Four Ways to Guarantee You Do Not Get that Dream Job You Want

Do you know who a hiring manager is? He or she is the person responsible for even bothering to call you back for an interview once you submit your resume via the internet or email or even in person. This is the person who gets to take a look at your resume and get to know you through your words and descriptions; and that means this person is the one who will like you from the start or decide you’re just not right for the company. And guess what? Those hiring managers are pretty judgmental; they are paid to be judgmental. That means they’re looking at you from the moment they pick up your cover letter and they’re not stopping until you’re either hired or discarded in the ever-increasing pile of rejects.

The hiring manager might not be your boss if you get hired. He or she might not even have anything to do with you once you are hired. She might not even see you all that often once you get a job; but she’s the person you have to impress from day one. It never fails to make me raise an eyebrow when people cannot figure out why they are not hired, given a chance or even called back when they submit their resume when they make these mistakes.

When you do anything on this list, I don’t blame the hiring manager for not calling you back or giving you a chance. Basically, what I’m saying is that I’m not surprised when you tell me you did one of these things and never received a call back. I am surprised, however, when you don’t understand why. I thought I might make it a bit simpler whether you are looking to understand why you were not hired or you are looking for a new job and don’t want to put yourself in the reject pile before anyone even finishes your resume. These are some of the biggest don’ts hiring managers can’t stand from a job applicant. And if you’re having a hard time looking for a job suitable for you, you may seek employment assistance from a job agency.

Ignoring directions

I’m not sure why this is something we even have to discuss. When you are looking for a job with a company and they provide you with instructions for applying, you should follow them precisely. Why? Because no one wants to work with someone who isn’t able to follow simple directions. It’s really that simple. If you can’t be bothered to follow instructions for submitting a resume, you can’t follow more important instructions such as not disobeying work policy or privacy matters.

Not asking questions

It’s easy to forget that it’s all right for you to ask questions during a job interview. Let’s say you are hoping to work for a new company and you want to get that job. You make it past the initial resume check and they like you. Now it’s time for you to meet the hiring manager so he or she can decide whether or not to put your name into the final list of candidates. But…you forget that you have questions. You think that you’re the one in the interview, but everyone is in the interview. It’s perfectly normal to have questions about anything from the scope of the job to the job duties to the benefits – this is your life, too. When you don’t ask anything at all, it makes the hiring managers feel as if you don’t care all that much – and you’re probably out.

Knowing nothing

We’re not talking about knowing nothing in general. Sometimes you don’t have to know how to do every aspect of any given job, you just have to have enthusiasm and intelligence and a desire to learn. Really – that’s all. However, sometimes it’s also a good idea for you to get to know the company. It might not be a company you’ve ever heard of or dealt with, but you have to get to know the company. Look it up. Learn about it. Find out anything; something. Just know something about the company so that you can make it obvious to your hiring manager when they’re speaking to you. Knowing nothing looks bad – so bad.

When you’re negative

Let’s get something straight – no one enjoys a negative person. When you walk into an interview and begin telling the manager that you’re not working holidays, not one moment past five, forget any kind of overtime or weekend work or that you’re not even going to consider anything that might mean coming to work early, you don’t seem much like a team player. When they ask you to join a meeting and you say something like, “I’m not going to a meeting when I’m not even hired yet,” or you are constantly negative about everything you say, you are never going to hear from them again. It’s just simple – you don’t have to be Mary Poppins, but you do need to be positive, kind and enthusiastic.

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