“I have sent about a hundred of applications in the last two months and not even a single person has responded positively. Most of them actually never got back to me and the few who did told me that they have decided to proceed with other candidates. I have a really good CV and I have written a good cover letter. I don’t know why they don’t respond to me.”

Sounds familiar?

I have been there too. I have been to the place where I thought the natural way to get a job was to find an advertised position and apply to it through sending my CV and my cover letter to the email that was provided on the ad or pressing the apply button and uploading those documents.

If that’s what you do in order to get a job, you are doing it wrong.

Here is one of the most common mistakes that no one talks about but most people make when they want to apply to the job they really want.

SEND IN YOUR CV

You have probably heard that you should not use the same CV for two different applications. That’s because every position is different from the other hence requires a CV that emphasizes different sets of skills and experiences.

What no one has told you is that sending a CV is not the first step in applying for a job. In fact it can easily be the last step. You may ask “how on earth is that even possible?”.

I thought you may ask that and that’s why I have written a step by step guide to get an interview for the job you want just for you. You will be able to read an extensive guide soon on this page.

What I can tell you now is the first step when you want to apply for a job you like is talking to someone in the company. I mean literally talking on the phone or face to face, not writing an email to the info address and not writing to a recruiter in the company. The person you should talk to has to be in the same department as the job is offered or at least work with something that is very close to it. Where to find this person?

Finding people has never been easier than it is now. All you got to do is not to appear creepy for how you found them. Using LinkedIn for that purpose gives you a professional leverage if you actually state that’s where you have found them. Avoid using Facebook for that reason unless you are reaching out to the social media people in the company and want to get a job in that area. LinkedIn has an advanced search option that allows you to find people who work in a specific company. It is free and is very easy to use.

Go ahead and give this a try. You’ll be surprised how much easier it becomes to get an interview if you talk to someone before they see your CV. If I have gotten jobs without ever sending my CV, you can too.

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Much love,
/Molood