It’s 2023 and Job Seekers Still Make these Mistakes!, Applied for so many jobs but still not getting any callbacks? Told everyone within 6 feet around you about your quest to find a job yet no one seems to care? Your are definitely still making some job-seeking mistakes that deter you from getting any job at all. These mistakes prevent you from getting any callbacks.
Naturally, people make a lot of mistakes. Job seekers who could be currently unemployed, about to loose their job or not happy with their employer are more geared to make mistakes. Our interaction with job seekers through our job board www.jobibex.com has revealed the following common mistakes job seekers still make:
1. I’m looking for a new challenge
This phrase is now associated with unsolicitedly and uninvitedly sending your resume. Job seekers use it excessively when writing to their connections. No matter how elegant, polite and euphemistic it sounds to you, but the recipient decodes it differently. It sounds to them like: “I’m desperate to find a job because I am not happy with my current job or I am about to loose it, here is my CV, go work for me and find me a job!”
Nobody, even recruitment agencies, like it when people bombard them with CVs and forcefully demand that they act as manpower agency. If you still doubt the impotency of this method/phrase just check how many times persons using it actually landed a job. The best you could get is a curtesy receipt confirmation.
This does not mean we should stop asking our contacts for job referral. We should be smart and sensible when approaching this issue. The next time someone tells you they are looking for a new challenge tell them to climb Mount Everest or bungee jumping!
2. Networking is a solution to Not Working
Stop the aggressive salesman mentality when searching for a job. Do not assume that if you are networking, then you must seize immediate personal gain. It could be true in a general sense. However, the gain could be as simple as broadening your network and/or social circle. The result doesn’t have to be an offer to the position you wish you had.
People could be kind but do not tolerate those who want to take advantage of them. While establishing any relationship think about mutual benefits rather than taking full advantage of the other person. If you are networking with the purpose of finding a job make sure not to make the situation like “Hi, nice to meet you, since we became friends now do me a favor, here’s my CV, go find me a job!”
3. I need a job, please
Desperate is not attractive and even the kindest souls on earth resent it. Many job seekers appeal to recruiters mercy rather than to recruiters’ self interest. Using terms like: please Sir, I need a job, I lost my job, please help me, please find me a job and I have to feed my family and repay my loans will not get you anywhere. It might work if you are a laborer looking for a job that pays daily wage. However, professionals should act professionally when seeking employment.
Recruiters who look after the interest of their organizations are interested in getting the best candidates. They would not hire you because you need a job but because their organization needs you. They might sympathize with you and give you some pocket change to keep you afloat, but that is not what you want. Moreover, if they give you a job because you are a desperate person who is in need for a job, they will soon be desperate and asking others for a job!
4. Interested, please view my profile
In our experience posting vacancies on public platforms we see job seekers who leave lame comments like “interested” or “view my profile” as a formal job application. In every job ad there are clear instructions on how to apply. Usually, there’s a link to follow or an email address to which resumes should be sent. Some job seekers would never bother to read the instructions let alone follow them. That indicates to the recruiter that the person is careless, lazy and disrespectful.
Get serious and do your homework. Nobody will hire you as a result of your comments to a job post. Read the instructions and make sure that your CV is duly delivered to the employer.
5. Applying to (fill in the blank) job
One of the main reason why employers outsource the headhunting and recruitment process is amount of unfit applications they receive. You might perceive job searching as a number game whereby you succeed only by spreading your CV around as much as you can. Well, it does not work this way.
Be focused like a laser beam not only when searching for employment but in everything in your life. Submit your CV to where you think it is most appreciated, valued and needed. Recruiters and employers are tired of specific persons frequently applying to every job they post so they start blocking these persons.
6. I deserve a better job
Many people with jobs approach us looking for a better job. They believe that they deserve a better job and a higher pay. When we analyze their situation (salary, qualifications, contributions to their organization, skills, etc..) We conclude that they are lucky to be holding their current job and they are either fairly paid or overpaid. Many are considered as dead weight to their existing employer and should seriously consider any golden handshake offer.
If the market or your employer is underestimating you it is a result of you undervaluing yourself. Failing to upgrade yourself and enhance your market value through career development programs and hard work will have a direct impact on your paycheck. Admit it or not, over the long run, you receive your exact worth. Your value is equal to the value you add and your contribution to your employer.
Your job is as important as everything else in your life. If you do not have a job, you should find one. That is your birth right. Get yourself the best job you can get. Be very serious when it comes to job search. Develop the right attitude and build a reputation of being the ideal candidate. Do not spoil your reputation by acting funny on social media, exploiting your contacts, sounding desperate, behaving carelessly when applying to a vacancy or complaining about lack of appreciation and blaming others.
