The good, the bad, and the illogical of job hunting

You can do everything “right” in your job search, but still not be offered the job.

It’s not always the most skilled, experienced or qualified person who gets hired. You could be the best candidate on paper, but perform badly at interview, losing out to someone who has a more engaging personality.

The company could be going through the motions of interview, but already have someone in mind. Or the interviewer or HR department might pass you over through a lapse in judgement…

There are a number of reasons why you might lose out despite being the best for the role. But although some elements of a job search might be unfair or illogical, there are ways of working them to your advantage.

It’s who you know that counts
Many companies can’t afford to use recruitment agencies, and would rather get an employee referral before paying for an ad in the paper. Companies might use LinkedIn and Twitter if they’re switched on to social networking (though many aren’t) but a personal recommendation is more likely to get you an initial hearing than just sending in a CV cold.

So get yourself known – especially at companies where you’d like to work. Use the internet to research companies and employees, but don’t forget the importance of getting out to meet people face-to-face.

A ‘bad’ CV doesn’t necessarily rule you out
Many job seekers struggle to write a strong, compelling CV. This is not surprising: if you’ve only needed to write one in your career, how would you know that the conventions of CV writing have changed? How would you know without researching it, that an objective statement is now “out”, and that your name should be at least 16 point, centred across the top of the page?

But the good news is that many employers don’t know this either. And fortunately, many of them will take the time to at least skim-read your CV. Don’t believe all the reports that decision makers will only give you 10 or 20 seconds to make an impact before throwing your CV into the reject pile. Of course it’s important to write the best CV you can, but aim to keep yourself in the running for the job by making it clear you have what the company is looking for.

The very best outcome possible is where your CV is just a formality. Sidestepping the resume slushpile has tips to get the “in” to companies without having to send your CV.

Not all interviewers know what they’re doing
Your interviewer may be inept, untrained, or unprepared. He / she might not know what the job entails, or might not be the person you would end up reporting to. And although you’ve spent time rehearsing good answers to difficult questions, you might not get the sort of questions that will allow you to show off your strongest points.

If you’re interviewed by someone who’s just not very good at it, try to guide the conversation to show off your strengths and abilities. You can do this by asking questions about what’s required in the role, then volunteering examples from your previous experience that illustrate these.

Have a stock of four or five good “stories” that can be used to show where you added value, how you dealt with problems, where you learned something that made you a more effective employee, and so on. This is a far more efficient use of your interview preparation time than trying to mug up on all the possible questions you might get.

Photo credit: la cueva del escorpion