How do you get an interview?

How do you get an interview for a job if you don’t know anyone inside? Almost all the interviews I’ve ever had have been because I knew someone who worked there (or knew someone who knew someone), and I’ve at least gotten a call—either that or a headhunter contacted me. There have been a few—very few—that I’ve applied for the job online, and actually gotten an email or phone call back without a note/call/coffee with someone inside. Anyone have any advice? Reach out to the poster on LinkedIn, if you can figure out who that is? Kill two oranges, a potato, and a block of cheese as sacrifice?

Side note: with almost no exception, these are the types of places where if I walked up to the reception desk with a resume, they’d have security show me the door. So please don't tell me to go up to the company and ask to speak with the dude in charge.

Call the main number for the business and ask for HR?

Unconventional, but works for me, write a smokin' cover letter. Go off the cuff. Put humor with accomplishment. Make yourself sound like the type of person they want to meet, even if you're not perfect for an interview. I got my job at the brewery despite having no experience because I wrote what id consider the most legendary cover letter ever. It got them to drag me in. My interview covered rest. Rememebr, hrpeople read a billion cover letters a day. They'll get like 10 buzzwords in and lose it. You need to keep them on the hook for the whole thing. Stand out.

I interview the candidates who are the best fit for the position. If you are not getting interviews, you may not be a good fit or what you are providing (letters, resume, application, etc) are not conveying your qualifications sufficiently.

I've only ever received one interview off me just applying for the job online.

That was with Ramsey Winch. And they interviewed me because I spent 4 years working for Tulsa Winch Group. So I knew the product, how manuals were done, how they needed to be written, etc.

In that instance, it was the case of a small company needing someone who could come in and contribute almost instantly without needing to train someone. On to run tests, rebuild something, take pics. I was underpaid for my experience but they still came up $22k per year on what they were offering in their ad.

But I was only there for 10 months before I moved to my current gig out of manufacturing altogether.

z31maniac wrote: I've only ever received one interview off me just applying for the job online. That was with Ramsey Winch. And they interviewed me because I spent 4 years working for Tulsa Winch Group. So I knew the product, how manuals were done, how they needed to be written, etc. In that instance, it was the case of a small company needing someone who could come in and contribute almost instantly without needing to train someone. On to run tests, rebuild something, take pics. I was underpaid for my experience but they still came up $22k per year on what they were offering in their ad.

So what have you done to get interviews outside of this instance? Same as me? (note/call/text/talk to someone within the company, or headhunted?)

Your resume and cover letter need to echo the listed job requirements in order to make it past the drone / droid / filter. If the description says "the successful candidate will have demonstrated success in program management", replace "the successful candidate will" with "I", i.e. "I have demonstrated success in program management on_" where the blank is filled with your specific example.

AngryCorvair wrote: Your resume and cover letter need to echo the listed job requirements in order to make it past the drone / droid / filter. If the description says "the successful candidate will have demonstrated success in program management", replace "the successful candidate will" with "I", i.e. "I have demonstrated success in program management on_______" where the blank is filled with your specific example.

^^^ this,

something like 70-80% of organizations are using applicant tracking systems all driven by keyword searches. One thing you can do to compare your resume is a site called Jobscan (shameless plug for them). It compares your resume to likely keywords in a job description. It recommends an 80% match for best odds. Other stuff - do a linkedin trial of a premium membership. See if you can send an inmail to the job poster or search if you can make any connections there...

mtn wrote:

z31maniac wrote: I've only ever received one interview off me just applying for the job online. That was with Ramsey Winch. And they interviewed me because I spent 4 years working for Tulsa Winch Group. So I knew the product, how manuals were done, how they needed to be written, etc. In that instance, it was the case of a small company needing someone who could come in and contribute almost instantly without needing to train someone. On to run tests, rebuild something, take pics. I was underpaid for my experience but they still came up $22k per year on what they were offering in their ad.

So what have you done to get interviews outside of this instance? Same as me? (note/call/text/talk to someone within the company, or headhunted?)

Knew someone who worked there to give a reference, or was headhunted.

pinchvalve wrote: I interview the candidates who are the best fit for the position. If you are not getting interviews, you may not be a good fit or what you are providing (letters, resume, application, etc) are not conveying your qualifications sufficiently.

That's idyllic, but I seriously doubt it's how it works in the majority of places.

If you use any automated system whatsoever to identify the best resumes, then you have not interviewed the best candidates. If you have an HR department or an Admin weed through the candidates and hand you the best ones for consideration, then you have not interviewed the best candidates.

At best, you've interviewed who your Admin thinks might be best.

When I had an HR role, I was VERY aware that I never interviewed the best candidates. I interviewed the ones who caught my eye in their resume and cover letter, and selected from the best of those.

If they wrote poorly, they never got an interview, regardless of whether the job had anything at all to do with writing.

In reply to mtn:

I know you are ruling out "knowing someone", but it really is the best option. If you don't know anyone, GET TO know someone. Find someone on FaceBook who works there, talk to someone in a forum, ANYTHING to get a referral from a live person.

After that, the bases have been covered. You can only get past the bits if you include the EXACT keywords they are looking for, and a killer cover letter is the best route through an Admin.

Make sure you cover letter exhibits specific knowledge of the company, why you would be a good fit, and humor.

I'd also try to make it look different. I've seen video resumes, online resumes, resumes written with crayon, resumes with pictures, etc. Some of those ideas were better than others.

I maintain my LinkedIn page like an online resume, and invite prospective employers to view it in my cover letter. It's a bit more in depth than my paper resume, and shows I am competent online.

Network

I read somewhere, somewhere that 50% of jobs get filled from w/ in or by references of current in house workers before jobs go public. How true, I really dunno.

One reason I keep FB no matter the PITA factor is contacts, former co-workers and bosses. Everybody went their separate ways into new territory. Put the word out you're looking and get the inside skinny.

LinkedIn in another worthwhile site. Former co-workers and bosses, school mates, reps etc. There can probably be no bad contacts.

In my field I've maintained contacts w/ suppliers, reps, contractors, inspectors etc. that get into dozens of plants on a regular basis. They'll get to know the skinny from the inside on any openings before they go public.

Good example: I maintain contact w/ former chemical reps, they have contracts w/ industrial sites, steam plants, WWTP etc. They have dozens of contracts and get in the sites often, they can get the inside word. Just ask 'em. Additional benefit: they can also recommend a good place to work or a bad place to stay away from.

In reply to mtn:

Im not sure that I would want to work at a place in your side note.

chada75 wrote: In reply to mtn: Im not sure that I would want to work at a place in your side note.

That is pretty much any big company. Not exactly sure what big is, as I consider my current company of 1600 people small.

Who reads a cover letter anymore? I don't.

chada75 wrote: In reply to mtn: Im not sure that I would want to work at a place in your side note.

You can't even get into my office. We don't have a receptionist and you have to have your key card to get in.

The HR manager and original manager who hired me are in San Mateo, CA.......I was in Tulsa, and now moved to OKC.

1600 is small....I think my company is now 145,000? But there are only about 50 of us in the OKC office.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: Who reads a cover letter anymore? I don't.

I know, right? I still send it in just because... well, why not?

But the real reason why not is that for us hiring it has only hurt candidates. Like they look like they'd be great, but zero writing skills.

In reply to z31maniac:

Exactly. Our office is locked 24/7, no receptionist, not open to the public. We had a guy try the classic "show up and speak to someone" once. It did not go well for him... Don't get me wrong, the staff who encountered him at the door were polite and we didn't call the police or anything aggressive, but it did not make a positive impression. He wasn't qualified for any positions anyway so I'm not sure what he was thinking other than he had been receiving a lot of bad advice.

In my experience, a large portion of positions are filled through networking. You need to know people to pass along a resume or put in a good word. The rest seem to be mostly luck with having the right resume float in front of the eyes of the right hiring manager at the right time. Networking seems to have the better success rate.

fasted58 wrote: Network I read somewhere, somewhere that 50% of jobs get filled from w/ in or by references of current in house workers before jobs go public. How true, I really dunno. Good example: I maintain contact w/ former chemical reps, they have contracts w/ industrial sites, steam plants, WWTP etc. They have dozens of contracts and get in the sites often, they can get the inside word. Just ask 'em. Additional benefit: they can also recommend a good place to work or a bad place to stay away from.

This. All of this. Last year I got a random linkedin email from a graduating senior at my alma mater. It was polite, well written, and asked for nothing more than 5 minutes of my time. We ended up speaking on the phone, where I gave him some industry advice, pointed him away from my employer (at the time) and towards a better company.

Linked In? Do people really get job interviews and offers from that? I deactivated my account years ago because it seemed like a complete waste of time.

Sky_Render wrote: Linked In? Do people really get job interviews and offers from that? I deactivated my account years ago because it seemed like a complete waste of time.

I have had recruiters contact me for interviews yes. I never pursued any beyond the recruiter phone call because they just weren't a good fit or I was happy at my current place. It seems to be about 1-3 interview opportunities every 6 months or so.

Sky_Render wrote: Linked In? Do people really get job interviews and offers from that? I deactivated my account years ago because it seemed like a complete waste of time.

Yep.

Where I work now, the manager of my section found my profile through connections of my friend that works here. She asked him about me, if I was good, etc.

4 interviews later and I have a fantastic job. I may or may not have heard from my friend about this position if his boss hadn't asked after seeing that we worked together and he had written a recommendation for me on LinkedIn.

Now I have the best pay/benefits/flexibility of any job I've ever had.........and I'm typing this from the office in a T-shirt, shorts, and flip flops.

z31maniac wrote:

Sky_Render wrote: Linked In? Do people really get job interviews and offers from that? I deactivated my account years ago because it seemed like a complete waste of time.

Yep. Where I work now, the manager of my section found my profile through connections of my friend that works here. She asked him about me, if I was good, etc. 4 interviews later and I have a fantastic job. I may or may not have heard from my friend about this position if his boss hadn't asked after seeing that we worked together and he had written a recommendation for me on LinkedIn. Now I have the best pay/benefits/flexibility of any job I've ever had.........and I'm typing this from the office in a T-shirt, shorts, and flip flops.

You guys hiring in Chicago? I don't have a direct resume fit though.

SVreX wrote: If they wrote poorly, they never got an interview, regardless of whether the job had anything at all to do with writing.

I used to talk online with a wealthy rally mechanic, at one point he worked for ProDrive, who writes like a parody of a teenager in a chat room. Even before that was common. And I don't think he was getting by on his "winning personality."

On the other end of the scale, I once sent out a resume with a word accidentally deleted, and I wield writing skills that are godlike by today's standards

As for how to get an interview without connections, hell if I know feels a lot like the search for extraterrestrial life sometimes, is anyone out there, or are you sending messages into a lifeless void?

Well, I think I'm going to go reactivate my Linked-In profile now...