You’ve been on the job search for several weeks or months, but rarely, if ever, get a call back from a hiring manager. While there are several reasons for why your applications haven’t received any attention, it’s worth considering revisiting your resume. These are three reasons why your resume may be holding you back from your next job opportunity. 

Your Resume Doesn’t Have the Right Keywords

Often, hiring managers use ATS (Applicant Tracking Software) that scans resumes for specific keywords before moving on to the next step in the hiring process. The software reduces the time they would spend reading resumes that seem irrelevant to the open job position. Therefore, when applying for jobs, make sure that you put specific keywords onto your resume, which can easily be found in the job description. This can help you stay relevant to the ATS so that your resume makes it to a hiring manager. 

Your Resume Looks Unappealing to Hiring Managers

Does your resume have a bunch of different colors and fonts on it? Is your work or volunteer experience not in chronological order? Sometimes, your resume may pass the keyword scan, but if your resume is too distracting or hard to understand, it will be overlooked by hiring managers. Remember, hiring managers are sometimes looking through hundreds of resumes, it’s important to make it easy for them to understand your background. Take the time to revamp your resume by ensuring that you use an easy-to-read font, place your relevant work or volunteer experiences in the right order, and have someone review your resumes, such as a friend or even a career coach.  The HBCU Career Center also has a free resume feedback service where you can get feedback from professional resume writers within 2-3 days.

You’re Not Doing Follow-Ups

You may have the perfect resume, with no errors, that has made it through ATS easily. However, the main issue you may run into is the fact that you aren’t following up with hiring managers after submitting your application. In most circumstances, applicants who take the time to reach out to hiring managers to stay updated on the hiring process are more likely to get a callback. This doesn’t guarantee an interview, but it draws more attention to your resume and shows hiring managers how interested you are in the position. Wait a few weeks or so before sending an email out to get the current status of the position.  

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