It’s quite disappointing to receive a rejection mail after investing so much toil in a cover letter, a resume and even interview preparation sessions. Most often, we are made to believe that we did not get in because we are incompetent. That is not solely the case.
There are several other reasons, beyond incompetence, for which a candidate may be rejected for a job. It is even harder to figure them out when there is no feedback. Career Wheel is focused on delivering the best of experiences to candidates–the job hunt process is stressful enough. For that matter, I have personally compiled these points to guide your next application. I have tapped from both my recruitment and career coaching experiences to provide you with all the information you need about what happens in the background.
If you find a reason or two in the list that resonate(s) with you, I hope it keeps you sane and fuels your burning passion to continue chasing those giant career ambitions. Here are five main reasons for which you may face a rejection with a job application.
- Poor resume: Most job interview processes have the resume as a starting point. A poor resume is one that does not communicate the value that candidates bring to the table and can be a major blocker. You may be an amazing performer, but if you do not advocate for yourself through your resume, you are most likely going to be rejected at the pre-screening/shortlisting stage. As a recruiter, other common trends spotted in poor resumes come from formatting (text misalignment, unclear sections, and font sizes and types that are not uniform), typographical errors and most importantly, content in the work experience section that do not show results but only lists job roles and responsibilities. Avoid these, tailor the content of your resume to the job requirements and watch some magic unfold. Find out more here.
- Cover notes/letters with low enthusiasm: The requirements of job applications usually include a cover letter. Where the job is entry level, a cover letter/note could be a strong requirement for shortlisting candidates. The cover note provides an opportunity to throw more light on your core motivations for the role. Taking a storytelling approach is mostly recommended because it would help articulate your motivations better to the recruiter or hiring manager. Tell your story by highlighting a current or past experience (could be personal or that of others) that has motivated you to apply for that role. You may also highlight how you align with the company’s mission. You could touch on problems you want to solve, opportunities you want to exploit or the impact you want to deliver to the value chain/stakeholders of the company. This makes the story unique to you and helps you to stand out. In a recruitment exercise I engaged in recently, the shortlisted candidates though did not have the best of cover notes, their cover notes checked the uniqueness and storytelling boxes. It will be strategic to leverage your cover letter as a summary of your interview prep document. It should provide responses to the following statements/questions:
- Tell us about yourself, focusing only on what is relevant
- Why the company? (Alignment with mission, product, services etc)
- Why the role? (particularly if this is your first role)
- What relevant skills do you possess that will help you stand out for the role?
- Quality of the candidate pool: Although the job description is a guide, the quality of the candidates applying to a particular job determines who gets chosen. In a situation where there is a high quality candidate pool, you may tick all the boxes on the job description but still not secure the job. The farthest you may go, in this case, is the step before receiving an offer. This is because the requirements in the job ad gets relegated to the background because it then becomes the minimum while the quality of the pool takes over as the new bar for evaluation.
- Overqualification: This is a pretty interesting one. “I checked all the boxes. I did all the things listed on the job description years ago and I can execute it seamlessly so I deserve the job”. The big deal here is that recruiters are not only looking for candidates who can do the job but those who will stay. Checking all the boxes means you’ve already outgrown the role and overqualified. Being overqualified for the role might be a hint that you will leave the company at the least chance. Organizations these days hire strategically. If they want people who would stay with the organization for long, you may satisfactorily tick the requirements on the job ad but because you are not likely to stay at the company for long, you would not be preferred. A recruiter’s worst nightmare is to hire a talent who leaves the organization by the next month or quarter. Another recruitment cycle will cost the company more time and money. But it does not end there. It is prudent to indicate in your cover letter or by any other means, the core reasons for wanting to fill the role. Remember though, that your reasons may be valid but the competitive forces–other candidates who meet the requirements and are likely going to stay longer–may just be way stronger.
- Job Closure: Another possible reason for rejection is a closed job. A job opening might be closed due to changing business requirements. Hiring is done to accommodate a particular business need. Where the need does not exist, hiring automatically ceases. Additionally, a job may be closed because the recruitment team may have found a suitable candidate for the role. Under that context, how do you hack this? Apply on time. However, do not compromise on the quality of your application because of speed. Find the right balance.
As you can see, there are several other reasons that could lead to rejections. They cut across inability to meet language requirements, living outside a specified geolocation (especially with some remote jobs), poor performance during the interview, display of dishonesty or disrespect towards the stakeholders in the job recruitment process, salary expectations being way above the budget for the role among several others.
This might be news to you but there are also instances where the candidate rejects the company because they may have other offers or some constraints. While this is heartbreaking for the company affected, it still creates an opportunity for the next person in line.
I would want to conclude with this: Before you second guess yourself next time, before you think you are not good enough, remember that candidates may be rejected for several reasons, beyond display of incompetence and a poor resume. The quality of the candidate pool sets the new bar. Low enthusiasm displayed in your cover letter may be a blocker. The job might be closed. The employer may be protecting their interest of retention if you are overqualified but do not efficiently communicate your motivations.
Keep Hunting. Stay Consistent. Continue building relationships with decision makers to get feedback on your application and manage your expectations while at it. After all, even Recruiters face rejections at some point in their job search process.
