15 Reasons Why Your Perfect Resume Was Rejected

15 Reasons Why Your Perfect Resume Was Rejected 15 Reasons Why Your Perfect Resume Was Rejected 15 Reasons Why Your Perfect Resume Was RejectedFirst of all, is there such thing as a perfect resume?Not exactly. Think of itlike trying to makea perfect sandwich for a customer. Youve got to get all the technical sandwich details correct, like including bread, meats, cheeses, vegetables, condiments, etc. If you forget any of these basic requirements, then youll createa super weak sandwich. And thats the easy part.Whats the the biggest problem? Having all the ingredients your customers want.But, even if you do have all of the required ingredients, every customer will have their ownsubjective taste.You cant please everyone.OK, what about the perfect resume?Well, lets assume your resume has all the basic requirements (perfectly formatted, no spelling errors, targeted at the business, has the relevant sections, contains excellent bullet points, etc.) Furthermore, youve got all the necessary qualifications and education to do the job well.You send out your perfect resume and cover letter. Then something weird happensNo response. Weak interest. Outright rejection.What happened?To find out what happened, I asked hiring managers, HR professionals, recruiters, and staffing experts to help me create the complete list of reasons why a perfect resume would be rejected. Their responses were both enlightening and disheartening for the out-of-luck job seeker.The good nachrichten?You can actively work to mitigate these problems.Heres why your perfect resume was rejected, and what you can do to solve these problems.1. Discriminatory or weirdly pickyhiring managerI already told the team, no more resumes from people named Jason Theyre all lazyThe ProblemYour resume may fall into the hands of someone who dislikes you due to irrational reasons beyond your control. There are two different types of prejudice you may encounterDiscriminatoryRacism, misogyny, and other forms of prejudice ar e totenstill problems in the 21st century workplace. If you encounter a hiring manager who does leid like your race or gender, it will be difficultbreak through that barrier.Picky John Paul Engel of Knowledge Capital Consulting has been in the recruiting game for almost two decades. He related an experience where his client refused to hire anyone who earned an online degree, even if they already had a degree from a respected school.To get past a discriminatory hiring manager, you may need to find an ally in the company to help pressure him/her into giving you an interview. Easier said than done.Winning over a picky hiring manager could be as easy as simply having a phone or schmelzglas conversation with them directly. People with quirky prejudices tend to soften up once they get to know the actual person better.2. Overwhelmed hiring managerThe ProblemSome positions receive a huge amount of application spam, leaving some novice hiring managers reeling and disorganized. Your perfect r esume simply be getting lost in the shuffle.How to Overcome Persistently Follow UpYou need to persistently follow up. Email or call the hiring manager and ask if they received your application 2-3 days after you send it in. Be prepared to answer questions on the spot about your application if you do manage to get connected to the hiring manager. Be sure to read up on important interview questions and answers beforehand.3. Missing a certain X factorThe ProblemThe mysterious X factor.Youre missing a certain X factor. This X factor can be almost anything. In the case of Larry Stybel, a professional recruiter, he recounts how he was asked to recruit a female VP for a company where all of the vice presidents were male. Although this is technically illegal, all he had to do was ignore resumes from men even the perfect ones.If youre missing that X factor the company wants, your resume will be looked over, no matter how good it is.Here are a couple types of X factor discrimination you that might be working against youAuthenticity DiscriminationAn business such as a Chinese restaurant may want to appear more authentic by hiring waiters that look Chinese over experienced waiters of another race.Positive DiscriminationWhen two perfect candidates apply for the same position, preference can be given to a candidate who belongs to a minority group, explains Chris Delaney from Employment King.Its impossible to know youre missing an X factor, but if you suspect thats the problem, you have to sell yourself hard to the people in charge. Youll have to convince them that they can get their X factor in another candidate, and that youre too strong to pass up.4. Company cant wait for you to relocateBe ready to uproot and move on the fly.The ProblemIn some cases, your perfect resume might be rejected because youll need to relocate for the role.If the company needs that spot filled immediately, your resume may be ignored, explains Stephanie McDonald from Hire Performance Recruiting So lutions.How to Overcome Be Willing to Move FastIf youre applying for a job thatsfar from your location, you should anticipateneeding to move.Keep the attention of the hiring manager by including your willingness to move very quickly in your cover letter and resume.5. Company aimed to promote internallyThe ProblemThe job opening you applied for isnt really available to the outside public. A company might put up a job posting purely as an exercise in curiosity, but actually be aiming to promote internally.How to Overcome Communication and PersistenceMake a strong argument for yourself as directly as possible to the hiring manager, and continue to inquire about the job posting as long as you see its still up. You never know if circumstances within the company might change they may decide not to hire internally after all, or decide to hire two new peoplebecause theyre expanding rapidly. Aim to keep your name in the game.6. The job was only posted due to company policy, but was actually already filledThe ProblemNathaniel Patterson, a former staffing and hiring manager, gives thisvaluable piece of insight Some companies have policies that any job opening has to be posted publicly, even if the company already hasalready chosen a candidate.Nathaniel describes this policy as an attempt to be more fair and equal. Unfortunately, it is also a serious inconvenience to anyone who spends time on his/her job applicationHow to OvercomeMake a Strong ImpressionIf the candidate has already been chosen, theres nothing you can do to mitigate this problem. However, try to contact the hiring manager as soon as possible to inquire about the role. Patterson suggests asking these questionsWhat prompted the position to be open?What is their ideal candidate profile?Do they already have someone in mind for the role?Patterson explains that these questions will impress a hiring manager because any self-respecting job candidate should know the answers to these questions, and will help you un derstand the soft requirements the job role requires.7. You arent currently workingNot having a job can negativelyimpact your job search, ironically enough.The ProblemPatterson also explains that some companies wont hire candidates that arent currently employed.Your education, qualifications, and resume may be perfect, but you may be excluded simply because you dont currently have a job.This is because recruiters and hiring managers are looking for people who can acclimate to the new job quickly and have a shorter learning curve.According to conventional wisdom, candidates who are currently employed tend to fall in this category.How to Overcome Find a Job in the MeantimePatterson says that job seekersshouldfind work while they are looking for that better job.Admittedly, sometimes finding a basic job can be difficult.He suggests looking into working for a temporary staffing agency, andupdating your resume frequently with the names of the companies youre tasked to work for.8. Your app lication was sent through a staffing firm, which the company is intentionally ignoringThe ProblemIf you applied for the job through a staffing firm, the company may intentionally be ignoring it, according to Patterson.Why?Staffing firms charge a large fee per job role filled, and the company may think its capable of filling the position on its own without spending that cash.How to Overcome Apply Through the Company DirectlyTry to apply for job openings through the company directly to avoid this issue. However, Patterson also advocates building a strong relationship with a staffing firm. He says that some staffing firms have a strategy of onlyputting one candidate in front of their client and really selling thatperson.If you can make someone else work to help get you a job, thats a big bonus.9. Job description changed over time, hiring process is arbitraryThe ProblemThejob description you applied for is obsolete because the company keeps changing it. Companies may do this for several reasonsThe hiring manager didnt know what they were doingIts a startup companyand the staff generallylacks experienceThe company is in the process of changingTim Ragan from www.careercoachint.com says that the whole sorting and selecting process is highly arbitrary and quite often selection criteria evolve as the recruiter goes through the stack of available resumes.In other words, you may have written a perfect resume for a position thats evolved into something different than what you initially applied for, making your resume less relevant.How to Overcome Observation and Direct CommunicationYou can overcome this issue by keeping your eye on the job posting and noticing changes. Keeping a line open with the hiring manager will also help clue you in to the evolving nature of the job. You may find that the job changes so much that your skills are no longer relevant.On the other hand, you may need to update the hiring manager and let them know that despite the changes, you still have the relevant qualifications (which you may need to mention in a new cover letter or resume).10. The job opening was placed on holdThe ProblemYou might be waiting a while for this oneThe job you applied for is on hold indefinitely.Executive coach Elva Baxterexplains that some companies may create job advertisements, and then put the positions on hold because circumstances have changed, or the position is eliminated altogether due to restructuring.How to Overcome Observe, and Keep in ContactCircumstances can change rapidly in a company, so its best to keep observing the position or staying in contact with the hiring manager. You wont be able to force your way through this barrier, however.11. Its a pipeline job postingThe ProblemYou applied to a job that doesnt exist yet.Marilyn Santiesteban, assistant director of the career services center at Texas AM University explains that some job postings are advertising for roles that dont yet exist in the company. The hiring manager is simply planning ahead and collecting resumes from people in case the job does open.How to Overcome Observation and Direct CommunicationIts hard to know if the job you applied for doesnt actually exist. The best you can do is try to contact the hiring manger and make sure they rememberyour name for if or when the job role is created.12. Applied too late (even if you sent your application in before the cutoff date)Job searching procrastination A deadly combo.The ProblemYou applied too late. Technically, you applied before the cutoff date, but the hiring manager has already started making a decision.Stephanie McDonald explains thathiring manager often quicklyreceive several excellent resumes, and decided to cut off the selection process earlier than anticipated.How to Overcome Apply as Soon as PossibleIf you notice that the job advertisements cutoff date is still far away,dont procrastinate.You may find yourself wondering if you had a chance if youd simply applied earlier.13. The hiring ma nager made unfavorable assumptions about your pay gradeThe ProblemYour excellent qualifications make it seem like youre going to ask for too much money.Ms. Baxter makes an excellent point that candidates coming from well known, blue chip companies may experience a problem where their resumes are ignored because hiring managers assume theyll be too expensive.How to Overcome Frame Your ApplicationIf youre coming from a big, well-knowncompany, Baxter suggests framing your cover letter in a way that suggests youre seeking smaller company opportunities and are very flexible with the arrangements.14. Job description didnt tell the whole story, and youre not as perfect as you thinkThe ProblemMichelle Hubble from staffing company Principal Technologies writes that in some cases, hiring managers will shorten their job advertisements to only show absolutely necessaryrequirements. Preferred requirements may not be listed in the job ad, but a candidate with those preferred skills will still hav e a competitive advantage.In other words, although youve tried your best, you may still be shooting in the dark with your job application.The sooner you can touch base with the hiring manager, the quicker you can come to understand that the job is not what you expected, and move on to more realistic job opportunities.15. You looked schwimmbad on social mediaTry to keep your social media profiles clean.The ProblemYour job application looks great, but the content that shows up on your social media is inappropriate, offensive, or unprofessional.How to Overcome Clean it UpIts irritatingbut you cant expect anything to be truly private anymore. You might consider doing an edit of your social media profiles (all of them) to make sure youre not giving off a bad impression.ConclusionYou may have noticed that the majority of these problems have the same solution getting in touch with thehiring manager. Unsurprisingly, almost all of the hiring managers and staffing experts I contacted emphasi zed the importance of networking, because its the only way youre going to mitigate problems like these which are otherwise completely out of your control.You may feel like a pest or annoyance, but actually youll be making a good impression. Establishing direct contact will demonstrate that youre serious about the opportunity, and have drive beyond the average job applicant.Be proactive, and dont let your perfect resume go ignored.