5 reasons you don't get called for interview

By Moruf Kolawole, Nasir.

Yeah! Your CV has been perfected, after reading last week publication you have added the necessary work experience and your CV seems perfect, yet no interview is forthcoming. You have read numerous articles on perfecting CV and have adequately worked on your CV to the extent that you can proudly display your CV to whoever cares to have a glance at it, still, no show. What then is the problem?
It is true that over 202 million people are unemployed around the world; it is also true that over 40% of them are youth. True still is the fact that over 54% of Nigerian youth are unemployed, not to talk of the numerous others that are underemployed. Yet, there is a good news. Companies conduct interviews almost every day of the week. You wonder where they get their candidates form and why they haven’t contacted you for one. The answer is not farfetched; read on.

1.      Do you truly align with the job?: In all fairness, do you truly think you are a perfect fit for most of the jobs you applied for? Ask yourself how many of your applications were not hinged on ‘luck trying’. It is a norm among job seekers to try luck in the jobs they know too well that they are not suitable for. Such applications will only waste the hiring manager’s time; they will not take him/her long to sieve them out.

2.    Are you qualified for the job?:  Remember, the job requires a chartered accountant with six years of work experience, you apply simply because you are chartered, not minding the experience yet you lament of not being invited for interview, how do you expect to be shortlisted where there are other chartered accountants with six and more years scrambling for same job.

3.      Did you meet the job requirements?: Job requirements go beyond your work experience and qualifications. Some jobs specifically ask for certain skills and certifications. Just because you meet the ‘major’ requirements does not guarantee you interview invite.

4.      Did you research or find out details about the job?: Many job seekers are fond of skimming through job adverts to concentrate only on the ‘method’ of application, without reading through the jobs details and other information about the jobs. Jobs descriptions and details most times contain information that automatically disqualifies applicants from a job. Yet they apply ignorantly, only to come out and claim foul play, if they were not shortlisted for interviews.

5.      What is the address on your CV? This appears strange chei? It sometimes affects your chances of getting shortlisted for interviews. This happens mostly in small companies or companies with low salaries who are not ready to handle employees’ relocation palava. Sometimes, the thought of T/fare taking a larger chunk of employees’ salary and thus affect employees’ commitments discourages some business owner. This makes them to jettison the idea of hiring staff from a far distance when there are other candidates in nearby locations. Some job advert explicitly states this (e.g. only applicants who live around lekki should apply) others don’t state it in the job advert yet they use it as one of the criteria for screening out candidates.

Moruf Kolawole Nasir is an experience HR with years of practical working experience. You can send in your questions by comment or send them to shadedreflects@gmail.com and the questions will be taken care of.