IBA Job Portal

Be the answer to recruiter's question - Get HIRED!

By Rumsha Mahmood

Unemployed or looking for a better job? Why is it that recruiters don't pick you? How to find job through LinkedIn?

There are two ways recruiters hire on LinkedIn. One is through the search engine, second by posting an advert.

What goes absolutely wrong making recruiters blacklist you? If you have any of the mentioned symptoms, you are likely suffering from the disease called Recruiter's Curse.

1. Incomplete profiles. Use the internet search engines effectively and get your profile up to date. Add a summary too.
2. Write your location. And some contact details. Are you working from Mars?
3. Not adding your skill set, or description of your job. It is crucial for the recruiter to find a person with a specific skill set.
4. Putting up statuses or summary that goes like: "Looking for a job...". Seriously? It only tells that you are not meeting anyone's requirements!
5. Sending in responses to the incorrect job postings. The advert says "Accounts Officer", you drop in the resume for marketing. No matter how good you are, sorry, you land in my bin.
6. Sending resumes without a cover letter. Or using the incorrect subject line. Come on, show some basic professionalism and get yourself called for a first impression.
7. Addressing the email wrongly. Until unless you are absolutely positive of the gender, it is okay to use Mr./Mrs./Ms. Else, "To whom it may concern" should work. Apply mindfully.
8. Not to forget low quality resume. Incorrect spellings and bad formatting will only make it difficult for a recruiter to shortlist you. Heard of the myth that recruiters spend on average 10-15 seconds per CV? That is incorrect. We only spend 5-7 seconds. Make yours last longer.
9. The name of the resume document. "My CV", "AAAAAA", "Resume (2)". They give a bad impression. It is advisable to name it after your own full name.
10. Spamming inbox messages saying: "AOA, how are you?". Please, quit it. It won't get you into the good books. You will instead end up being removed from the connections.
11. Writing "Interested, please view my profile". No, it will not get you anywhere.
12. Your display picture. Yes, it says a lot. It is a job searching website, not your social media profile. Put up a clean, crisp picture. Get a photoshoot done.
13. Window dressing your resume is a good thing to do, but make sure it reflects overall on your resume. If the advert requires a skill set, adding it to the skills column of your resume isn't enough.
14. Be responsive to LinkedIn messages. Even if you are not actively looking for a job, be visible. It helps build connections. Do not disappear from the forum.

However, there are lot of things that make it difficult for us to manage our time effectively which includes unclear objectives, disorganization of work, inability to say "no", internal and external interruptions, periods of inactivity, trying too many things at once, stress and fatigue. Therefore; it is really very important to recognize the existing obstacles, identify them and devise some practical strategies to overcome those obstacles. Here are some strategies you can use to overcome the obstacles mentioned above: