I Have the Skills & Experience for the Job But Not Getting The Interview
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Someone was perplexed that they didn’t get invited in for an interview, even though they had all the skills and experience for the job. I offer some ideas for why that may be happening.
The Best Way to Recession-Proof Your Career
The question for today is, “I have all the experience for the job, but I’m not getting the interview. What’s wrong?”
There are several possibilities for why this is happening.
Let me start off as an obvious one. You may think you have all the skills and experience needed to do the job, but your resume doesn’t say that. Thus, they
don’t know that. You are asserting it but that doesn’t convince them. It is what is in the document that you are submitting to them. That is the differentiator. Unless it is in the resume, unless it is sufficiently explained in the resume, they don’t believe you.
Also, you may not have enough of the experience. You have done for 3 months and they are looking for 7 or 8 years of experience. Sorry! You are not qualified. You don’t have all the experience and you don’t have all the skills.
Another possible reason is that you are overestimating your skills and your knowledge. That comes across as, ” I have one year of experience and they are looking for four. Hey, I have all the skills and experience!” Thus, in their mind, you don’t! And, since they have to live with the impact of your performance, you are not qualified. They have figured out in their mind what is needed to be successful in the job. You don’t have it.
That leads us to the last reason why you’re not getting the interview. You don’t have it. Like most job hunters whose resumes I see, you are overestimating yourself and your capabilities. You may have taken a class in college or somewhere else, but that doesn’t make you qualified. They are looking for someone with a certain number of years of experience doing what you claim to have expertise in and you don’t have that background.
The fact that you may be acting like the typical job hunter and overvaluing your experience, overestimating your capabilities, and the company is shooting at them.
Sorry for the blunt message, but these are the reasons you might not be getting the interview.
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. He is hired to provide No BS Career Advice globally. That can involve job search, hiring staff, management, leadership, career transition and advice about resolving workplace issues. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 3100 episodes.
Website: www.JobSearch.Community
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter
Main YouTube: www.JobSearchTV.com
Resume & LinkedIn Profile critiques www.TheBigGameHunter.us/critiques
CareerFitter offers a free test and if you want career recommendations, upgrade to the paid version https://www.TheBigGameHunter.us/career
sounds fine to me. thanks for sharing the tips
sounds fine to me. thanks for sharing the tips
sounds fine to me. thanks for sharing the tips
really enlightening, I lost out on a job to someone that had 5 more years
experience on me. it’s a shame, but makes sense.
+snake pliskin Thanks. There are a million possibilities including the dog ate your resume but I thought these were major ones.
really enlightening, I lost out on a job to someone that had 5 more years experience on me. it’s a shame, but makes sense.
really enlightening, I lost out on a job to someone that had 5 more years experience on me. it’s a shame, but makes sense.
+snake pliskin Thanks. There are a million possibilities including the dog ate your resume but I thought these were major ones.
You have too much experience, the hiring manager wants an easily controlled
munkay, the ad is a ruse for a H1-B, the ad is just that- an advertisement
– no job is actually available, or you’re from out of the area and they
won’t pay relo.
Very bad vid Jeff – no donuts!
Boo Hoo, no donuts! Kidding aside, what I said was accurate.
Jeff Altman accurate but incomplete. 1/5th of a donut
You have too much experience, the hiring manager wants an easily controlled munkay, the ad is a ruse for a H1-B, the ad is just that- an advertisement – no job is actually available, or you’re from out of the area and they won’t pay relo.
Very bad vid Jeff – no donuts!
You have too much experience, the hiring manager wants an easily controlled munkay, the ad is a ruse for a H1-B, the ad is just that- an advertisement – no job is actually available, or you’re from out of the area and they won’t pay relo.
Very bad vid Jeff – no donuts!
Boo Hoo, no donuts! Kidding aside, what I said was accurate.
Jeff Altman accurate but incomplete. 1/5th of a donut
I make sure I apply for jobs where I check all the boxes with respect to the requirements and still no interview. Between applying online and working with multiple recruiters, all I get are crickets. I am getting to the point of giving up and starting up my own firm. Finding a job was much easier for me 10 years ago when I had less experience.
+mk2mister2 Respectfully, you may believe you check all the boxes but, if you did (or more likely, if your resume proved you did) you would have interviews.
I make sure I apply for jobs where I check all the boxes with respect to the requirements and still no interview. Between applying online and working with multiple recruiters, all I get are crickets. I am getting to the point of giving up and starting up my own firm. Finding a job was much easier for me 10 years ago when I had less experience.
+mk2mister2 Respectfully, you may believe you check all the boxes but, if you did (or more likely, if your resume proved you did) you would have interviews.