- The labor market is softening, and it might be harder to get a job compared to the past.
- Business Insider talked to job experts about why applicants might struggle to get hired for a role.
If you're not hearing back after applying for jobs, you may need to make some changes to your résumé, interview prep, or search strategy.
A cooler labor market means it could be harder to find a job now than a couple of years ago. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows there were 1.2 job openings per unemployed person this past June compared to 1.5 job openings per unemployed person in June 2023.
"It's remaining steady, but it's definitely softer than it was several years back," Leanne Getz, vice president of tech staffing firm Experis's delivery channels, said about the labor market. "So, not surprising that applicants are having a little bit more of a challenge to identify opportunities."
Stacie Haller, the chief career advisor with ResumeBuilder.com, said she thinks "people aren't necessarily as prepared when they enter a job search today" because they may think the job market is the same as it was many years ago.
But for job seekers who are struggling, there are ways you can try to improve your odds. Below are some things that you may want to change if you aren't landing a job.
You are sending out way too many résumés
One issue could be you're sending out a bunch of résumés, including for jobs you don't even want or for jobs where you don't have the desired experience. Haller suggested having most of what an employer is looking for before applying to the role.
"I would prefer people to not send out 800 résumés just throwing spaghetti against the wall," Haller said. "That's when you hear from people, 'It's a horrible market, and I can't get a job.'"
Gabrielle Davis, a career trends expert at Indeed, told Business Insider people should first consider the things that matter to them in a job beyond a paycheck, such as the benefits and whether it's remote, instead of first applying to many roles.
"I think that when job seekers function from maybe a place of slight panic, they don't do that because they feel like, 'I just have to move fast because the market's moving fast. I have to get all the stuff in, and I'm just going to see what sticks,'" Davis said. "And that's not always really fruitful for them. So I think that it's better to take a much more intentional approach to the actual job search."
You are waiting too long to apply
OK, so you have decided to send out fewer résumés that are more focused on gigs you want. Now, don't wait too long to actually apply.
Haller said job seekers should reply to a job posting within 24 hours "to at least have a shot to be in the mix."
Haller said people come to her and say, "'Oh, I saw a job posting that I'm interested in.' And they take days, if not a week, to reply."
She added, "By the time they send their résumé out, that company's probably on final interviews."
You might need to reconsider the contents or format of your résumé
Six seconds. That's how long Haller said job seekers have "to capture somebody's attention by your résumé or by your profile."
Formatting could be important to consider when putting together a résumé in hopes of successfully landing work.
"You need to know how to create and format a résumé that works in today's job search process," Haller said, adding this "means the formatting should be cleaned, standardized, and easy to read."
Getz said the résumé should also be similar to things noted on a candidate's online profile, like on LinkedIn. She also said résumés should be accurate and be in their own words.
"We're seeing candidates utilizing certain AI tools to generate the résumé, and it's fine to use it to help guide or give you suggestions, but you want to be careful about having something like ChatGPT design your whole résumé," Getz said. "It's easy for recruiters to pick up on that. It doesn't seem authentic."
You are not considering your connections
There's more that can be done than uploading a résumé to a job application. Haller said job seekers may want to see who they can contact at the company beforehand.
Haller said, "The last thing you want to do is dump your résumé into" an applicant tracking system "if you have another way to make contact inside that company."
Getz noted people could consider who they may know at the place they're hoping to get a job when they are applying.
"It is often about the network and who you know, but it also is sometimes just a game of numbers," Getz said. "There are so many applicants. You have to just keep applying, be consistent, be persistent, be patient."
You are not doing sufficient prep for an interview
If you get the good news that an employer is interested in interviewing you, it's probably best to prepare for the interview with some research.
Haller said people should know the company's mission, why they even want to work for the employer, and prepare questions to ask during the interview.
"I've interviewed people as a hiring manager with people who have no idea what the company does or why they're even interested in a job," Haller said. "That's a waste of everybody's time."
Some helpful hints of what to say during the interview are in the job posting itself.
"The job posting tells you exactly what they're looking for," Haller said. "That's where your prep starts. So if you know what they're looking for, you want to prepare as many examples that you can about what they might ask in reference to what they're looking for in the person they hire."
Getz also talked about being prepared and other basics of interviewing. Getz said to make "sure that you're dressed professional, that you've prepared, that you've done your research on the company that you're interviewing with, that you have strong questions to ask, that you're prepared to answer behavioral style questions."
Don't do an interview from a car and eliminate any background noise, Getz also advised. Getz emphasized the basics of doing an interview because "it could be one of those minor, little things that knock you out of consideration that could have been overcome by simply being prepared, dressed for the interview."
Davis suggested preparing a few main points that you want to reiterate in every interview round. "If you're speaking to maybe two or three people at a company, just because you've spoken to the same people at one company doesn't always mean that they are sharing exactly what you've spoken about to their colleagues," Davis said.
She added those main points can help show your prep, and she said, "Any sign of preparedness to an employer means, OK, this person is showing up. They're here. They're taking it seriously."
You aren't sending a thank-you note, or you're following up too much
Davis said a handwritten thank-you note could be good if you did an in-person interview. Even if it was not an in-person interview, Davis said sending a simple thank-you note on the same day could be good.
Davis said the note should thank the person for their time and include something personal from the interview to show you were listening.
"I think that really goes a long way," Davis said. "And after that, it's kind out of your hands, so waiting to hear back from the recruiter or hiring manager and then going from there."
Getz said "to be cautious about how often you're following up" because you're not the only job candidate a hiring manager is talking to. She said people don't want to overdo their reach out, and it should be professional.
How long did it take you to find a job, or how long have you been unemployed? Reach out to this reporter to share your experience at mhoff@businessinsider.com.