Why Not Getting Job Interviews? 11 Likely Reasons Why

Not “tailoring” your resume properly, applying improperly, having a CV that is too extensive for your experience, and a variety of other issues are common causes of job interview rejection.

In this article, we’ll examine each of the eleven common causes of why you’re not getting calls for interviews.

Keep reading if you’re asking yourself, “Why am I not getting job interviews?” and you should be able to start getting more.

11 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Job Interviews:

1. You’re relying too much on job boards and job websites

Many job seekers only use specialized job boards or popular employment sites like Monster, Indeed, and LinkedIn (for example tech job boards, creative talent job boards, etc.)

Even if it’s an excellent way to enhance your other job-search strategies, you shouldn’t put 100% of your effort—certainly not even 50%—into it.

Only 20% of your job search efforts should be spent on job boards and employment sites, in my opinion.

You won’t get calls for job interviews if you put in more effort than that, which is a major factor.

Simply said, there are much too many users here, and businesses are inundated with applications.

Even if you can apply for a tonne of jobs, it’s not really helpful if no one is contacting you back for an interview since it’s challenging to stand out and it’s not at all personal.

What should you do with the remaining 80% of your time, then?

I advise networking to land interviews and applying directly to businesses that catch your attention.

2. Your resume has responsibilities but not accomplishments

The next potential explanation for your lack of interview requests has to do with your CV, notably the employment history section.

The majority of job hopefuls make a serious error here by merely stating responsibilities. akin to this

• Responsible for ____

This won’t impress a hiring manager or recruiter because all you’re really doing is listing the tasks your supervisor gave you to complete, not what you actually completed.

If at all feasible, begin each bullet with a verb (such as “lead,” “grew,” etc.).

Examples:

• Led a group of five people in performing
• In nine months, increased the company’s social media following from 10,000 to 2.1 million.

If you need more assistance, we have a detailed post with examples on how to create killer resume bullet points.

3. You’re trying to send applications quickly and not “tailoring” your resume

It’s not always better to submit more applications; after all, the goal is to secure interviews.

Which is preferable: submitting 20 applications and only receiving one interview? Maybe submitting 10 applications and only receiving 3 interviews?

The decision ought to be clear-cut.

This is what will happen if you customize your resume for each employer!

Once you spend 30 minutes learning how to do it initially, it usually takes less time than you think! Most people simply don’t want to take the time to learn it, therefore they apply for many jobs but only receive a small number of interviews.

Read the post I linked to above and begin “tailoring” your resume for the job description if you want to prevent that.

In other words, you should rearrange your bullet points to demonstrate to the employer what is most significant to THEM. Additionally, you must make sure that your resume contains a few of the job description’s important phrases.

4. You’re applying for positions that aren’t the right fit for your background

Although you don’t need to meet all of the qualifications for the position in order to apply, you should have at least 70–75% of them.

You might not be getting calls for interviews if you’re applying for jobs for which you are completely unqualified.

Although I realize this one should go without saying, some job seekers I’ve worked with continue to make this mistake, so I wanted to be sure to include it.

Let’s move on now.

5. Your resume is too long and is getting skimmed over rather than read closely

The modern resume ought to be concise and simple to read. Even if it doesn’t NEED to be one page, job seekers throughout their first 8–10 years of their profession should aim for a maximum of 1-2 pages.

It’s a problem if you’ve only been working for a short while and have a three-page resume.

Your CV serves as a highlight reel and sales pitch to the firm, showcasing your qualifications for the position in question. If you want to land interviews, it’s not a list of everything you’ve ever done.

Also, each of your paragraphs should simply contain a few sentences. If you want your resume to be read, stay away from long, awkward paragraphs!

Moreover, provide space between paragraphs and sections. Make sure everything is well-spaced out and enjoyable to read.

You can use this article as an illustration. Take note of the lack of lengthy paragraphs comprised of ten sentences. That makes it a lot more beautiful and easy to read, which decreases the likelihood that you’ll leave after a short while.

6. You’re not applying for enough jobs

You should concentrate on the quality of applications rather than the quantity, as I indicated previously.

Don’t rely on employment boards, and avoid mass-mailing or “tailoring” your CV. On the other hand, I do observe job searchers who aren’t obtaining interviews because they aren’t applying frequently enough.

To get interviews, you definitely need to send out a lot of material.

Because of this, 20% of your applications should come from job boards, and if you’re looking for a job, you should apply every day!

It’s time to start investing more time and effort if you’re not getting any interviews and only looking for a few jobs every week.

7. You have a large, recent gap in employment

You should truly handle a significant employment gap if it appears at the top of your resume or close to it.

If it helps, you can include your job in years rather than months in your career history.

Alternately, you might compose a cover letter outlining the reasons for your resignation and how the situation was resolved (for example if you had an illness but have now recovered).

To fill the void and demonstrate to employers that you have been engaged even when unemployed, you can enroll in a LinkedIn learning course. Additionally, you could perform freelance or consultancy work, for instance on Upwork.

You can try one or more of these, but be sure to address your employment gap in some way if you want to stop getting passed over for interviews.

8. You’re using a resume “Objective” section instead of a Career Summary

Nothing indicates to a hiring manager that you are out of date and wastes space on a resume like an Objective.

Not at all. They already know that your goal is to win them over.

Instead, create a fantastic Career Summary that highlights some of your greatest successes and credentials that show you’ll excel in this upcoming position! That is how one gets a job interview.

Examples of excellent career summaries may be found HERE.

9. Your work experience doesn’t appear on the top half of page 1 of your resume

One of the first things recruiters and hiring managers look for is work experience if you have any.

Don’t “bury” it on page 1’s bottom. There are no exceptions; it must start on the top half of page 1.

You’ll start receiving more interviews if you change your CV till it meets that requirement.

Here is an article about what to put on your resume and what order to put it in if you need assistance with the sections of your resume or the general ordering of those sections.

10. You’re using a functional resume format instead of chronological

A functional resume is one that breaks down your work history into functions or areas of work rather than by job or date, as anyone who has read this blog for some time is likely aware.

Here’s the issue Employing managers and recruiters want to know WHERE and WHEN you completed each assignment included in your employment history section.

If people can’t see when you performed it, they won’t regard it as highly. Consequently, none of your experience will be as relevant to a functional resume.

And that can prevent you from getting interviews. In fact, it might be the only reason you haven’t been invited for an interview.

So if a functional resume isn’t working for you, I’d suggest switching to a chronological career history section where you include each position and company.

Here are some examples.

11. You’re facing some type of discrimination

This is ranked last for a reason.

Most individuals aren’t discriminated against, so concentrating too much on this can distract you from the things you CAN control, like your CV and job application strategy.

However, it’s probable that you’re dealing with age or another kind of discrimination.

The ideal action is to submit more applications. And before applying, do some research on the company.

Look at the company’s leadership and board of directors if you are worried about being discriminated against because of your race or ethnicity (on LinkedIn or on their company website).

This is a useful technique to determine whether they employ individuals from a variety of backgrounds or not.

The same research is applicable to age. See if they employ folks in their 40s and 50s or if everyone appears to be in their mid-20s by looking at their LinkedIn profile.

By doing your research and submitting applications to businesses that appear to hire people just like you, you’ll get better outcomes.

Here are some more books to read about preventing age prejudice.

Quick Review: Likely Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Interviews

• On websites and employment boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Monster, you submit an excessive number of applications.
• In your résumé or CV, you list your responsibilities but not your accomplishments.
• When applying for jobs, you don’t modify your résumé for each one specifically.
• You are making applications for positions for which you are not at least 70% qualified.
• The length of your resume prevents it from being full
• Before applying for employment, read
• You don’t devote enough time each day to applying for employment.
• Before employers call you and invite you for an interview, you need to solve the employment gap you now have.
• Instead of a Career Summary section, your resume has an Objective section.
• Your employment history doesn’t start on page 1 of your resume’s top half.
• You have a functional resume, which many employers find unattractive and may be keeping you from gaining interviews.
• You are being discriminated against in some way.