Do any of these 10 reasons sound familiar? Perhaps you've noticed some changes since the last time you looked for work? If so, you're right. Things have changed!
Is YOUR answer to "Why can't I get the job?" on this list?
1.The "networking" didn't work. I'm not really even sure what "networking" means anymore. I have 6 million Linked In contacts. I went to 7 networking cocktail parties where I knew no one. Read a book on networking. Listened to a podcast. Nothing helped.
2.I couldn't get past the resume screener. I found out her name from a person at the company. Left several messages asking if I could buy her a cup of coffee. She never answered!
3.I thought being qualified was enough. Every other job I've ever had, I got because I'm good at what I do. But I'm starting to believe that getting a job and doing a job are two TOTALLY different things.
4.Sending out 3,032 resumes wasn't enough. In job search--more is not better. Used to be that the more resumes you sent out, the better your chances. I guess that's changed.
5.It seemed like no actual PEOPLE were involved. Everything on up to my rejection letter was signed "The Human Resources Team." Phone, text or email doesn't work. I know hiring managers are busy. But there are busy people who answer!
6.I did everything the expert told me to do. Here's the thing about experts. They already HAVE jobs. How do they know what it's like??? But there's an even bigger problem with experts. It's their maddening assumption that one size fits all. It's like they are all reading from a script on how to get a job that was written in 1962. Doesn't anybody get that MY situation just might be different than someone else's?
7.I might have been the wrong age. The job spec said 3-5 years' experience. I have 10 years and can't get noticed. Could it be ageism?
8.They kept talking about "fit." That sounds pretty subjective to me. I read the job description. I match it. How am I supposed to figure out "fit" when I'm not even sure what it means!
9.The billboard, featuring my smiling face, that I put up across from their headquarters? It was ignored. I absolutely NO idea why. I have friends who got jobs by doing attention getting stunts. Where did I go wrong?
10. Is it just me . . .or does the way people find work seem irrational?
And if the way to find work is irrational? If it zigs and zags instead of following a straight line? Would a step-by-step set of instructions, written for everyone, give you what you need to find work?
Or would you be better served by finding a new way of thinking differently about finding work?
Because the way people find work has changed. And figuring out how it's changed specifically for you is the first step in answering the question: Why can't I get the job?