5 Ways To NOT Get A Response When Applying To A Job

I’m back on the hiring wagon yet again. It’s amazing how much time and effort goes into the process of finding the right person for a job. What’s even more amazing that even in this day and age with some much information at our fingertips, the consistent lack of quality candidates I get. Easily only 10% of those that apply are worthy of consideration. So naturally I was motivated to write another hiring post. Hopefully to be found be future candidates to help bump that number up. This time I around I’m focusing on the pre-interview process and what things candidates do that immediately remove them from consideration.

1. 3+ Page Resumes – Unless you’re a doctor, engineer or some other deeply technical person, there’s no reason for you resume to be more then 2 pages, and for those earlier in their career, one page is totally doable. Less is more, and lengthy, drawn out resumes are a red flag that you are not a strong, succinct writer.
2. No Cover Letter – Not having a cover letter pretty much tells me that you aren’t really interested in the role and probably just shotgunned the application with who knows how many other job listings. If you can’t take the time to write something up letting me know that you are authentically interested, I certainly won’t take the time to consider you.
3. Boilerplate Submissions – Not as bad as no cover letter, but pretty close. It’s very easy to tell when someone just copies and pastes the same cover letter for every job they apply to. Especially when there is absolutely no mention of the company or job they are applying to (happens all the time).
4. Multiple Spelling or Grammar Errors – I’m no champion of spelling or grammar mistakes. My blog posts could be carved up like a Christmas turkey any day of the week. So I can overlook one or two on a resume or cover letter, but if I feel like I need a cryptograph to read it, I’m probably moving on.
5. Be Completely Unqualified – I’m all for giving people a shot. Especially if they have strong personal traits that make them a long term hire. But if I’m looking for a digital marketer and you’ve spent the majority of your career crafting balloon animals or singing in a barber shop quartet, you’re probably not going to make the cut.

Ironically, I am looking for a digital marketer for my team. So now that you have the blueprint to make the cut, why not apply?