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I have 12 years work experience and am currently a student (half way there, slow but steady) and I'm still currently employed by a well known and respected company. My resume seems to get trashed after one glance for jobs that I beyond qualify for and out comes the rejection email...again. I'm getting frustrated. I'm intelligent, nice and work hard, really hard. I can't get an interview anywhere. I had a company write my resume and it's perfect, my career coach is baffled, someone should have grabbed me up by now. But she knows me and they don't. Why do I keep getting rejected? Maybe I need to leave my being a student off of the resume and see what happens. As if I don't feel worthless enough that my job is ending and I'm being treated bad, now I can't even get a phone interview. My confidence is crumbling and I'm not even unemployed yet. Maybe I need to take some time off an build myself back up again.
Which field are you in? I'm employed, not a student, and I am still having a very difficult time. Granted, my job search has only taken off a couple months ago, but I'm not getting a single response. I don't know what to tell you. I don't want to tell you some mindless HR dribble about what you need to include or omit, because everyone is different in what they want to see. Try everything you can think of and see what works.
One thing you might consider is if it is obvious that a professional wrote your resume for you. Sometimes it can feel canned. Writing it yourself gives it more personality and uniqueness. Maybe have someone in your field look at your resume and see if the pros have perhas taken out some of the industry-specific flavor that companies would be looking for.
It may just be the field you are in. My industry is especially hard hit by this recession, nearly 50% out of work. I sent out over two hundred resumes before I landed a job. Most times, I didn't even get rejection letter, I just got no response. From those that I did receive feedback from, I was told that it wasn't anything wrong with me, just that they found someone who had a very peculiar skillset that suited them, and that I was among hundreds applying. I just had to keep trying until I got a hit.
And, it's okay to take a break and rejuvinate your enthusiasm. Looking for a job is hard work.
So you have 12 years experience and have gone back to school? Are you going for your master's? Are you completing a bachelor's? Does your resume read as if school is currently your top priority? Prospective employers may not want to hire someone focusing on school. If you are going for your bachelor's , they may not want someone without that degree.
Other things to consider:
- If you are seeking a job that is in your field but different from your current job, you may be too detailed in your experience.
For example, let's say that I was... a microchip developer for Intel. Let's say I'm awesome at what I do and I developed some specialized arithmetic unit on the chip. And all my resume does is talk about this awesome stuff I did for Intel with that special chip. This new job I'm going for is for embedded processors. While they may be very similar, and while I may be qualified for it, the hiring manager might not know what all that stuff you did at Intel was.
TL;DR : If you are being too specific, dumb it down. And on that same token, if you are being too broad/general, add further details.
If its not the student thing or the detail on your resume, then maybe its other contents on your resume.
Consider leaving out personal hobbies such as "sacrificing goats." That may help.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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You have told us: " I'm intelligent, nice and work hard, really hard". None of that can be proven on a resume. It sounds like you have taken a very well written, professional sounding resume about your education and experience and are sending out to a lot of places.
As a hiring manager I can tell right away that most employers will recognize that and most likely toss it. Both the resume and cover letter must demonstrate your understanding of the position you are applying for, and specifically highlight the knowledge and experience you have that are listed
on the requirements.
I hope you can get a refund from your career coach.
LOL My current company is paying for her, maybe I need to hire one on my own!! Thanks for the tips guys. I'm in health insurance, group benefits. Not an easy thing to stay in right now with so many companies unsure of the reform. I think my resume is too generic, so I'm going to try to personalize it to each job to show what I can do for that specific company and not just in general.
Doh! That is exactly what you need to do...I trash resumes on a daily basis...from people who obviously did not read the job announcement, and actually write in their resume keywords that make me realize that they cared enough to tailor their resume for this particular job. I read one resume from a woman who was a caregiver, and she transformed her job duties as an aide, to her resume looking like she could qualify for a job doing patient advocate work. She was interviewed, not hired, but the team liked her well enough to offer her another job 30 days later...and she is now well on her way to qualifying for a better job...
LOL My current company is paying for her, maybe I need to hire one on my own!! Thanks for the tips guys. I'm in health insurance, group benefits. Not an easy thing to stay in right now with so many companies unsure of the reform. I think my resume is too generic, so I'm going to try to personalize it to each job to show what I can do for that specific company and not just in general.
Your company pays for your career coach? Wow lol, that's a new one.
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