At Work It Daily, we're asked this question a lot. The reality is, the reason is different for everyone. The good news? You can overcome whatever is holding you back from getting hired.
Here are five reasons you're still unemployed:
1. Your Resume Isnât Job Specific
While it's good to have a strong resume with all of your professional skill sets, your resume can become generic when all you do is send the same resume to every open position you find.
The Solution:Customize your resume for each job you apply for. By taking the time to customize your resume with relevant skill sets and specific keywords that are in the job description, you'll be more likely to land an interview and, therefore, will have more viable job opportunities.
2. Youâre Overqualified
This problem is common among older workers looking for a career change. But this can happen to anyone who has a lot of experience and is trying to get their foot in the door at another company.
The Solution: During an interview, make it your mission to connect with the employer. Tell a story. Let them know you aren't just running out the clock. If they ask about your 5-year plan, don't mention retirement. Your career isn't over yet.
3. Youâre Underqualified (Or Lack Exposure To The Professional World)
On the flip side, you could be unemployed because you don't have enough experience orthe right skill sets to do the jobs you've been applying for. Maybe you're a recent college grad, and at this point, you're just begging someone to give you a chance. Whatever your situation, employers are making it very clear you aren't qualified.
The Solution: Take classes or earn certificates to try to develop new skills. Volunteer or intern to get the type of professional experience employers are looking for. Focus on the skill sets you do have and learn how to quantify those skills on your resume to stand out to hiring managers.
4. You've Stopped Being Proactive In Your Job Search
If you really want a job, your actions have to reflect your attitude. As the weeks (or maybe months) drag on and you still haven't found a job, you may find yourself getting into a dangerous job search routine. You apply for half a dozen jobs every day and hope for the best. This strategy rarely works. If you want quality job opportunities, you need to be proactive.
The Solution: Make networking a priority. Go to job fairs. Reach out to employees at companies you'd love to work for on LinkedIn. Start compelling, professional conversations with them. Remember: you're a business-of-one. The better you actively market yourself to employers, the more job opportunities you'll likely receive.
5. You've Lost All Urgency
It can be easy to get into a job search rut. Time goes by differently when you don't have a set routine. The longer it takes for you to find a job, the harder it is find the motivation to get a job. You may begin to lose confidence in yourself and your skills as a professional. When your career is suddenly on hold, your life can feel like it is without purpose or direction.
The Solution:Set goals and work towards themâeven if they're just small goals. They could be career-related goals, or not. Maybe you want to get in better shape. Maybe you want to learn a new skill. If you set goals for yourself, you'll regain that sense of purposeâand better yourself in the process.
Being unemployed is tough. If you follow these tips, you'll have the tools to overcome the challenges you face in the job search process.
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
Even when you have the education and professional background to qualify for the job, don't count on it as a sure win that you will be asked to come in for an interview. In fact, your qualifications may hinder your chances.
It's very common in today's market for employers to dismiss a job applicant's resume because they are âoverqualified."
Sometimes there's an abundant supply of highly qualified candidates but not enough jobs to go around for everyone. In those cases, job seekers may resort to applying for positions where the level of expertise required on the job is below their previous position's requirements. In addition, those making a career change often need to seek out entry-level positions, where there may be more job opportunities.
The challenge for job seekers is not simply competing with so many other applicants but finding a fine balance of information to place on their resume without coming off as overqualified. Employers are mostly concerned that, if you take a lesser position, you will leave once you find a position that is more commensurate with your skills.
Here are a few tips to help guide you in preparing your resume for the next job opportunity and avoid coming off as overqualified and ruining your chances of landing the job offer:
1. Only Include Relevant Work Experience
Focus on what the employer is looking for and show them you can do it. If some of your management experience is not a part of their job description, then don't mention it. This tip is especially critical for applicants moving from one career to another.
For instance, if you had your own mortgage or construction firm and are now just looking for a sales job, just speak to your experience driving sales. You can also change your title from "Owner" to "Sales Manager." As you list your professional experience, be sure to quantify your sales results.
2. Only Highlight Necessary Degrees
Many of today's positions require candidates to have a bachelor's or master's degree. If you continued to pursue education to obtain other degrees, earning you the title of Ph.D., M.D., or others, don't be so quick to include that information on your resume.
You have to ask if it is at all relevant to the job you are applying for. It's great if you moved on to obtain your Ph.D. in neuroscience, but if the employer's business and the job is focused on finance and accounting for toy manufacturing/distribution, your additional education will be of little relevance and may sway an employer to reconsider whether you are right for the position.
3. Explain Why You're The Right Candidate
Write a disruptive cover letter that tells a story about why you're passionate about the position, how you feel a connection to the company, and how your experience, skills, and talent make you the right fit. If there's a chance your resume comes off as overqualified, even after following the tips above, make sure to provide sufficient explanation in your cover letter.
Give the employer confidence that you are challenged by the opportunity and will be there a year from now. The employer needs to know that you are not simply taking the job because you can't find anything better. They also need to be assured you aren't going to be quick to run off to another job as soon as the market improves or another opportunity opens up that is more in line with your level of experience from your previous positions.
Your resume is a marketing tool to help get your foot in the door for an interview. Placing too much information or irrelevant information will only give the employer more reason to dismiss you. Carefully review the job posting and do your research to really understand what skills and experience are desired for the position so that you present your resume and qualifications in the best light. Not everything you've accomplished, regardless of how significant it is, is appropriate to include on your resume.
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
So, you're over 50. You had your resume and LinkedIn profile professionally done. You're applying to tons of jobs and recruiters are saying you're perfectly qualified. And then they're lowballing you by 20%. What are you doing wrong? How do you get back to making the same amount of money you were making at your last job?
This is one of the biggest resume mistakes people over 50 make, and what older professionals should do instead...
The resume mistake most people over 50 make is hiring a professional resume writer who makes you look like a jack- or jill-of-all-trades (or doing this when writing your resume yourself). The problem with this is that it makes you look overqualified and old school, which could make you more susceptible to age discrimination and hurt your chances of landing a well-paying job.
The solution? Specialize.
In order to appear relevant and valuable to employers, you need to brand yourself as a specialist. Sure, you've probably acquired countless skills over your decades as a professional. But employers are hiring you to solve a specific problem or alleviate a certain pain, so you need to highlight the skills and experience that are most relevant to the position you're applying for.
The best, most effective way to brand yourself as a specialist in your job search is to create a simplified, targeted resume and LinkedIn profile that showcase your specialty. You also need to build your personal brand to show recruiters and your professional network you're a valuable business-of-one who's worth the money. You're an expert at something. So, pick a skill set to highlight and apply for the jobs that will allow you to leverage that skill set.
Want To Learn How To Brand Yourself As A Specialist?
The truth is, school never taught us how to do this. I know how difficult it is to find a job and make the right career decisions. If you're feeling trapped or lost in your career right now, I'm here for you. I'd love it if you joined my FREE community where professionals like you are learning how to become empowered in their careers so they can finally find career happiness and satisfaction.
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I always talk about the importance of staying relevant in your career. But for professionals, being overqualified in a competive job market is a real concern. So, let's clarify the difference between staying relevant in your career and becoming overqualified.
To best explain the difference between staying relevant and being overqualified, I'm going to give you an example.
Imagine you decided to become a digital marketer back when Facebook was created. You got really good at hacking Facebook advertising and everybody came to you for that skill and you got hired by a company to do their Facebook advertising. Then, as Facebook got bigger and bigger, you continued to focus on how to use Facebook to help the company make money. But during that time, Instagram comes along, and all of a sudden you can't make the kind of money you made on Facebook. Marketing campaigns don't work anymore. The market is oversaturated. So, what does your company do? They let you go because they don't want to spend that kind of money on Facebook anymore, and they hire somebody who knows what they're doing on Instagram.
That is where you became overqualified and didn't stay relevant.
Now, the person who was hired to advertise on Instagram starts learning everything they need to about Instagram. Instagram gets really, really big, and suddenly they can't compete with competitors on that platform. So the company lets them go because now they've hired somebody to spend money on TikTok advertising.
This is what happens when you don't stay relevant by developing skills in your career. You become overqualified for skills that are irrelevant and no longer in high demand.
Staying relevant is about knowing when you need to diversify your expertise, when you need to slightly pivot in another direction to stay relevant in your marketplace. It's about having the tools and experience needed to do the cutting-edge stuff. If you don't continuously work on staying relevant in your career, you risk becoming overqualified for one skill set, and without more to offer companies, they won't want to pay you the salary you think you deserve.
The Bottom Line
Too many people get comfortable in a job, especially when their company keeps giving them money to do that job well. Your company is giving you money to keep you there for as long as they need you. But one day you're going to wake up and your skill set will no longer be relevant.
Every job is temporary. You are a commodity. The market is saturated with people like you, and you don't want to be viewed as being overpaid for what you provide. This happens every single day in business, so you cannot continue to focus your expertise in one area and keep making a bigger and bigger paycheck and think it's going to stay that way. You have to stay relevant. Otherwise, you will wake up one day and be overqualified.
If you need help staying relevant in your career and effectively marketing your skills to employers, you've come to the right place.
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