Why you are not getting hired even with the right qualifications

If you meet all the checks, then you should get hired easily, right?

Nope, wrong. Unfortunately, with today’s tough job market you won’t be the only candidate who meets all the requirements. It’s wrong to assume that good grades and extracurricular activities will get you that job. You may get a job interview but getting the job goes beyond what’s on paper.

Which could explain the reason why even though you’ve been sending out resumes and going for job interviews, you are still jobless. And this article will help you fix that with four tips.

#1 You are qualified…but you are boring
Congrats, you got an interview. This is your chance to impress! But if you go to the interview unprepared and don’t try to impress because you think what you have on paper is good enough, hmmmm good luck trying to get hired. Or maybe you think you answered all the questions correctly and you did a good, solid job…. until you find out that the job you wanted went to another candidate.

What went wrong? For starters, what’s on paper is just your golden ticket to an interview. What will really get you hired is to really stand out. If the role you’re hiring is popular, chances are the hiring manager will be interviewing a lot of candidates, sometimes even back-to-back. If you give your standard answers and perform your standard “I think I did good enough”, you’ll find a hard time trying to leave a solid impression on the interviewer. Especially when all the other candidates are just as good on paper!

What you need to do is showcase that not only do you have the qualifications to do the job, you are someone the company wants to have onboard. Be warm and friendly, connect with the interviewer. Be casual but at the same time professional. Provide answers that are direct and to the point; being long-winded will make the person interviewing you bored.

#2 You are qualified… but you downplay it
When job searching, showing confidence can give you a notch above the rest. If you ho and hum about your qualifications and don’t think it is a good idea to sell yourself, that’s where you lose out to other candidates who have no problem selling themselves as the person to hire. Hence why you are overlooked for the role even if you are more qualified than others!

Key here is to stop selling yourself short. Understand what your strengths and accomplishments are and how they relate to the job. Use this to your advantage by showcasing it to the person interviewing you. But being overly confident will also backfire so make sure you know how to sell yourself without sounding pompous. One way to do this is to have real accomplishments to back you up!

#3 You are qualified… but you didn’t do your research
Your superb CV should cover whatever job you are applying for right? Wrong! There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all CV hence why you still need to customize your CV to suit the role and company you’re applying to. That’s not it, you’ll need to do some research that will help back you up during the interview so the person interviewing you knows that you not only took time to learn about the organisation but also show a true interest to work there!

A few basic things to learn: The company’s basic info, any latest news, what the role entails (try to research what the general requirements are and see how this may suit what the company needs). Are there videos to watch? That could help give you an insight into the company’s culture.

#4 You are qualified… but not as qualified as you imagine yourself to be
In other words? Your expectations are too high. You have what it takes but to demand a higher than usual salary, well – that’s going to turn some interviewer off from wanting to hire you. Or maybe you have some requirements you want met – hmm red flag for employers!

By all means, don’t just accept any salary but be realistic and flexible. Don’t expect to be paid handsomely or receive a bunch of benefits if you’re still relatively new at this working thing. Unless you’ve been in the industry for long and have the industry recognition to prove, then you aren’t exactly in a position to demand.

Going into the interview stating your needs will give the employer the impression that you’re in it over your head. But if you go with some flexibility and most importantly, listening first to what’s on the table, the employer is more likely to view you as someone who is adaptable. Remember that what you lack in salary can be made up in benefits so it’s not just about the pay check you get at the end of the day.

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