Job Search Not Going as Planned? Here's How to Fix It

Estimated read time: 7 minutes

What’s in this letter 📧

In this week's issue, I'll be discussing how to troubleshoot a broken job search, specifically when:

• You’re not getting calls from recruiters

• You’re not making it past the recruiter screen

• You’re not getting offered the job

When I began my career in recruiting, I became intimately familiar with the applicant’s journey through the job application funnel, from the moment they submitted their application to the moment they were either offered the role or turned down.

I moved to consulting because I felt I could do more good working alongside applicants instead of being on the other side of the table.

Over the course of my consulting career (going on 12 years now!), I’ve helped hundreds of clients overcome various challenges involved in all aspects of the job search process, including:

✅ Writing a compelling resume

✅ Switching industries

✅ Troubleshooting ineffective resumes

✅ Troubleshooting broken job searches

Today, I’m going to cover three key stages in the job search process, what typically goes wrong with them, and solutions. These stages are:

• The online application

• The phone screen

• The job interview

The online application

Symptoms that your application process is broken

If your callback rate is less than 10% (as in, less you receive callbacks on less than 1 in every 10 job applications), then chances are there’s something wrong, assuming you’re applying to jobs you’re 60 to 70% qualified for.

Keep in mind this number varies by industry, role, location, and economic conditions.

Why?

• Your resume may not be targeted enough to the job you're applying for

• The content may not speak to the needs of the recruiter/position,

• It may not be clearly written, or

• It may read like a job description rather than being results-oriented.

• You’re using formatting that interferes with the ability of some applicant tracking systems to parse your resume.

How you fix it

At this stage, your resume is most likely the source of your problems. Assuming you’ve been qualified for the jobs you’ve applied to, take another look at your resume:

• Does it clearly tell the recruiter how you meet the qualifications of the job? In other words, is it targeted?

• Does it sound like a job description? Your resume should be unique to you, and should highlight what makes YOU an ideal match, based on your mix of skills, education, and experience (as opposed to being generic like a job description).

• If you’re a leader, does it demonstrate leadership impact?

• Does it provide quantitative and qualitative achievements? Are your actions clearly mapped to your accomplishments?

• Does it avoid the use of fluff?

• Does it avoid the use of tables, logos, headers, footers or charts?

• Is it written in a common font like Calibri or Times?

• Are there spelling or grammar errors?

Revise your resume to ensure it clearly addresses the qualifications (i.e., experience, education, and skills) listed in the job posting.

The initial recruiter screen

Symptoms that something may be wrong with your initial screens 

The rate at which applicants move past the initial screen varies widely, but in my experience, you should be moving forward on every 4 in 10 applications, at the least.

If you’re not, that tells me something’s going wrong during the screen that’s causing the recruiter to not move forward with your application (which by the way could be conducted over the phone or social media platforms such as LinkedIn).

Why?

There are a few areas where you may be tripping up here. A few of the key ones include:

• Your desired salary may not be within the position’s range (especially if you overshoot their salary range)

• What you say during the interview doesn’t align with what’s on your resume

• Your experience doesn’t align with the role after further review

• You exhibit a low level of enthusiasm, such as by being unprepared or not knowing enough about the company or position.

• Other warning indicators could include poor communication skills, lack of professionalism (i.e., you’re late to the interview without a valid reason), or poor listening skills

How you fix it 

• Make sure your story and resume align.

• Practice your tone and exhibit professionalism in the way you speak and show up on time.

• Research the company and role beforehand, understand their market, products, services, and challenges they currently face.

• Practice common phone screen questions and research the position's salary range beforehand. Avoid revealing your desired salary too early.

The job interview

First round interviews…

A first round interview is the initial stage of the interview process in a job application.

It usually serves as a screening or assessment tool to evaluate candidates and determine who’ll proceed to the next stage of the hiring process. companies have first round interviews.

Symptoms that you’re failing your interviews

While the number of interviews vary from one company to another, many companies use three as the magic number. That means you’re going through three interviews before being offered a job.

According to recent estimates by Jobvite, the interview to offer conversion rate was about 36.2%, up from around 19% during previous years. That’s how likely you are to be offered the job.

Based on that data, a ballpark conversion rate of about 25% is probably a safe average to go by. That means you have a 1 in 4 chance of moving past each stage of the interview.

If you’re seeing results that are drastically less than this (say you’re only moving past 1 out of every 9 interviews), then you’re probably fudging the interview.

Why?

• You can’t recall your previous roles, responsibilities, or accomplishments in enough detail when hiring managers dig deeper.

• You’re not good cultural fit for the company.

• You struggled to articulate your thoughts or past performance during the interview, making it difficult for the hiring team to gauge

• You didn’t know enough about the company and position.

• There were more qualified candidates.

How you fix it

• Keep a detailed record of your work history (roles, responsibilities, projects, accomplishments) and try to memorize the important details that might come up in conversation.

• Practice and master answering behavioural questions. Common questions include:

  • “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult coworker.”

  • “Describe a situation where you had to overcome a significant challenge at work.”

  • “How have you handled a situation when you had to meet a tight deadline?”

• Use the STAR method when answering questions. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Structure your response by describing the situation you faced, the task you were responsible for, the actions you took, and the results you achieved.

• Practice your answers out loud - that’ll help you become more comfortable when speaking about your experiences. I’ve personally practiced in front of a mirror and have asked family members to act as the interviewer. The key is to do what works for you!

• Master your tone and body language. Good books like "The Nonverbal Advantage" by Kinsey Goman are helpful.

About the Author

I’m James, Cofounder of Final Draft Resumes. I’ve been in the career consulting space for 13 years, and before that, I was a recruiter for AECOM.

I’ve helped thousands of job seekers, from industries like software engineering, IT, sales, marketing, manufacturing, and more generate job opportunities through well-written resumes that translate unique backgrounds into coherent narratives.

If you’re struggling with your resume for whatever reason, reach out - I just might be able to help!

If you’re more of a DIY person, then check out Resumatic, my free-to-try resume builder.