Job hunting process creates lot of stress & tension for professionals. For most of them, the waiting period can be really frustrating. You landed up with an interview where the discussion with the hiring manager went pretty well. You were so confident that you will make it to the final round for selection. However you become anxious when you do not hear anything regarding the status of your application. You are hopeful but then you receive an email information about your rejection.
Recruiter’s job is to pick up the best of the candidates from the given talent pool. The least recruiter can do is to offer closure revealing the reason why you have been rejected & not send a candid response like” You were not successful this time. We have decided to pursue other candidates who matched our requirements”. There can be a lot of reasons why recruiters/potential employers may & will not share reasons for not going ahead with you.
Here are some of them:
Your Resume
Resume plays a vital role in your job search. If you are clear with your career goals, it is not that difficult to find a job that will help you realize your career endeavors. For this you must first evaluate what employer wants. Clearly read out job description to understand the position requirements. Always keep the reader in mind while submitting your application.
Your resume should briefly explain how you can solve organisation problem. Tailor your resume to include keywords aligned with the job requirements. Do not try to populate your keywords in the resume deliberately if you do not have or cannot prove your expertise in a particular area. This is the reason for your rejection. Being honest about your expertise & background can boost your confidence during an interview as well. Proofread your resume before sending your application. Go one step beyond spell check & use online grammar check system to check spelling, improper word & punctuation. This will help you in preventing recruiter to reject/eliminate your resume because of such silly mistakes & typos.
Social Media
Social media plays an important role in your selection process. Recruiters do go through your social media pages/handle to evaluate your content( both professional & private). Even if you have made privacy settings, corporations manage to access your personal content. Everybody knows somebody, so you have to careful if your friend tags you in social media. Corporations/hiring manager may have mutual connections so it is not that difficult task to get into your social media handles. Application tracking systems are quite advanced nowadays & can dig into your social media by searching for profiles matching your e-mail. Delete any questionable or over-the-top content. You don’t want to be the candidate who ruins a job opportunity based on inappropriate photos, or politically opinions. Corporations want to make sure that you a perfect fit its culture & brand image.
Hiring Manager
Most recruiters shall conclude the interview by giving you a time frame on what they should expect to hear back. So the time comes & you do not hear from them. Out of curiosity, you contact the HR folks & they have little & no information about next steps. HR folks cannot mention that hiring manager has not opened your application for weeks. Some corporations have very length application process & requires approval at every level. There may be situation when final approval goes for a vacation & do not have access to his/her email & phone. Such a communication gap makes you either withdraw or make you follow up quite frequently. If you start following up every now by sending emails & phone calls, you may find yourself in employer’s rejection list.
The corporation is preferring other candidate
You had that awesome interview & you are sure that you will make it to the final round. However recruiter vanishes. He/She is not responding to your emails. Many times candidates are kept in limbo since corporation is evaluating another candidate.Corporation is not telling you where your profile stands in the entire application process & should this candidate back you, the corporation will fall back on you. It is important to note that if corporation values you, they will offer a positive candidate experience during the entire process. To position yourself as a perfect candidate, showcase how can create/add value for the corporation. Be clever in crafting your job search strategy to increase your chances of landing up with the role. Keep applying & networking until something works
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