the reasons why no one wants to hire you

Job hunting sucks, we all know that. Ok, I am pushing buttons here. I know that and the next sentence is not written with any disrespect.

But no one wants to hire you.

You’re not a bad person or anything. I am sure you’re a nice person, probably smart, ambitious and maybe even charismatic and willing to start at a lower level or maybe even at the bottom. You probably also have an impressive resume, high marks in every degree and certificate, plus solid experience at your first, second or maybe even all your jobs (where you showcased the most important trait for success).

But, I am a coach and one of my values is to be honest with my clients otherwise they just won’t get it; no employer is interested.

Why? Because you fail to understand your audience.

The whole process of job hunting, interviewing and finally getting a job is not about you. Not convinced? I have some push button news for you. The job market is full of talented people. You must change your approach or you will never get a job.

You can start with something as simple as quantifying your accomplishments and reviewing some of the other five job hunter bloopers and blunders I have listed below. If you realise that you are guilty of just one or perhaps all of what I have listed, change your approach or get some professional assistance.

#1 You are a prolific ‘Mr / Ms information overload’.

I get it, you’re a smart person, and like nearly 99% of my clients you’ve led an interesting life. But you really don’t need every detail on your resume. Hiring professionals are really mostly interested in how you can help their companies, so remove the info overload, keep it short and simple and make your resume pop with relevant information. Review each piece of information on your resume and ask yourself, “Does this prove I’m the right person for this job?”

#2 You’re so vain and you don’t do digital.

Employers and especially recruiters tend to base hiring decisions on candidates’ reputations. Unless you have lived behind the moon, nowadays a very important way to gauge a person’s reputation is by seeing what the internet has to say about him or her. If you fail to accept that, then you will struggle to get assessed. Remember that it is very likely that you will deal with recruiters who are charged with sourcing candidates for a position, but have very little or absolutely no clue about your world, and if you have no digital footprint, then they can’t find out about you and your industry experience. So get with it and conduct some searches on yourself to make sure that relevant professional information about you is easy to find. If you haven’t already done so, create professional profiles. The time to develop a digital professional profile is before you need it.

#3 You’re hung up on your status.

Let go of the idea that a company will hire you just because you’ve done impressive things in the past. Here is what I tell each job hunting client. The process of job hunting comes down to three principal steps; Impress – proof – then deliver. Companies will hire you when you’ve convinced decision makers that you will do impressive things for them in the future. This is an important distinction.

Take some time out and re-read the job ad, do your research and try to understand the potential employer’s requirements. Instead of resting on the fact that you went to an Ivy League college or a prestigious private school or that your last employer promoted you three times in five years is not enough to get the job. Instead relate your experience to the goals your target employer wants to achieve.

#4 You can’t help yourself but you’re always Mister Smarty Pants.

Many job hunters think of their situation as a battle — them against the recruiters. And naturally, when you’re in battle, you want to outsmart your enemy. The problem is that recruiters are not your enemy.

Learn to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys or seek out alternatives if you don’t want to deal with recruiters. Candidates who comes across as combative rarely get shortlisted or hired. Think of hiring professionals as your job search partners. Ask yourself how you can make it easy for them to see that you’re the right person for the job, not how you can trick them into thinking that you’re the right person for the job. People with bad vibes don’t get jobs. Period.

#5 You don’t do networking and you don’t need any help.

Improve your networking skills, and present a positive, professional face to your contacts. When you make some progress in your job search or do something to make yourself a more attractive candidate, tell people about it. Ask trusted connections or contacts for some brief feedback on your resume. Or schedule coffee meetings or informational interviews with friends and/or former colleagues who work at companies that interest you. Ask questions and listen to what they have to say. An open mind is key to your search.

So, there it is, the people who best understand their audience land the jobs.

The ones who don’t sit on the sidelines with their resumes and wonder why no one returns their calls. I always ask my clients this – if you have the choice between very little and nothing, what do you take? I suggest you start to change something if you want results and if it is all too hard because you are worn out or feel that you could use some assistance, hire a coach.

Get with it. There are tonnes of jobs out there, just remember to hunt wisely!

Uli