Résumé Black Hole Pain: Why You Don’t Hear Back After You Submit Your Résumé

A job search is NOT a “numbers game.” Today’s job search is much more like an “audition” for a new job. That’s a very important difference from the approach that most job seekers have today.

Keep in mind that employers view everything you do in the job application and interview process as examples of the kind of employee you would be.

Are you focused on bringing your “A Game” to your job search? Re-think your approach if you are using the numbers game theory.

The Top 5 Reasons that You Don’t Hear Back

These are the reasons you don’t hear back as part of the initial screening of your résumé, mostly because these actions seem to demonstrate characteristics which are undesirable in an employee.


1. You weren’t qualified for the job you applied for = inability to read/understand job requirements or poor judgment.

The average job seeker reportedly spends just seventy-six seconds (!) reviewing a job posting before applying.

This lack of attention is, by far, the biggest time waster for job seekers! The job posting lists six or eight “requirements” or “qualifications” for the job. You meet one or two of the requirements, but you apply any way – “just in case” no one else applies (eh?), no one who meets most/all of the qualifications will apply (wishful thinking!), or the employer will intuitively understand that you are more qualified than your résumé may show (seriously?). This is a waste of your time!

From an employer’s perspective, applying for jobs that you aren’t qualified for demonstrates either a lack of ability to read and comprehend what is in the job description, poor judgment, desperation, or, more likely, a combination.

The solution: Read the job posting very carefully! Apply when you can make it clear to the employer that you meet most, if not all, of their requirements.

2. You didn’t respond to the job posting appropriately = inability to read, comprehend, or follow directions.

Employers are buried under an avalanche of résumés for every job they post. So, some of them make eliminating inappropriate job seekers easy. They embed “gotcha’s” in the description purposefully or accidentally. The gotcha’s can be specific instructions for responding (send therésumé  to a specific address with a specific subject line), the inclusion of a question to be answered by applicants, or some other requirement or request.

If you don’t respond appropriately, you make it clear that you have not carefully read or comprehended the information in the job posting. So your application is easier to ignore.

Worse, you are clearly demonstrating your inability to follow directions. Either reason removes you from contention for the job because both are not characteristics of good employees. And, of course, you are wasting your time.

The solution: Read the job posting very carefully! Look for the gotcha, and comply with the requirement.

3. Your résumé was poorly done (typos, misspellings, etc.) = poor attention to detail and/or poor communications skills.

Recent studies have shown that 61% of recruiters and 43% of hiring managers will eliminate a résumé that contains even one error in it, apparently viewing such errors as poor attention to detail, a behavior which is definitely not desirable in an employee.

The solution: Carefully prepare your response, spellcheck it, and, if possible, have someone else read it, too.

4. Your email address is unprofessional = poor judgement.

You’ve used a “cute” email address for years, maybe since you were in college or high school – like FashionisTA@whatever.com or ILive2Fish@whatever.com. Cute – maybe. Professional – not at all. And using an unprofessional email address in your job search means that up to 76% of employers and recruiters will reject your résumé.

An unprofessional email address demonstrates a lack of understanding about acceptable behavior in the workplace and/or poor judgement.

The solution: Set up a Gmail, Yahoo, or MSN email address that is a “serious” version of your name, avoiding numbers (particularly numbers like your year of birth!) if possible.

5. Your résumé didn’t contain the appropriate keywords for the job = lack of technical savvy.

This is “where the rubber meets the road” for passing the initial, automated résumé screening. If you don’t take the time to match the terms in your résumé with the terms used in the job requirements, your résumé doesn’t contain the right keywords for the job. The automated résumé  management/applicant tracking systems knocks those résumés out of contention immediately.

If you don’t understand how the technology works for résumé management, employers wonder if you will be savvy enough to use the technology associated with the job. Maybe not.

The solution: If the job posting calls the job “senior administrative assistant,” use that term rather than your current job title, “executive assistant,” as the job title on your résumé. If the job posting requires experience with “social media,” don’t describe yourself only as “experienced with Facebook and Twitter” – be sure to include the words “social media” in your response.  If they are accurate for you, use the exact terms in your résumé that are used in the job description so the keywords match, demonstrating that you meet the job requirements.

Photo source: Pinterest

Source: Susan P. Joyce

Work Coach Cafe