How To Get a Better Response from Job Applications You Submit

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Have you been sending out a heap of job applications and just not getting anywhere?

Applying for numerous roles with no response can be extremely disheartening for you as a candidate during your job search. What we’ve found from our end as a Gold Coast Recruiter, is that often there are many reasons stopping your application from proceeding. Some of these could include:

Applying for roles that don’t align with your experience / qualifications

The term ‘Fake it till you make it’ doesn’t always work when it comes to applying for roles. As a Recruiter, our client pays us to find what they are looking for and that means if you sit too far outside the scope or specification of the role, your chances of being shortlisted are slim. Yes, if it’s a role whereby we have stated that our client is open to training a person into the role, by all means, apply. However, if we are requiring a candidate that is experienced in the role, our expectation (and our clients’) is that we will have applications from candidates that align with the skills and experience outlined. To save disappointment and increase your chances of getting shortlisted, it’s imperative that you apply for roles that align with your skills, qualifications and experience.

Not tailoring your resume and/or cover letter to a specific role

This is quite common. From our experience as a recruitment agency, we can often read between the lines when looking at a resume to get a picture of what you’ve done in previous roles however, an up to date, well laid out and detailed resume will always win for the reader. When we can get a clear indication of how you match the role we are recruiting for, it makes it very easy to put you in the “YES” group of candidates in our shortlisting process.  

A lot of cover letters that we see  could be summed up as saying to the reader: “I am applying for the role” – yes, we know, you submitted an application to us! Your cover letter can sometimes be a secret weapon to get you to the next stage and should always be tailored to the role you are applying for – treat it that way. Look at the job advertisement closely, note down the requirements in bullet point form and then outline your relevant skills and experience on the cover letter, cross-referencing them with the list you formed from the ad – this will ensure that you address the criteria for the role to the reader. The cover letter also gives you the opportunity to outline WHY you are interested, what you can bring and what makes you the right choice for the role.

You may have a large unexplained gap in your employment

There are numerous reasons why an individual may have a gap in their employment history; whether it is taking time off for children, recovering from an illness, looking after a family member, further studies or a difficult job market due to COVID-19 factors. The reason doesn’t matter as much; it’s more about highlighting the actual gap on your resume to explain it. It removes any red flags as it is addressed to the reader rather than leaving them guessing. Longer term unemployment can be a tricky one though and will require good narrative to explain this to the reader.  

You aren’t following up after you apply

Once you have submitted your application, follow up with an email, a phone call or reach out via social media (LinkedIn is highly preferred for business). This is an opportunity to introduce yourself, ask more questions about the role and to thank the hiring company in advance for considering your application. This will put your name in the employers’ mind, which will give them a sense of familiarity when reading your application, potentially improving your chances. 

By reaching out to the company and following up after you submit your application, you are proving to the employer that you are interested and that you’re showing initiative. 

Job hunting can be really tough mentally, especially if you’re applying for numerous roles and not hearing back from any. Keep in mind that depending on what you do,  you may sit in a candidate pool of hundreds, This means that the companies you are applying to may have a large candidate pool (your competition) to screen through. Make the changes in what you send and what you do now to give yourself the best opportunity to be shortlisted, hopefully get selected for interview and ultimately, win that job! Stay focused, be positive and stick to a job search strategy that works.

Books and tools that we’ve read and/or used that can be helpful

Job searching is serious work! If you’re just taking a ‘scatter gun’ approach, that can work however it may not be a long term success in picking the right role for you. We can recommend three books in particular that we’ve read:

Linked: Conquer LinkedIn. Get Your Dream Job. Own Your Future.
Reverse the Search: How to Turn Job Seeking into Job Shopping
Knock ’em Dead: The Ultimate Job Search Guide

Plus, it’s really handy to have a Job Search tracker. Some of the best candidates we’ve worked with, have used a tracker of some sort. You can make one yourself or grab a guide like this one below:

Job Search Journal

Over the comping months, we will also be dropping job search products, interview tips and other employment-related ebooks, templates and forms on our Resources page to help both candidates in their job search and employers on the recruitment side.

gold coast workplace culture

Creating a Positive Workplace Culture in Your Gold Coast Business

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The phrase ‘workplace culture’ is a term that has definitely seen more light of day in recent years and yet still, there is huge speculation about what workplace culture actually means. As a recruitment agency based on the Gold Coast, New Point Recruitment has gained some great insights on some local businesses that do ‘workplace culture’ well. 

The term ‘workplace culture’ can be interpreted in many ways and it’s not totally uncommon to imagine bean bags, a ping-pong table and free staff lunches when envisioning what a ‘positive company culture’ looks like. Although in the last few years, attitudes have definitely shifted in what employees actually consider to be a ‘positive workplace culture’.

Whilst having features like a pool table and free healthy snacks is a fantastic way to show your staff you appreciate them, it’s not the pinnacle of a positive workplace culture. Culture should be considered to be more about the overall ethos of the company and the attitudes and feelings towards the organisation.

Some important factors that we found were essential to creating, maintaining and improving a positive workplace culture included:

Offering and supporting employee development and growth

Clearly outlining to employees the ways in which they can grow within the company, is definitely a trait of a positive workplace culture. Promising future promotions and growth opportunities without having definitive goals that can be reached in order to grow will leave employees confused and disappointed.

Whilst dangling the corporate carrot may sound like a good idea to increase employee productivity and work efficiency, it will soon wear off when staff realise the goals aren’t actually obtainable. A way to combat this is to set real goals that staff can reach and support them in their mission of workplace development and growth.

Another tactic managers need to remember is to not move your goal post half way through the game, as they say. Give your employees a clear outline of goals that will need to be met in order to be promoted within the company.

Ensuring a safe place to work

When people generally think about safety, they think of physical safety in the workplace. Whilst that of course is very important, we’d like to think of workplace culture extending to a different type of safety. 

What we’re pertaining to is an employee feeling safe to be able to work in their workplace, safe to have an opinion regardless of their beliefs, safe to not be harassed or bullied, safe in the sense that they are paid adequately for their role, safe that they can meet KPI’s.

What we found is that an employee who feels a particular safety in regards to the items outlined above, is able to focus on their work and build value for their employer. They are respected for their work and respected for who they are, including their opinions and ideas.  

Ways of facilitating change to ensure you are creating a safe work environment could include changes to policy, education of the team as well as team bonding activities. The best way for staff to align with each other is to learn more about their colleagues. All team members deserve an inclusive work environment and to feel safe and happy at work, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, sexuality or age.

Other ways to ensure that you as an employer are doing what you can is to undertake salary reviews to see that you are meeting market expectations, reviewing KPI results to see if your team is actually hitting KPI’s (are they actually achievable?) as well as holding regular team meetings that allow differences of opinions, even with management. Your team will always have differing opinions and they should feel safe to share their thoughts and feel valued.

Positive culture starts at the top

A positive workplace culture should start at the top and filter down throughout the organisation. Whilst it is important for all staff to contribute to the company’s culture, it’s essential for management to lead by example.

This can be achieved through transparency and by leaders making sure they are visible and accessible to all staff. Leaders using the phrase ‘My door is always open’, is very unsubstantial if it’s not actually true.

Managers should consider doing an anonymous survey to actually get insight from employees about how they feel in regards to the company’s culture. Whilst this isn’t always a suitable option for smaller companies with only a few people, managers could consider talking to the staff in a judgement free conversation where staff will be supported for honestly describing any issues or improvements they want to see within the organisation.

The characteristics of the workplace and attitudes towards the company by both employees and consumers denotes the overall culture of the company. Companies should be aware that it’s not just the internal workplace community that feels the presence of the culture, but also the external community. Creating a positive workplace culture can increase staff retention rates, increase productivity, attract new professionals as well as attracting new clients. 

If you feel that your workplace is falling behind, it’s never too late to review what you are doing and implement change to turn it around. A positive workplace culture is always going to be of benefit to the team and it is quite likely it will produce better results including less headaches for management and retention and development of the team.

We would always be happy to speak to you further about our insights. Contact our team to find out how we can help you.