The Career Suite

Podcast, “The Career Suite”
S1 E6
Title: 30 Resumes, 2 Interviews, 0 Job Offers
Host: Helen G. Sneed

Ready to drive your future forward?
Then you’re in the right place!
Let's step inside the Career Suite, where Career conversations begin with you!

Thank you for joining me inside “The Suite” today. I'd like to start with percentages. I’ll call it the likelihood factor.

It's well known when you apply for a job, you have decided to compete for an opportunity. Short-term, long-term interim; whatever it turns into, you have entered a competition.

During the past 90 days, if you’ve submitted 30 resumes, participated in 2 interviews and received zero job offers; chances are you aren’t fully aware of how well prepared your competition is. If you aren't well prepared, you have less than a 50% chance of being considered a viable candidate. Today, inside “The Career Suite”, I will help you change that!

Grab your pumpkin loaf, and let's identify your competition. The average number of people applying for a full-time job with a well-known company is around 100. Granted, time of year, the state of the economy, and how specialized or popular a position is can influence this number; to keep it simple and neutral, we'll stick with 100.

Typically, less than 20% of the applicants make it to the “yes” or “maybe” category, that’s 20 people. From there, it’s likely that 20% of the "yes" group make it to the interview stage. Often the results from a phone screen will make this group even smaller.

You might have one or two strong "maybes" added to the list phone screens. This is where you could find a "friend of a friend" was referred and invited as a courtesy or they have some potential.

Another way to look at this is less than 1 in 20 applicants are categorized as viable candidates. The likelihood of being interviewed is closer to 1 in 25. From the people interviewed, only one person accept the job offer and begin their new opportunity.

Let's look at this from another angle. Most people don't submit 100 resumes or complete that many job applications. If you submit ten resumes monthly for three months, that's thirty.

It's safe to say you have a 10% chance of being considered for an interview.

You have a 90% chance of not making it to the interview stage unless you are well prepared.

Most people I talk with use the same resume, same cover letter and change the date. I often hear them say “I've applied all over and I haven’t heard back from anyone, it’s so frustrating’.

When people apply "all over," they aren't increasing their chances of being interviewed, especially if they recycle the same resume. What recycle means in “The Suite” is "updating" the resume used to get your current position by adding a few new bullet points.

Consider this, applying "all over" for a job is the same as arbitrarily buying 30 scratch-off lottery tickets, 1 at a time, each ticket for a different game and from various locations in other states. It's too random.

Believe it or not, with some planning, skill, and strategy, you can increase your chances of being interviewed. You can accomplish it with through a targeted approach.

Today's question in “The Suite”: How can you improve your chances of being invited to the interview?

The answer has 5 facets; when you combine all five, you've committed to a strategy, planning and showcasing your skills.
Let's get started:

Number one: Research the company, comb through their webpage LinkedIn profile, read reviews on Glassdoor, google them, search for news stories and lawsuits, and visit their social media platforms. Potentially Facebook and Instagram. If it's a smaller company, check to make sure they have a FEIN – Federal Employer ID Number, it's a required ID# to process payroll and some banks require it to open business accounts.

If you know someone who works at the company, especially if you might report to them, view their online persona. You want to see how they communicate with people.

Learn about the company's mission, values, and benefits. This will help you understand what the company stands for, what's important to them, and do they have policies and programs in place to drive your future forward? Are they living their marketing message, are their actions congruent?

Number two: Make connections in your industry. Networking can help you learn about job openings and get referrals. Attend industry events, join professional organizations, and connect with people on LinkedIn. Connect with difference makers outside of your industry. Engage in meaningful discussions to showcase your communication skills.

Number three: Customize your resume and cover letter. Tailor your resume and cover letter to the opportunity and the organization. What can you do for the organization, how will you get it done, and what have you done in the past that helps the new company solve its problems? Can I find that information within your cover letter? Quantify your accomplishments.

Here are two examples:
A. Pioneered the implementation of "Surviving an Active Shooter Event" in-person training at Max Video Studios in NYC for 20 full-time employees
B. Significantly improved employee participation in our Corporate Wellness Program from 65% to 100% and remained at 100% for three consecutive years.

What can I do for an organization? Provide relevant, in-person training that could save lives. Create training programs to improve workplace safety and security. What else can I do? Get buy-in from employees, bring a team of individuals together, improve their wellness and maintain efficacy even through turnover. It’s another example of improving people's lives and an awareness that supports healthier lifestyles.

If I were applying for a payroll job, I would need more than highlighting these two accomplishments in my cover letter to get into the top 10%, even if I've done payroll before. My cover letter would need to address wage & hour rules, overtime, being compliant, taxes or mention the frequency of my payroll runs, software programs such as ADP, Gusto or Paychex. If I saved the company money by switching payroll companies, I need to include that as well.

Which brings me to Number four: Know your selling points. Identify your unique selling points and be prepared to discuss them during the interview; select two, maybe three and include them in your cover letter. Provide your wow-factors up front. Please don't regurgitate your resume or spend a paragraph explaining where you found the job posting. The HR Director knows you found it, you're applying, so use the first three sentences to wow them, not bore them.

Number five: Be professional on social media. Episode number 5 dug into this. I'll share the abbreviated version today. Use your social media to present yourself in a way that any employer would want you to represent them at a dinner event, job fair, meeting a new customer or help close a million-dollar deal. If you make it to the "yes" or "maybe" group, don't let your social media online persona PUNT you into the "no" group, no points & the get the official’s call "your interview has been canceled”.

If you've submitted thirty resumes received two interviews and zero job offers, then one or more of these five facets is working against you and your competition is doing a better job at all five.

It's official; you understand and know your competition. You know what to focus on, how to prepare and the strategy it takes to improve. Now that's Growth!

In Episode number 7, we'll address how to improve your chances of moving from an interview to a job offer.

I'm Helen G. Sneed; join me again in “The Career Suite”, where I promise to save you a seat! If you need help with any of these five facets, email me and include your resume to CEO@thecareersuite.
You'll be glad you did!