No job offers but plenty of interviews…where are you going wrong?

Landing a job interview in today’s employment market is gold. Many positions are fiercely contested by hundreds of applicants. To get invited to interview is a great achievement. Some of you have excellent credentials backed up by some impressive work achievements. You are often contacted for an interview and even invited back for the second round. Yet getting that lucrative job offer is something that is yet to eventuate for you. Why?

Before we take a look at what could be going wrong, let’s remind ourselves that you’re getting an interview. That’s a massive hurdle leapt. So congratulations, you’re already ahead of the pack. It’s the run home where you’re losing steam. So let me ask you a few questions that may get you thinking….

• Are you applying for the right positions or are you aiming one step too senior or too junior?
• Have you over embellished in your resume?
• Are your salary requirements making you less competitive?
• Are your references as good as you think they are?
• Employers want to know what you can do for them. Are you selling yourself as an employee or someone who can meet the challenges that face your potential employer?
• Are you too humble and not projecting yourself with confidence?
• Did you research the role and the company and prepare for the specific role at hand?
• Did you ask insightful questions and leave an impression?
• Did you look the part?
• Is your social media status projecting the wrong image?
• Was the interview merely a formality?
• Or was there simply a better candidate and that’s all there is to it?

An employer is looking for their ‘ideal’ candidate, the one who can fulfill their wish list. It’s not often that this is achieved, however the ‘whole package’ that they are seeking often includes a lot more than what you will find in the job description. An employer now wants someone who can not only perform well in delivering all the technical aspects of the role, but also someone who can represent the organisation in a positive manner, work well with others in the team, be responsive and communicate well, be positive and invoke the principles of the organisation. They want professionalism at its finest because sooner or later you’re going to stand in front of a client or a supplier and that person is going to judge the whole organisation based on your performance. Can you deliver? That is the question your potential employer will be asking themselves when they are deciding whether or not to offer you the role.

Figuring out if you can or cannot deliver will take some self-analysis and some research. Spending time after the interview to replay what questions were asked, what your responses were and how this compared to the job description and the direction the organisation is moving in may reveal a hit or a miss. Alternatively you can ask the hiring manager for some constructive feedback. This is particularly effective as you are getting the information you need straight from the horse’s mouth. This is information you can work with. And once you know what you need to work on, you can move forward with perfecting your interview style. How, you ask? Easy. Remember in high school when you underwent those mock interviews to prepare you for the ‘real’ world? Well those mock interviews are a fabulous way to iron out your interviewing kinks.

Friends and family are perfect mock interviewers and are likely to be more honest with you about how you respond to their questions. You may even practice in front of the mirror or video tape yourself and analyse it later. Yet a better option is undergoing a mock interview with a professional recruiter. They have their finger on the pulse, know what an employer is looking for, and understand the true purpose of the questions an interviewer asks. They can guide you in the best way to respond and also help you collate your own interview questions so that not only do you impress on the interviewer that you comprehend the requirements of the position, but are memorable after all the interviews have been completed.

SJ Personnel have assisted countless job seekers to fine tune their interviewing skills and successfully win their role of choice. If you need some guidance on getting over the line, please give me a call so that we can discuss your needs and discover how you can take the next step in your career.

Contact me via email at sarah@sjpersonnel.com.au or simply pick up the phone and call me on 0487 591 660.

SJ Personnel…connecting you with your future