Job seekers - are companies just not into you?
by Larry Buhl, for Yahoo! HotJobs
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In the best of times responding to a job listing can feel like sending your resume out to sea in a bottle. But at least you received a call or an email acknowledgement. Now, with the volume of applicants higher than ever, you're more likely to hear nothing.
If there is a resounding silence from your queries, keep looking and networking. But you can also do some sleuthing to give you a better chance of standing out next time. Recruiters and career experts agree that, if you didn't get an interview or phone call -- or even a thank-you email -- it may be due to at least one of six reasons.
1. They're just not that into you.
You're good, but someone else more closely met the qualifications. In a tight job market employers can usually get exactly the type of candidate they want. A polite "thanks, but no thanks" letter or email would be nice. But don't expect it these days.
2. They may be into you, as soon as they get to you.
Companies receive so many submissions these days that they don't even have time to send out letters or confirmation emails. "I know a major software company that's taking more than three weeks just to send out acknowledgement notes, and some companies are spending months sifting through resumes for just one opening," workplace etiquette expert Sue Fox tells Yahoo! Hot Jobs.
3. They would have been into you if you had followed directions.
"Many job listings use the word 'must,' not 'it would be nice to,'" according to Dave Opton, CEO and founder of ExecuNet. "If it says you must have experience in X, then tailor your resume to show that," Opton says.
If you're answering a job listing, be sure you respond in exactly the way the company wants. And be aware that if you're not applying for a specific job but rather sending out dozens or hundreds of form letters, your resume is likely to end up in companies' spam folders.
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