5 Tips to Get More Job Interviews

Canada Dough
Jul 26, 2020
7 min read

Today’s tough job market makes it difficult for students and new graduates to land a job offer. It is even more difficult to receive multiple offers to gain flexibility and the power of choice. Given these circumstances, it is important for job seekers to gain as many opportunities to interview as possible and increase their chances of landing at least one job offer.

In this article, we will share some of the high-level strategies that have helped Canada Dough members advance to interviews from the initial application in the recruitment process. These strategies have helped one former Canada Dough member secure three job offers, and helped one of our co-founders land four full-time job offers. Read on to find out how you may be able to attain similar success.

1. Optimize your Resume and Cover Letter to beat the Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

To understand how to advance to the interview round, we must first look at the recruitment process through the eyes of the hiring manager. Consider this - recruiters are often hiring for multiple roles simultaneously, with each position attracting hundreds and potentially thousands of candidates. Due to the high volume of applicants, they must find ways of making their work more efficient, as it is simply not feasible to manually read each individual resume.

Human resources professionals may have access to a slew of resources to streamline the hiring process. One of the most common technologies is the Applicant Tracking System, otherwise known as the ATS. Used by 99% of Fortune 500 companies, the ATS aggregates applicants according to how closely their resume matches the job application.

How will this impact you? Your application will likely be tossed aside if the contents of your resume does not match the keywords in the job requirements, in cases when human eyes may not be looking at your application. To beat the ATS, you will need to tailor your resume by including the keywords found in the job posting.

Be aware that if you are opting for an infographic resume (more commonly found in creative functions such as marketing or design), and creating it on platforms like Canva, your resume may not be searchable on PDF. Test out your resume to ensure that it is searchable, and run it through mock ATS platforms to see how likely your application will be accepted through screening rounds.

2. Put yourself out there and network

Did you know that a whopping 98% of job seekers are eliminated at the initial resume screening, meaning that only 2% of candidates will actually get to interview? Corporate job openings will receive 250 applications on average, yet only 4-6 people will be invited to interview. With these bleak statistics, it is no wonder why so many job seekers are struggling to get past the first stage of the recruitment process!

The implications of this bleak reality for you is that you will need to strategize ways to stand out amongst the hundreds of other candidates who are gunning for the same role. Differentiate yourself by networking and putting a face to your application. When you connect through conversation with the hiring manager or other employees of the organization (and ideally make a good impression), you are not a piece of paper anymore, but a unique individual who they might potentially like to work with one day.

Think about it - how many candidates will send an application, versus how many candidates will send an application and have a meaningful conversation with people within the company?

The latter group is the obvious minority.

Although networking does help people get interviews or even the job itself, it does not mean that you should approach conversations with that sole goal in mind. One successful Canada Dough participant, Cindy, shares some wise advice, “Build your network not just to get a job, but to build more connections. Even if you don’t have a purpose in mind, approach others with the intention to learn about them and their interests. That’s the best way to build your network.” Read here to learn more about Cindy’s tips for effective networking.

In this day and age, you do not necessarily need to have existing connections with an organization’s members to start networking. Create your own opportunities by leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, to reach out to people you would like to speak with, but may not have met otherwise. You can also look at your current networks, whether it is your friends, professors or former co-workers, and ask them if they might be willing to introduce you to one of their connections who are in your desired role or industry.

3. Create a personal project

Having projects or a portfolio can be valuable, if not mandatory for certain functions such as design, writing or advertising. Candidates who are willing to put in the extra effort have been able to get a leg up among stiff competition by leveraging platforms such as a personal website, a game they built, or even creating valuable content on social media. There are endless possibilities and so many ways to approach a personal project, but here are a few creative examples that we have seen:

Creating an Instagram page detailing one’s journey through school in the medical field, which has resulted in this individual receiving offers of placement from medical professionals at their hospital.
Creating a YouTube channel to share practical advice in the world of sales, spreading motivation to other salespeople.
Building a personal website to help oneself re-brand, as they wanted to transition from a career in politics to web developer.

As one candidate says, while his personal website was not included in his resume, the hiring manager did come across it through a quick Google search of the candidate. Fortunately, it became a major differentiating factor! The hiring manager was impressed by this candidate’s ability to break down complex information as seen on his website, and he was ultimately hired for the role.

Creating an impactful personal project will understandably require a time investment. However, if you are motivated and recognize that you need to put in the effort to be among the exclusive group of candidates who are called to interview (remember the 2%?), then taking on a project should be a no-brainer!

4. Polish your LinkedIn profile

According to Jobvite, 90% of recruiters find LinkedIn most effective when vetting candidates (under the age of 45) during the hiring process. As you can tell, LinkedIn is an absolute necessity in today’s job market.

As the top social networking platform, LinkedIn provides a great space for you to do the following, but not limited to:

Access job postings
Keep in touch with all of your connections including your peers at school, those you met through networking events, former/current colleagues, etc.
Share your knowledge/thought leadership through your posts or articles
Learn industry insights/career advice from others’ content
Connect with professionals you may not have otherwise had a chance to meet

To leverage LinkedIn and best position yourself, you must ensure that your profile clearly communicates the value that you can bring to potential employers. Ask yourself whether your profile checks off the following to start:

Do I have a professional headshot for my profile picture? Do I look friendly and approachable in this photo? Do I have a clean background picture instead of the default blue background chosen by LinkedIn?
Does my headline communicate the role/industry that I’m looking to pursue? (Tip: If your headline says “Student at XYZ University” or “XYZ University/Program Graduate,” you need to brainstorm some new options.)
Do I have a concise summary for the About section? Did I highlight my top accomplishments and explain what makes my experiences valuable?
Did I highlight my accomplishments and responsibilities for each one of my roles under Experience?
Have I had any colleagues and managers (past or present) write a recommendation for me under Recommendations to build credibility?

If you answered yes to all of the questions above, great job! If your current profile does not fulfill the above criteria, then consider these guidelines regarding areas of improvement for your profile.

Investing a bit of time to create a polished LinkedIn profile will benefit you when potential employers land on your page, as they are sure to visit if they are considering you for an open role. Present yourself in the best light possible - it’s never too early or late to work on your professional brand, and you’ll be ready when the time to search for a job comes!

5. Be open and flexible to new options for work

Many students and new graduates put so much pressure on themselves to “arrive at the destination” right out of school. Remember - you are the primary source of pressure if you don’t land your dream job out of school! Most people will take time to get there, because they need more experience or because they are still trying to figure out what role would be the best fit for them.

Take some time for yourself to consider whether you are ready and qualified for that dream role. If you are unsure regarding the role fit for you, you should be open to exploring different pathways for work. Remember that there is no one “right” or perfect job for anyone, and that your career should be treated as a journey.

There are many pathways to getting to where you would eventually like to go. For example, an individual aiming to be a Product Manager might take some time working in other roles that would give them the skills needed to break into that role one day. Product Managers can come from a wide variety of backgrounds, such as an engineering or a developer background, or even a non-technical function in business.

Expand your horizon and apply to roles that interest you. You can try new things without compromising the "destination" of where you’d like to go. In your next role, you can build the skills and experience which are relevant to your “destination” job. In one survey of 1000+ full-time workers, 38% of respondents reported that they have made a complete career change at some point. Their reasons include higher pay, advancement, flexibility, and reducing stress.

Any role is guaranteed to teach you valuable lessons, help you discover your strengths or weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and point you towards a better direction. And who knows? That entry-level role that you thought was below your expectations or standards? You might be pleasantly surprised by what the job has to offer, and find that you genuinely look forward to going to work.

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If you are facing challenges in your job search with getting past the first stage and advancing to interviews - whether you need to revamp your Resume/Cover Letter, learn how to navigate the world of networking, or build a solid LinkedIn profile - contact us for a FREE consultation to learn how Canada Dough can help!