20 Reasons why you don’t get job interview invitations

Many job applicants have gotten the shock of their lives when they were not called for a job they were sure they qualified for and met all the requirements of the organization. You may be the perfect match for the job or position and never get recognized or invited for that interview. Several reasons may account for this.

Follow me down this list of possibilities hindering your invitation and let us see how best you and I can get it solved. If you realize that, any of the issues discussed relates to you, do your best to do the necessary corrections to increase the chances of being invited. I recommend that, you read the post titled How to Get More Job Interviews with Fewer Job Applications as well.

20 Reasons why you don’t get job interview invitations

1. You do not in match for the job on offer -This is simple. If you apply for a job you don’t have the needed skills set for or you don’t have the personality needed for the job, you are not going to be invited for an interview.
2. You match the Job but you are over qualified. Eg the job requires a Diploma holder and you have a 1st degree.
3. You didn’t follow simple instructions on how to apply. Eg. The job instruction says use the job code 124 in your heading and you failed to do so. The organization will have difficulty sorting your application to the right place hence it ends up in the dust bin.
4. On your CV or resume, you failed to showcase your accomplishments at your previous positions and employments.
5. You have countless grammatical and spelling mistakes in your cover letter and resume or CV. It irritates the employer and gives a bad reputation about you. Check through these documents and have someone read through and this must not be done in a rush.
6. You have a bad digital footprint. Some job applicants don’t know today’s employer is sophisticated. They most often will visit social media(Facebook , Tweeter etc) to check on your name and find out more about you. If you are used to leaving bad footprints online watch it. You may qualify but it will disqualify you. Your online reputation may have damaged your candidacy before you applied for the job. Check your online digital foot print and work on it. This unprofessional social media presence messed up a lot of people and continues unabated without them knowing.
7. Non convincing responses from References on your CV or their failure to pick up the call. Some employers will invite you for an interview after a quick chat with your reference.  Sometimes another applicant may get a strong recommendation from a reference who responded right on time.
8. You used a generic cover letter instead of a tailored made letter. Read the article on How to Get More Job Interviews with Fewer Job Applications.
9. Some of us believe a short cover letter is good but the truth is it is not. Make it informative, persuasive and full of what you can offer or will bring to the table if employed.
10. If you are fun of hopping from one job to the other, be rest assured, you may not be called for an interview. The employer is worried you might leave soon. Take off jobs that you did not last at least one year off the resume.
11. You lack the basic educational credentials.
12. Some jobs need you to state your salary expectations, if you state an expectation that is too high, you may not receive a call up.
13. Lack of relevant experience may also negatively affect you. Many people take statements like “At least 2 years experience “to mean any experience. That is wrong; your experience must be relevant to the job because the new employer want to tap into that for business growth.
14. Some job seekers don’t have any reference on their CV or resume. This can make you lose a call up.
15. There are employment gaps in your CV which cannot be explained.
16. You are an Out-of-town candidate. The job requires people who live within a giving jurisdiction to apply. You stay out of this area yet put in an application. You may not be called for an interview because your location disqualified you.
17. Other applicants seeking the same job are better qualified. Look at the skills demands for the job you are going to apply for and see how best you can fix your CV and cover letter to match the skills sets if you have them.
18. The employer has already hired an internal applicant.Some job agents may also have applicants on the waiting list for the same job and so, such person may be considered ahead of you.
19. In some cases, the employer may put the job on hold for a while or indefinitely without communicating it to you.
20. The employer or the HR department may be busy dealing with some other internal human resource issues and challenges and decide, to put things in order before going on with the new recruitment. This means, short listed applicants will not be called and this may be forever.

Information is key, now you have it, put it to good use and smile after the next call up for a job interview. All the best.

Also Read: 
4 Important Career Skills School never taught you