Tips on getting an interview?
Asked by Bella
I've sent out several resumes with cover letters over the last few months, (upwards of 40 resumes) and have not been called for an interview. I do have valid experience in the fields I've applied for, which is outlined in my resume. Perhaps it's my cover letter that's not drawing people in. Any tips and suggestions are appreciated. Cover letter help is also appreciated. (Jobs pertain to dental hygiene assisting, reception, sterilization, along with security and inventory control.)

Best Answer:
It can be any number of reasons. Could you be getting a bad reference from any former employer? Did you put a phone number and boss' names for each company you listed? If you don't put that down, they may think you are hiding a potential bad reference. From what you're telling us about the types of jobs you have been applying for, it could be that when they look at your work experience, they see too many types of jobs, and this makes them think you can't make up your mind what you want to do for a living. They may think that you change jobs too often and wonder why. Most employers want to hire people who have worked at the same job in the same field for at least three years. I'm not saying you can't get hired in spite of that, but a lot of employers have these prejudices and standards of hiring. They have lots of fears that people will leave. Most employers also don't like it when you don't stay at each job longer than a year, or less. If your resume stands out and they like you and your skills, they may still hire you, but be prepared to tell them a good reason why you change job so often. Also, your resume has to be worded in a way that makes you stand out over everyone else who has the same job skills, education and general work background. So, if you just list what you did at a company, that doesn't make you stand out. So, you word it in a way that makes your skills sound more outstanding than the average. If your work caused the company to make more profits, look better to their clients, or gave the company a better reputation, say that within the job description. If you were promoted and got a raise, say that. If you have any kind of documents showing that your employer liked your work very much, you can copy those documents and enclose with the resume. For instance, a job review you got that said you were excelling and had a great attitude and were punctual and had no negatives on it. Or, a written comment about you from a client of the company that's very complimentary. My intuition says go for the dental hygiene assistant jobs. They have financial stability in this downturn economy, and there is a strong need for them. With reception, a lot of people apply for those jobs and so there's a lot of competition and they seem hard to get. Here's another tip: gear the resume around the type of job you are applying for at the time. For instance, if you have had a lot of jobs in dental hygiene, list only those jobs on the resume, under the heading, "Dental Hygiene Assistant Experience". They don't want to read about all of your other jobs you've had in other industries. You will be putting the other jobs on the job application they have you fill out, but on a resume it will turn them off and make them feel like you don't know what kind of work you want to settle down into and so they fear you'll leave, as I said before. Put at the beginning of your resume a heading called "Objectives". Then say you want to work in such and such field doing such and such type of job. If your goal is to advance in that job, say that. It helps to print the resumes on resume quality paper, although it isn't absolutely necessary to get the job. After the interview, send them a thank you letter for the interview saying again that you really want this job and why and that you feel you are the best qualified for the job and why,.but keep it real brief. Most people don't send thank you letters, and this could get you the job. Also, it is not unusual to send out 40 or even 100 or 200 resumes and not get called for an interview. It is hard to get your resume noticed because companies get hundreds of resumes coming to them in the mail every single day! That's why yours has to stand out somehow. If you have any written letters of recommendation from former employers, enclose them with the resume. This has gotten me tons of jobs! The job hunting books and professionals may tell you not to do this and to wait until the interview to show them the letters, but I'm living proof they are wrong about this. However, not all employers give letters of recommendation anymore, and to get them, you have to ask them for this when you leave the company. The cover letter is a summary of why they should seriously consider you over all of the other applicants who have your same skills, experience and education. So, you want to say things it in that make you stand out as someone who really excels in this field. The cover letter should be fairly brief, and not more than one page. The resume should be one or two pages, but preferably one page. If it has to go over one page, put the second page on the back of the first page. I hope that something that I've said has helped.
Also, check out these links to good articles on how to write cover letters: http://www.ehow.com/search.aspx?s=How+To+Write+A+Cover+Letter&Options=0
Answered by Maraiya