Nice tips Nikiansh. I was invited for an interview twice and I even wrote a test, the MD sent another question to me via email and I answered. The process took abt 3wks and they promised to get back to me.
My question is, can I ask the organisation hw far abt the recruitment, I meant am I still being considered ?
Thanks in anticipation of your favourable response.

nikinash: I recruit for businesses and in my nearly 10 years of recruiting I have come across various kinds and types of situations. I just thought to share a few overlooked reasons why you may not be getting calls for interviews. (At least calls for interviews). Anyone with other reasons should please feel free to post them. Maybe we can help even one person land his next job.

1. Some people use boxbe or other mail verification services for their yahoo mails. If you do, you may need to remove it because if a prospective employer sends you a mail that bounces back asking him to click on something before the mail gets delivered, more often than not, they won't.

2. Many people use email addresses they do not check. Its amazing how many times I have sent emails inviting folks for interviews and they will send a mail weeks later saying how sorry they were for missing my mail and could they have new dates! Make sure you use a mail box that you are going to check frequently.

3. Check your mail regularly. Sounds farfetched but people send cvs and when they are responded to, there is no answer. If you can facebook, then you should check your mails.We need to remember that the world is faster now than it was, so when you apply for a vacancy, things move faster than before.


4. Truth of the matter is most employers want younger people, but if you are older but have a lot to offer as stated on your Cv, then leave out your age. Let them find out how old you are when they call you for interview at which point, they may choose to overlook the age requirement if you are good.

5. What does it really hurt to send a CV? Many times people will answer a vacancy ad where it is clearly stated that a CV should be sent, without sending any CV. If you have security concerns, then maybe leave out details that you feel could hamper your security, but you need to allow the employer browse through your cv.

6. When sending out applications to multiple organisations at once, leanr to use the BCC in your mail browser. That ensures that the person you are sending to does not see others you have sent to. Its sometimes annoying when you have to scroll down a mail before you finally get to the message because the person has set to very many people and the main message is way down on the page. It also sometimes irks that the prospective employer is just one in a long line of maybes.

7. Follow instructions, it can;t hurt. For example, if the instruction asks for cover letters, please send cover letters. If you do not send cover letters your application will not even be looked at. This applies to other instructions the recruiter is asking for.


Please feel free to add more or discard in totality.

LOL...wait...so people actually send applications to multiple organizations in a SINGLE mail?
Not customized to suit each application and each employer??

From the sounds of it, is this a thing of common practice in naija?

I feel that the reason why I haven't had any offer is because of my age.
I concluded my service year recently and will be 31yrs soon.
Despite being a first class holder from a federal university, it looks almost impossible to get a job.
I'm comfortable with my age, that's why I didn't bother reducing it to fit the demands of the labour market but believe me,I'm seriously tempted to do that because every attempt I've made to apply for any job has proved futile. No acknowledging response whatever from the advertising company.
Back inschool, I thot that all one needed was an excellent result and the offers will come knocking. But now, I know better. The country isn't interested in value anymore. It is abt the person you know. And if you don't, you just have to keep hunting and praying. That's what I have resorted to.

gossips: I feel that the reason why I haven't had any offer is because of my age.
I concluded my service year recently and will be 31yrs soon.
Despite being a first class holder from a federal university, it looks almost impossible to get a job.
I'm comfortable with my age, that's why I didn't bother reducing it to fit the demands of the labour market but believe me,I'm seriously tempted to do that because every attempt I've made to apply for any job has proved futile. No acknowledging response whatever from the advertising company.
Back inschool, I thot that all one needed was an excellent result and the offers will come knocking. But now, I know better. The country isn't interested in value anymore. It is abt the person you know. And if you don't, you just have to keep hunting and praying. That's what I have resorted to.

you just have to be comfortable with ur age and be confident about urself.
if u got a first class at a federal uni, u surely will land a job soon depending on the course u read anyway.
some of us went to school when dates of birth was appearing on secondary school certs, i wonder how u'll manage to reduce ur age.

@op
the major reason y peeps aint getting any jobs is becos there are no jobs in the 1st place.

For me, its a diploma,b.sc and m.sc yet no job. Wll i ever 4gv d ruling class of nigeria; ppl who gt everythin practically free. Wen wll me and my mates who are kids of ordinary women gt jobs, get married,raise kids and gv our lives 2 God?

Thanks

كلورين: [size=13pt] you are at an interview with 10 different people applying for the same position, the interviwer asks.
Why should I employ you and no any of the other applicants..
Forget all the I am better
Hard working
Team player
Cambidge and oxford certs.
Cuz all the other applicants would give the same stories..

My question is how would you answer this to make you stand out and not sound stup.I'd?[/size]

Someone should give a honest answer to this question

gossips: I feel that the reason why I haven't had any offer is because of my age.
I concluded my service year recently and will be 31yrs soon.
Despite being a first class holder from a federal university, it looks almost impossible to get a job.
I'm comfortable with my age, that's why I didn't bother reducing it to fit the demands of the labour market but believe me,I'm seriously tempted to do that because every attempt I've made to apply for any job has proved futile. No acknowledging response whatever from the advertising company.
Back inschool, I thot that all one needed was an excellent result and the offers will come knocking. But now, I know better. The country isn't interested in value anymore. It is abt the person you know. And if you don't, you just have to keep hunting and praying. That's what I have resorted to.

take it easy, its not you against the world.
Your getting a job might not be through all those applications u so much hope on.

Yes! No. 3 got me. I applied for a job online with my BB. I got the job 4rm one of these job sites. I didn't know that they had called me for an interview. A week after the interview, as GOD would have it, they called me,fixed Another weekend for me and forwarded another interview mail to my box. Just then, I saw the older one. This time, I didn't allow it slip my fingers. I rushed down for the interview and was so surprised to find out that I was the only Interviewee that day. But I also found out that 500 graduates applied for the job. 20 applicants' CVs were considered for the first interview which I missed. After the rigorous but test-based-on-knowledge interview, I was informed that I did well. Glory be to GOD. An employment letter was sent to my box including remuneration. Cheers

Inform me of any vacancy @ davades2002@yahoo.com

Tnx Nikinash. This info is of gr8 signifance to me.

@ op dt is nice of you. Sincerely d situation of d country has made it easy for recruiters to use even pardonable lapse to screen out applicants. No be dem fault anyways, wht do u expect when we have hundreds of applicants chasing just a position.

Good post. View more revealing job info I found at; http://www.findgraduates.com

i'm sad when i see people post here they're looking for job with good result and age out of their side.
the little advice i'll give is that why not forget about serving someone and start planning to serve yourself after all i believe after the uni you should have diversified knowledge.
if you've studied marketting must you look for job why not start a small consulting firm in markettin,imagine if you've looked for job for 5ys how much would your consulting firm would have grown in 5ys with dedicated service

cdoffx: i'm sad when i see people post here they're looking for job with good result and age out of their side.
the little advice i'll give is that why not forget about serving someone and start planning to serve yourself after all i believe after the uni you should have diversified knowledge.
if you've studied marketting must you look for job why not start a small consulting firm in markettin,imagine if you've looked for job for 5ys how much would your consulting firm would have grown in 5ys with dedicated service

This is something I encourage always.
Nigerians unfortunately are taught to be "good workers" and not good entreprenuers.

If you think starting a business is risky, can it be any more risky than sitting in your fathers' house for 5yrs without a job?

كلورين: [size=13pt] you are at an interview with 10 different people applying for the same position, the interviwer asks.
Why should I employ you and no any of the other applicants..
Forget all the I am better
Hard working
Team player
Cambidge and oxford certs.
Cuz all the other applicants would give the same stories..

My question is how would you answer this to make you stand out and not sound stup.I'd?[/size]

[color=#006600][/color]

it would be a mistake to claim to be better than ppl u dont even know, i would advice you just match your strengths and achievements to the requirements of the company and sound enthusiastic.

I found this somewhere and decided to share. Pls, don't call it plagiarism especially the ITKs I no dey look uche face o

1.) Increased competition. The days when a degree was only accessible to the rich and elite are over. Universities have become more affordable and a lot of pressure has been put on students to attend college in order to find a good job. The result? Record number of college applications across the nation, resulting in more college graduates, and thus, more competition for the limited number of jobs available on the market. I can also safely assume that every person reading this knows at least one person in their social circle who has graduated and is still having difficulty getting a job. The secondary effect of this is that the days when having a degree alone would get you a job are over. The “prestige” that comes with having a degree has now become diluted with the rampant number of students graduating. You now need something more than just a degree to get you that first job out of college. (more on that later).

2.) Little or no work experience. Many college graduates make the grave mistake of assuming that their degree alone will qualify them for a job. They spend their college years just getting by, partying, and essentially, wasting their time. Because there’s more competition, college graduates are now a dime a dozen. What’s going to separate one college graduate with a degree from the next and the next and the next? The result is they get stuck in a catch 22 position. They have no job experience, yet all the jobs out there require it if you want to apply. So they can’t get a job because they have no experience and in order to get a job, they need a job for work experience, but they can’t get a job without work experience and the cycle viciously continues. One way to get out of this cycle is to not pass up on jobs that you may think are beneath you. Swallow your pride and take those jobs or intern for free at a company you would like to work at. You’ve got to start somewhere, and if you didn’t take the time to gather decent work experience during your college years, this is the price you may have to pay. Always keep in mind that jobs can lead to other jobs. You never know if the job you think is beneath you can lead to the job you want. There’s always room to move up in the company. Always do more than what you are asked to do. That is one of the keys to moving on up Plus, by actually having that job, it can provide valuable work
experience and knowledge, as well as the much needed dough.

3.) Lack of networking. Many people get jobs through referrals. Statistics show the majority of people get their jobs this way. The reason why word of mouth is so effective is because it cuts through all the worry of whether or not this person can do the job. If somebody has been working for a company for some time, then that employee knows what it takes to succeed, and if that employee knows somebody who can do it, it’s an easy fit. The employer will trust the employee referring the new candidate and the new candidate will most likely get the job. There’s just one catch though. You have to be “worthy” of being referred. Remember that the
reputation of the person referring you is one the line. If you do a bad job, you make them look worse. So have a fine reputation of being a hard worker, someone who learns easily, etc. so people will be happy to refer you. Spend a lot of time networking at college. Make a ton of friends, get in touch with people etc. Don’t underestimate the power of networking and word of mouth.

4.) No preparation on the CV and cover letter. Your CV and cover letter act as your first impression. You can’t charm them with your presence or your smile. Your writing does it all for you. So spend some time to make it look and sound good. When describing yourself or your work history, use action words. It makes a big difference. Go to google and type in “CV action words” and you should get a ton of sites which you can use as a reference when crafting your CV. I had a friend who volunteered to look over my cover letter when I told him I was applying for jobs during my senior year. He made some good suggestions and I implemented them and it sure made the cover letter look a whole lot better. His suggestions helped enormously in me getting call backs. I suggest you get some professional editing done as well. It’s worth the investment. Think of all the money you can earn by just investing a very small portion of it to professional editing.

5.) No interview skills. So you’ve got past the CV stage and now you’re at the interview. Think it’s a breeze? Think again. They WILL ask the hard hitting questions. Why should we hire you? What do you bring to the table? Tell me about yourself (that throws off a lot of people) What’s your greatest weakness
(obviously reframe this question when you answer), etc. There are a ton of resources online you can tap into in order to prepare. Use our trusty friend Google. You must prepare. Have all your answers ready to go when the question is asked. Be prepared to give examples of things you’ve listed on your CV. When you meet the interviewer, don’t give the limp fish handshake or the bone crushing one. Give a firm handshake and smile. Show your friendly side. We are all human. Wear the suit, tie and jacket. It’s never wrong to overdress. Even when I applied for a part time position while in college, I went to the interview wearing a suit and later found out I was the only applicant to do so and yes, I did get the job. When they ask: Do you have any questions?, make sure you do! Always ask questions. This shows you’re interested in the job. Ask what kind of skills/qualities are needed to succeed in the job. Ask what a day in the life of the job is, etc., This is also your opportunity to flip the tables on them.

6.) No weapon x. You’ve got to have an edge. Something that’ll make you stand out from the rest. Be different. Among a sea of black family sedans, be the fiery red convertible. I can’t help you with this part as the only person who knows yourself the best is you. So take some time, sit down and think of what are some of the best qualities you have and write them down. You can use this when they ask you the hot question of: Why should we hire you?

7.) No follow up. So you sent the CV and cover letter, but didn’t hear anything back? Follow up. It can’t hurt. It can only help. Shoot an email or a phone call and ask what’s going on. Chances are, they may have not received it or forgotten about it. It also shows your tenacity and separates you from the rest of the people who don’t follow up. Don’t just assume that they don’t want you and wallow in your self pity. Take action and make it happen.

8.) Quitting too easily. Not getting any call backs can be depressing. Don’t look at it as a negative thing. Look at it as a positive thing. It’s just a sign you have to change things because it’s not working. If you have worked in sales, you know that all sales is just a numbers game. If you have a good product (which is yourself) and if you can put the product out there in front of as many buyers as possible, you’ll eventually make a sale. It’s inevitable. So don’t quit. Keep on going.

9.) A lack of people-skills. One of the greatest myths regarding getting a job is that you just have to have the skills and knowledge. That may be true for some jobs, but the other major thing that employers are looking for is social skills. Will you integrate well with the staff? Will you mesh with co-workers? Are you a positive person? Are you easy to get along with?, etc. I remember times when a lot of staff members would talk about the interview right after he left.
They talked about whether or not to hire him based on not his skills, but his behavior, demeanor and likeability. This ties in with the tip of: Be nice to
everyone you see in the office because they DO talk about you after you leave. The secretary, the intern, etc,. they all chip in and can help make or break
you. Try to avoid these types of mistakes and you shouldn’t fall into the pool of graduates who are having a hard time finding a job.

Hope this helps.

Shalom.

@ nikinash tnx alot 4 dat post,pls inform me if dia is any vancancy. i read chemical engring n hv nt gotten a job. my mail address is bblondon48@yahoo.com

One thing iv observed in some folks is wht i call a negative mentality...yes its a fact that nepotism exist in most establishments but there r still testimonies of ppl that got employed without knowing anyone...yes there r firms out there that r looking for brilliant people with the right work ethic not caring who their parents are...so pls stop thinking it is impossible for you to get a job without knowing someone....improve ur knowlege, get better and remain positive...i wish us all the best in the search

كلورين: [size=13pt] you are at an interview with 10 different people applying for the same position, the interviwer asks.
Why should I employ you and no any of the other applicants..
Forget all the I am better
Hard working
Team player
Cambidge and oxford certs.
Cuz all the other applicants would give the same stories..

My question is how would you answer this to make you stand out and not sound stup.I'd?[/size]

I would advice stating how you intend going about the job description of the position you are applying for more efficiently and then tell your interviewer what you have to offer that other applicants do not and where you have applied those things and it yielded results. I believe such question is the joker you need to sell yourself and let the employer know you truly deserve the job not because of sentiments but because you know what you are doing.

gossips: I feel that the reason why I haven't had any offer is because of my age.
I concluded my service year recently and will be 31yrs soon.
Despite being a first class holder from a federal university, it looks almost impossible to get a job.
I'm comfortable with my age, that's why I didn't bother reducing it to fit the demands of the labour market but believe me,I'm seriously tempted to do that because every attempt I've made to apply for any job has proved futile. No acknowledging response whatever from the advertising company.
Back inschool, I thot that all one needed was an excellent result and the offers will come knocking. But now, I know better. The country isn't interested in value anymore. It is abt the person you know. And if you don't, you just have to keep hunting and praying. That's what I have resorted to.

Why not go ahead to drop your CV in organizations you actually want to work with attaching a cover letter to it stating what you want to do and believing that you would get the job? It doesn't hurt you know and I hope that sooner than later, you would get the job your heart craves for.