What Should You Do If You Don’t Hear Back After Submitting Your Resume?
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
I was on the receiving end of a lot of these phone calls what I worked in recruiting. Almost all the time I hated receiving them… But if you are okay.
The Missing Statement in Most Answers to Behavioral Interview Questions
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I’m a coach who helps people be more effective in a variety of different professional ways– job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading workplace related stuff career development, lots of different things.
What should you do if you don’t hear back after submitting your resume? Now I know if you’re young, your parents tell you call them up! Call them up. Wrong answer. If you’re older, you may be annoyed that you haven’t heard back but from experience and having done recruiting because I did it for more than 40 years and filled lots of positions, the issue isn’t with the recruiter (although on occasion it is). Most of the time, the issue’s with your resume because what you’ve done is apply through an applicant tracking system and, for some reason, the resume didn’t demonstrate to the system that you were a fit.
Now, on less expensive systems, they are not doing the same filtering
that the larger more well-known institutional systems do. Let me start off with those. There’s an algorithm that’s designed to determine how you fit, does your resume demonstrate a fit, does it demonstrate it early enough. You have to look at that first before you get on the phone and call some HR person and go, “hey, I submitted my resume and didn’t hear back. What’s wrong?” and waste someone’s time. I used to hate getting those phone calls from people then search in my inbox for the resume or search the database for the resume and then trial rounds get back on the line and go “you know, there’s exactly nothing in your background that fits this job. They’re looking for a manager. You’re a developer. Do you know the difference between a manager and a developer?” “Yes, I can do that job!” “But they don’t want someone who can do this job or thinks they can do this job. They want someone who has done this job.
And I can go on and on. Most of the issues are around you. Take a look at the resume. Come on! Be practical look at their job description now match them up. Where’s the discrepancy? This is true whether or not it’s being reviewed by a less expensive applicant tracking system and some recruiter’s looking at if you’re a junior person, if you’re a staff level person, they’re looking for a director there’s no fit. Just that simple. There’s no fit.
Conversely, if you’re a director, out of work, consent “Well I’ll take a staff job well.” You haven’t done the staff job in ten years, why are they gonna talk to you?” It goes on and on.
Your resume, if you’re submitting it through an applicant tracking system has to demonstrate a fit for the role. No fit no interest. There’s nothing you should do. Everything that you’re doing is wasting
someone’s time. Now, on the rare occasion where your resume does fit, call them and you say “I uploaded a resume but haven’t heard anything. I do think my background really fits for this role. Could I speak with someone, please?” and you know you have to leave a message and no one’s going to take your call directly because they’re going to look at . . . they’re going to find your resume in their system and THE statistical probability is they’re going to go, “Why did this person waste my time?”
On the rare occasion that you’re right as I used to do and say “You know I missed it I didn’t see what you saw. Thanks for the call.”
So, I’m Jeff Altman. Hope you found this helpful. Visit my website TheBigGameHunter.us where the two major things that you can do, number one, schedule time for a session or discovery call with me. Discovery calls are free or you can read the blog where I’ve got thousands of posts that will help you with your job search, hiring, managing and leading, developing your career, leadership, a whole host of different things, mostly around job search.
Have a great day and take care
Standing Out on an Interview
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ career easier. Those things
can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, career transition, as well as 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 2600 episodes.
Website: https://www.TheBigGameHunter.us (schedule a paid coaching session, a free discovery call or ask questions using my Trusted Adviser Services)
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