How to Get a Job Interview? – 5 Key Tips to Drastically Increase Your Chances

How to get a Job Interview? Follow these steps:

Write an Irresistible Resume Headline

Resume Headline is a single line bio or a declaration of intent. Basically, it’s a micro version of your resume. For you, it serves a dual purpose, a) It states your target job/current role, b) It tells the recruiter why you will be the best choice for this job. This will help you Get a Job Interview.
For example:

• Award-winning Creative Director with 10 years experience in Digital Advertising
• Strategic Analytics Project Manager offering more than 12 years of managerial level experience within Analytics Industry

If you break these examples down, you can observe some interesting components. These elements actually increase your chances of getting a job interview. All great resume headlines:

• Reflect your experience – Any relevant work experience adds weight to your headline
• Are interesting – Your boring headlines like ‘ Qualified sales professional seeks a position within an organization that will allow me to utilize my skills with the potential for growth’ offer nothing of value to recruiters
• Are precise – ‘Executive in steel industry’ is too vague. On the other hand, ‘Senior manager-operations, with 5 years experience in the iron and steel industry’ highlights your experience and designation precisely. This will help you Get a Job Interview.

Update Your Profile Every 6 Months

Keep updating your profile even if you already have a job. And all the more reasons, if you don’t. If you want to drastically increase your chances of getting a job interview, keep your resume updated on job platforms (like Instahyre). Why?

• To make sure your resume always matches the job you are applying to
• To add new skills, responsibilities, projects completed
• And of course, to increase your years of experience

At Instahyre, our data show that candidates who updated their profiles once in 6 months have a significantly higher chance of landing a job interview. And this 6 month period makes sense too. In 6 months, most of us learn new skills, complete old projects and start new ones, and maybe get a promotion. It’s too bad you won’t get a career boost if you overlook a basic activity which increases your chance of getting a job interview. This will help you Get a Job Interview.

Understand What’s An Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

Almost every company uses an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) today. That means if you’ve applied for a job, chances are that an ATS is scanning your resume right now. And it has the power to filter your resume out well before reaching the hands of a recruiter.

An ATS can be configured to push out candidates who don’t match the criteria. In many cases, ATS removes unqualified resumes based on keywords, skills, ex-employers, experience and schools attended.
The most powerful feature of an ATS is the keyword filter. It grades your resume by:

• The manner in which specific keywords are used
• How many times these keywords appear in the resume, and
• Where they appear on the resume (different sections may have different keyword filters)

So, if your resume doesn’t pass the minimum cut-off grade, it’s automatically disqualified. By some estimates, as much as 50% resumes are rejected before they even reach a human.This will help you Get a Job Interview.

So, do you see how this info comes in handy to increase your chances of getting a job interview?

Fill Only Relevant Fields In Your Profile (No Fluff)

If you thought you could never beat the resume rejecting robots (ATS), here’s your chance. What you need to do to get a job interview is:

• Keep resume formatting simple – Use a standard font (e.g. Arial) and avoid symbols, pictures etc.
• Avoid spelling mistakes – ATS’ love to throw resumes with spelling mistakes straight in the bin.
• Drop in industry relevant keywords – Repeat them if needed (not more than thrice, though)

While the ATS is out of the way, don’t forget about the recruiter. Recruiters also scan your resume based on keywords. They’ll search your resume based on parameters like Education, Current Salary, Skills, Designation etc. That means a complete profile with relevant keywords will exceptionally increase your chances of getting a job interview. This will help you Get a Job Interview.

Take the Referral Road

Just like employee referrals, job platforms (like Instahyre) run their own referral programs. Participate in them to increase your chances of getting a job interview. This will help you Get a Job Interview.
For instance, when you refer a friend (for free) on Instahyre platform, you get a premium profile. Your premium profile kills two birds with one stone:

• A lot of recruiters can see your profile now – More chances for you to get an interview call
• Your profile gets processed faster than other candidates – Leading to miraculously fast hiring time

Want top startups to see your resume first? Participate here for free.

Conclusion

Whatever you do, don’t wait for the job to come to you. Get out there and start applying. Tell your friends you’re looking for a new job. Use these key tips at every turn to increase your chances of getting a job interview.  This will help you Get a Job Interview.