10 reasons why you are possibly NOT getting a job offer

It’s Monday, the start of a brand new week and a brand new topic for #jobmailtipofteday. This week we’re exploring 10 reasons why you are possibly NOT getting a job offer, on our social profiles, so make sure that you keep your eye on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Instagram.

Does it feel like you’ve had hundreds of job interviews and no job offers? Are you too old, too young, over/under-qualified, have bad ITC, too desperate or just out of luck? Are hiring managers just not seeing that you’re the best person for the job?

The truth is, if you’re getting rejected time after time for jobs that you are qualified for, the problem is most likely with you and how you are presenting yourself either in writing (your CV) or verbally (in the interview). Hiring managers and recruiters don’t get paid to reject people. Their job is to find qualified people to fill vacancies.

10 reasons why you are possibly NOT getting a job offer:

1. You’re not qualified for the position – Too many times, due to desperation or belief that you do not need a qualification to learn how to do the job, people apply for jobs that they are not qualified to do. A qualification is requested for a reason and most of the time, employers do not have the time to teach you, it is easier to hire someone who already knows what needs to be done.

2. You may lack enthusiasm. – This could be due to various reasons:
a. Your self-confidence has taken a knock
b. You are unprepared for the interview
c. You have randomly applied for positions and you’re not quite sure what position you are interviewing for or you may lack interpersonal skills – on paper you may look great, but face to face you fail the test. If there is any hint that you may not get along with other members of the team, it’s a deal killer. Suppress your desire to say anything that would suggest that you’re weak in the area of interpersonal skills.

3. Failure to establish your worth to the prospective employer (i.e you have not sold yourself properly).

4. Bad mouthing previous employers – If you’re a regular reader of the Job Mail Blog, you should be aware of the dangers of doing this.

5. Poor personal appearance.

6. Revealing your weaknesses will usually end your chances of getting a job offer. The hiring manager’s job is to determine the candidate’s weaknesses. He or she will do this by asking tough interview questions that you must be prepared to answer without revealing your weaknesses.

Practice answering the question: “Can you tell me about one of your weaknesses and what you are doing to improve it?” Take it one step further and decide what you will say when the interviewer asks you for three weaknesses that you are working on. There is a 99% chance that you will be asked this question in some form.

7. Your references didn’t support what you said. It’s important to have relevant references on your CV and they should verify what you say in the interview.

8. Your job goals were unclear. Employers are not interested in hiring people who don’t know what they want to do.

9. You were evasive – You answered questions that mattered poorly or inaccurately or you avoided them altogether.

10. You’re asking for too much money.

Here are 3 reasons why you didn’t get the job that you CAN’T Control:

1. They hired someone who already worked there – Many times companies advertise externally but end up hiring someone internally. Most companies prefer to hire internally as the person already knows the company and fits into the company culture. Yes, it sucks but it happens.

2. Someone else was better in the interview. Sometimes it comes down to the “chemistry” between the interviewer and interviewee.

3. Internal complications ended the opportunity.

If you didn’t get appointed because of one of these reasons, don’t be too hard on yourself, it happens. Every time you get rejected you’ll learn and become stronger.

In conclusion, there are many reasons why you may not be getting a job offer. Reality is that you will probably never know what happened. If they filled the position with someone else, perhaps that person had advantages no one could overcome, or perhaps they asked better questions in the interview or gave better answers.

These 10 reasons are among the most likely. Regardless of the reason, it’s your responsibility to make sure that you avoid anything that would prevent you from moving forward in the interview process.

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Watch this space for more more updates for job seekers on the Job Mail Blog.