Pro Tips: How to Increase Your Chances of Getting a Job Interview

Job hunting can be daunting, especially when you’re up against fierce competition. Have you been wondering how to increase your chances of getting a job interview? This guide contains everything you need to know to lock in that call for an interview.

What Is a Job Interview?

A job interview is when a prospective employer asks you a series of questions to find out whether you are a good fit for the job and the company. Interviewers want to verify what you’ve written on your resume, get a better idea of your skills, and see how you deal with specific situations. An interview is also an opportunity to ask insightful questions about the organisation, learn more about the role's responsibilities, and see whether the company culture suits you.

Why Is Getting a Job Interview Difficult?

If the organisation you’re applying to uses AI to filter resumés, your application could be falling through the cracks. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) use keywords to determine which resumés and CVs to include in search results. If your resume fails to mention the right keywords, the hiring manager won’t see it.

Moreover, even if many job vacancies are available, too few candidates may have the skills needed for the role. It is why you must keep up with the trends in your industry and continually upskill.

Lastly, connections matter. Some companies prefer to hire internally or find candidates through referrals. This is especially true for executive positions. You can work around this by constantly building your professional network.

How to Get a Job Interview Without Experience

Whether you’ve just graduated or are switching careers, applying for a job without experience can be intimidating. However, you don’t need to worry if you’re applying for an entry-level position. Employers won’t expect you to have an extensive work history for these roles.

You can present yourself as the best person for the job by highlighting your transferable skills on your resume. For instance, if you spearheaded an event for your student organisation, then you have project management skills. If you’re making a career switch, chances are you’ve developed soft skills that you can easily apply in any field.

Then take certification courses to obtain the technical skills needed for the role. You can also raise the odds of getting an interview by creating a portfolio of your work. Lastly, if you have enough financial resources to tide you over, consider doing an unpaid internship to gain experience and industry connections. A referral from your internship supervisor could be your key to standing out from the competition.

What Are the Steps in a Hiring Process?

You can double your chances of obtaining an interview by understanding the stages of the recruitment funnel and optimising your job hunt accordingly. Simply put, the recruitment funnel is the process employers use to find and select talent, from building awareness of their company to offering a job to the best candidate.

Employer Branding and Awareness

At this stage of the hiring process, employers try to spread awareness about their organisation among candidates. For instance, they may build an online presence through their website and social media channels or attend industry events and conferences. The point of this phase is to highlight the company as a great place to work.

You can use this to your advantage by researching the companies you’re interested in. Instead of applying to every job opening in your industry, find out what you can about the company to ensure it’s suitable for you. For instance, if you value work-life balance, you won’t want to work for an organisation that expects employees to work late every day.

Study the company’s values by checking its website and viewing its mission and vision statement. You can also check the organisation’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages or search online for news articles about the company and its brands. Lastly, see what current and former employees have to say about the organisation by looking for reviews on JobStreet’s Company Profiles page.

Attraction

After spreading awareness about their organisation, employers attract candidates to job openings using ads. Increase your odds of getting an interview by being one of the first to send in your application. Do this by subscribing to job alerts for your desired position on Jobstreet. If your dream company has a “Careers” page on their website, then check it regularly for openings.

Networking is another powerful way to score an interview. Build your connections by attending networking events and industry conferences. After all, recruiters go to these gatherings to find candidates as well. Plus, you never know when your acquaintances could tip you off on an opening at their company.

If you decide to keep in touch with professional connections via social media, then make sure to clean up your profiles. Delete any posts that contain profanity, personal attacks, or inappropriate images and videos. Avoid publicly posting anything that you wouldn’t want potential employers to see.

Interest

At this stage, employers answer questions from applicants about the job opening. If you decide to send any questions, make sure they haven’t already been answered on the job ad or the company website. After all, the last thing you want is to turn off the recruitment manager by demonstrating that you didn’t read the job post properly.

Instead, try to figure out the company’s goals and pain points. You can glean clues from scrutinising the company’s other job openings, press releases and website. For instance, if they’re hiring for many tech positions, they may want to digitise their operations. Understanding the company’s objectives will help you get a clear picture of what you can contribute, and you can highlight this in your cover letter.

Application

Many employers use ATS to screen resumes, so make sure you’ve included the right keywords in your resume. Read the job ad carefully. Are they looking for candidates who can make data-driven decisions? Then you can insert “data-driven” as a keyword in your resume.

Tailoring your resumé to each company and job opening can up your chances of getting called for an interview. Highlight your skills, qualifications, and achievements relevant to the position, and be specific. For instance, instead of writing “proficient in programming languages,” you could write “proficient in R and Python.”

Evaluation

For some roles, the hiring process includes a round of technical tests. For instance, programmers might be asked to write code, and copywriters are often asked to take writing tests. This exam is the last hurdle before you get to the interview stage, so brush up on your skills if needed.

Interview

At last, you’ve received the call for an interview! Make it count by coming prepared. Practice answering the most common interview questions with confidence. Arrive early and in proper professional attire. If the interview will be conducted remotely, then check your internet connection and set up your laptop in a place with good lighting. About a week after the interview, make sure to follow up and thank your prospective employer for the opportunity.

Hiring

After several rounds of interviews, employers finally select the best candidate and make an offer. If you got the job, then congratulations! If you were rejected, then don’t lose heart. Try to ask the recruiter for feedback, and treat this as a learning experience.

Now that you know how to increase your chances of getting a job interview, get started by downloading the Jobstreet app on Google Play or the App Store. Then update your profile and find the right roles on Job Search. We’re here to guide you every step of the way with our Career Advice.