3 Main Reasons You Are Not Getting That Job You Applied For

By Selipha Kihagi

With recent stories of job seekers in Kenya going an extra mile in the hope to get hired and falling prey to cons, we decided to explore the current job market. Why is it that there are so many qualified but unemployed candidates? If people say there are no jobs, why are recruiters having a hard time filling certain positions? There is no easier answer to these questions. But in this article here, you can learn 3 things about today’s job market if you are job hunting.

And for those of you still not getting called to interviews after applying for jobs, this post aims to share the 3 main reasons you are not getting that job you applied for.

3 Main Reasons You Are Not Getting that Job

1. You are sending scanned documents to recruiters

Unless a job advert has asked you to send a scanned CV and Cover Letter, please do not send one when applying for jobs. If you have been applying for jobs with a scanned CV and Cover Letter, chances are you are not getting that job. Why? Most recruiters will not be bothered to open the document.

“I have a problem with job seekers who send in a scanned CV when applying for jobs. The document is so small and most of the information included is not clear,” says Christine Wanjau, a Recruitment Manager at Corporate Staffing Services. She adds that it has become such a problem that she will not even bother to open the document.

And she is not alone. In this article here we highlighted how annoying it is when recruiters open your email and all they see is a poorly scanned document. Also, some job seekers are going to the extent of attaching a photo of their CV in their applications. At this point I ask; are you even serious?

You are competing against other suitably qualified candidates who followed instructions; do you believe a recruiter will pick you for the interview? To be on the safe side, always send in your CV as a Word Document attachment if it has not been specified. You can also use PDF, but note that most recruiters prefer your CV in Word.

2. You sent your impressive CV without contact information

The times we have written about this issue of contact information is countless. So here is the harsh truth; you are not getting that job you applied for if you did not include your email address and phone number on your CV. Why? Because recruiters receive hundreds of emails in applications, and according to this article here the number goes up to thousands.

This then means they will not have time to go searching for your email among the pool of applications they have. If you think this to be unfair, try put yourself in the recruiter’s position. Would you spend hours trying to find contacts to reach one candidate when you can easily find those of another one? In an environment where you have a deadline to meet, the answer you are looking for is No. So, always include your phone number and email at the very top of your CV.

3. You sent a CV but did not say why

In a tough job market like the one in Kenya where getting hired is a full-time job in itself, you need to be very careful when sending applications. I recently received a CV in my email with no Subject line and no information in the email body. I am not a recruiter but I couldn’t help but wonder what the job seeker was thinking at the time of sending the email.

Recruiters receive applications like this on a daily basis, with some just writing “Application for Job” in the subject line. This is wrong and you are not getting that job you applied for if this is what you did in your application. In every job application there is usually details on how to apply and under this, recruiters always include the subject line to use. If you decide to leave it out or use a different one, recruiters will not find your CV and hence you will not be called for the interview.

Most times we are to blame when it comes to job applications. You have the qualifications, experience and in a recruiter’s eyes you are a perfect candidate. But then you go ahead and make the 3 mistakes above without even realizing it and you remain frustrated wondering what went wrong. This article shares 4 traits of successful job seekers, read it and see what you have been doing wrong.

For queries on your CV and job applications, leave a comment below.

14 Comments

  1. I tend to agree with your highlighted reasons for any suitable candida failing to acquire a job but like the rest l have never made the mentioned mistakes yet my applications through corporate staffing have never been successfully. Been applying through them for close to a year now.

  2. I have applied on several occasions via Corporate Staffing Services but to no success.I have never been a victim of the 3 reasons highlighted above.In fact I tend to agree with the commentors above which really begs a lot of questions among them being ‘Is THIS company TRANSPARENT in the recruitment process?’

  3. I too have never made such mistakes in my applications and yet mine have never been successful.

  4. I doubt if there are job seekers making those highlighted mistakes! They have never come any closer to my applications and yet my applications are not fruitful.

  6. Thanks for the ideas, I am a 2nd year degree student in BSc. Environmental Science and after my 4th year, I will be on a hunt for job opportunities. But I find it hard because, they are in need of them with work experience of specific period of time. What should I do to make myself ideal in the job hunting?

  9. Im also avictim of the circumstances i now done application for three years i have never gotten even asingle interview and im not doing those mistakes

  13. I never do any of the above yet I never even get an interview. Its a year now since I lost my banking job and I am yet to get a single interview. I am a masters degree holder in finance with over 15 years banking experience 7 of them as a manager. I have even given up on sending applications anymore because it seems to me as a hoax. Where could the problem be?

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