Illiterate resume
Job search is no less important and difficult task than, for example, finding a soul mate. In both cases, you need to be able to present yourself in such a way that people would pay attention to you and want to get to know you better. If you want to be noticed, but everyone doesn’t call for a “date”, this is a wake-up call that something is going wrong. Recruiters identify several factors that make you unattractive in the job market.
As Irina Khomenko, head of HR projects, career consultant, , mistakes of job seekers often lie in incorrect positioning and inability to write a resume: “Among the most common mistakes I can single out is an excessive idea of information about oneself. For example, you are rewriting a job description, and the future employer is unable to read the resume on ten sheets. ”
Svetlana Sayan, an expert in human resources management with 15 years of experience , adds that an abundance of unnecessary information on a resume (for example, work experience that does not associated with the desired vacancy), information about frequent job changes, as well as “copy-paste” when describing the duties performed in previous jobs. “It is better to combine this experience in one paragraph, and focus on achievements and excellent, but useful in the future, experience. It would also be great to mention the passage of additional courses and trainings, ”the specialist recommends.
As Irina Khomenko adds, mistakes in resume writing can also include an overly short resume, which very vaguely describes the existing professional experience and responsibilities. Inaccurate resume writing (grammatical errors, missing punctuation marks, carelessly drafted document) or completely inappropriate photo (for example, a picture in a wedding dress, from vacation, etc.) may also repel you.
The nature of the cover letter
This integral part of the resume is often ignored by applicants or is written incorrectly – too long, pathetic or, on the contrary, excessively dry and formal … Irina Khomenko recommends analyzing how you compose your cover letter: “Would you like to invite such a person for an interview? Ask a friend or former colleague to read the cover letter and provide feedback. ” The cover letter should be your kind of business card, which is short, but succinct, reflecting your professionalism and motivation.
Resume mailing strategy
How you select vacancies plays a big role in the success of your job search for sending resume. According to experts, each resume should be prepared for a specific vacancy, reflecting its requirements as much as possible. If, on the other hand, you are writing some kind of “universal” resume for several vacancies, then most likely, the experience reflected in it will not be sufficiently relevant. Irina Khomenko adds: “A common mistake is the fan mailing of a resume, when you are considering several vacancies at the same time, and you say directly about it in your resume:“ administrator ”,“ sales manager ”,“ assistant lawyer, HR specialist ”. In this case, the hiring manager with a high degree of probability will send such a resume to the trash. ”
Incorrect social media management
According to experts, it is also important to pay attention to how your social media account looks in the eyes employer. After all, a lot of companies filter applicants with interesting resumes only after studying their profile on the Internet.
This parameter is especially critical for those whose work is related to communications – for example, in the field of PR or SMM. A potential employer can be confused by an abundance of too personal posts, half-naked photos, provocative, antisocial statements, signs of aggression, etc. “For example, I worked in a foreign company where the expat director always demanded to check the candidate’s social networks. And in another, Russian, company, a woman was not hired for the position of chief accountant, because in one of her photographs they saw a tattoo on an intimate place, ”says Svetlana Sayan.
Insufficient job search activity the fact that you are just not really trying to light up in the labor market. Meanwhile, there will be no work in this matter without your initiative. “Think about how you are looking for vacancies? How many search channels do you use? In my practice, there was a real case when a man went to three interviews in six months and sincerely believed that he was “actively looking for,” says Irina Khomenko.
Inability to analyze your mistakes
Failures in employment often hurt our self-esteem, making it difficult to soberly assess how effective our job search strategy is in principle. Often we stop sending out a resume, or we continue to persist in doing the same thing. According to experts, it is important not to succumb to negative emotions, but to try to be more flexible in approaching the job search process. For example, as Irina Khomenko recommends, it is important to analyze at what stage you get rejections: “If your resume is rejected, you need to work with this document and work out a search strategy. If the refusal after the interview – you need to sit down and analyze what mistakes were made, how to act differently next time. ” As Svetlana Sayan adds, it is also important not to dwell on your failures, but to look at the situation more broadly: “Always remember that it is very difficult to get into the real needs of a potential employer. After all, we do not know all the information: why is this vacancy actually open? What are the real expectations of a candidate? ”
According to recruiting experts, there are two particularly vulnerable categories of candidates who are often refused interviews – those with long work experience and those who have no experience at all.
As Svetlana Sayan explains, “it is more difficult for an experienced employee to adapt, integrate into a company, instill corporate values (especially if a person has long-term work experience in one place or has recently changed the field of activity) – in this case, the accumulated previous experience can only interfere. ” Also, according to the expert, employers fear that it will be more difficult for an experienced job seeker to master new technologies or flexibly fit into changing working conditions. “There is a high risk that such an employee will ask for a larger salary (or an increase after the probationary period). And the manager is not always ready to have an employee with a lot of experience or a big age difference under his command. ” – adds the specialist.
According to the expert, you can overcome this “trap” by demonstrating your ability to keep up with the times, to learn, to constantly develop in the profession.
The same recommendation can be given to inexperienced employees. “It is important to show in the resume a great desire to develop and get the necessary experience. And in this case, it is appropriate to indicate all your work experience, even if it is far from that declared in the vacancy. This will give the dealer an idea of you, ”says Svetlana Sayan. Irina Khomenko also recommends in this case to look for a job through recommendations and choose those vacancies that will help you quickly gain good experience. “You shouldn’t put the level of income in the first place at this stage – for big money you need good expertise. Therefore, you are looking for a place where there are real chances to acquire it, “the specialist says.
And of course, remember that in the process of finding a job, an important role is played by a positive attitude and self-confidence, despite the difficulties … Let each negative experience you experience be another stepping stone on the road to employment.