Is This The Reason You Keep Getting Turned Down For Jobs?

Job hunting is hard. Perhaps you’re looking to take your career in a new direction, or maybe you need to find something quickly due to being made unemployed from a firing or redundancy. Either way, scouring for positions which all have fierce competition and trying to find something right can be stressful. It’s even more stressful when you don’t hear anything back. But what’s the reason you keep getting turned down or ignored completely? Here are some possibilities. 

Your CV Isn’t Up To Scratch

Your CV is where you need to really stand out. It needs to be immaculately presented and written well, there are lots of professional CV writers online who can work with you to make yours shine. Make sure you’re not leaving off any important information. If you have a quirky, interesting hobby, write a blog or have volunteered abroad for example include this on it. It helps to show who you are outside of work and could help give you the edge over a candidate with similar experience. 

You Haven’t Included a Cover Letter

You might have the best CV in the world, but many employers will be looking for a cover letter. This is your chance to really grab their attention, they will be looking through CVs all day so just outline why you are right for the job. Your relevant experience and anything else that will encourage them to pick up your CV and read it thoroughly. 

You Have a Criminal Past

Many jobs will run background checks on potential employees, those who deal with high-value equipment, money of vulnerable people for example will be especially strict. But many general jobs will also run checks, and if you’ve been in trouble with anything in the past, it can seriously harm your chances. Even relatively minor things will make you look less reliable and attractive as a potential employee. If you have something on your record which you believe is unfair, it’s worth looking into criminal record expungement. This will prevent anyone being able to access this information, and in turn will improve your job prospects. 

You Don’t Have Enough Experience

In most cases, the reason you will be turned away from jobs is that you don’t have enough experience. Many companies don’t have the time, money or resources to train from scratch so will be looking for people with either direct experience or transferrable skills from a similar role. Frustratingly, it’s difficult to get experience in the first place in many roles as they will only take people with experience, to begin with. One thing you could do is consider taking an apprenticeship, here you will only be paid a small amount, but you get to be trained and gain invaluable experience to then go on to a proper paid role. Another alternative is to work for free and do voluntary work. Not only does having this on your CV show an employer you’re committed to getting the job you want, but it’s a good way to gain the experience you need to even get a foot on the ladder in the first place.