How to get shortlisted for that job?

because to get selected you need to get shortlisted first.

Not getting a reply from the recruiter is the biggest challenge right now.

An online poll conducted by indeed India to take a deep dive into the challenges faced by job seekers says -:

More than 40% of the job seekers shared that silence from the recruiter during or after the recruitment process is one of their biggest challenge

I have applied for hundreds of jobs in my entire career until now and faced that challenge too.

Earlier in my career, I didn’t know how to look out for these signs. I learned things over the years by getting rejected, asking dumb questions, and exploring enough about the JDs(job descriptions).

But now I can say that I know the pattern to get shortlisted or at least get a reply from employers.

We all reach the cusp of desperation and eventually give in by applying for all open positions we come across. However, this is not the path you should choose. Why? Let’s find out!

To get selected you need to first get shortlisted and to get shortlisted recruiter should be impressed by your application and profile.

“Your approach should be unique and different along with your personality from the mass.”

Top 5 steps to get shortlisted

You should follow these steps before applying to any jobs.

1. Get Noticed

Be active on the job platforms and make sure your portfolio and resume have been designed well and up to date, hiring managers will see these things carefully to decide whether you are the right candidate for them or not.

Portfolios are not just to show your work but it’s the best way to showcase what you do and like, so for example if you are an animator and applying for the same position then make sure your portfolio has some interesting animation works.
Resumes, on the other hand, should tell a story and not just the skills and companies you have worked for.

Portfolio and resume itself is a big topic and you can find a lot of articles and videos about the same. A few of my recommendation:

2. Understanding the job requirement

Always read the JDs(Job descriptions) carefully, not everything asked in a JD is mandatory, match your skills till you reach 60% of them, if you are matching that bar, let’s move on to the next step. If not, let’s find another employer.

3. Background research of Employer, Team, Culture, and their work. — We’ll use this while writing a cover letter

Try to understand the domain employer is in, check the glassdoor ratings(or such other platforms), ask any past employee about their culture(if possible). Check their app, website, or other platform and collect the points you liked and the area you think can be improved.

“Be more human, and spend time to do some background reasearch about the place you are planning to work.”

I have seen a lot of better designers not getting shortlisted for the job they deserve because they didn’t spend time to know about the employer better or tell them about themselves.

4. Write a cover letter (Most important)

Recruiters and hiring managers are looking at your profile without knowing anything about you. So, how can you let them know that you might be the one they are looking for. This is the right time to leave an impression which not only tell them about yourself but will make them feel you.

After the research about the employer, you have reasons to join them with some improvement points for their product. Now start writing a cover letter with all these points.

Your journey
Experience
Why do you want them to join
What did you like about them and
Anything interesting you have recently done, learned, solved.

“Writing a cover letter is an art too.”

But how to write an impressive cover letter

Okay, I’ll give you some tips here. Include these points in your cover letter and you are all set.

A bit about yourself — Shows your personality
Why you are looking for a change
Why are you applying to them — most important
Show that you checked their product and what you liked and what needs improvement.
Where and how they can reach you
Any recent learning
What motivates you
Mention your portfolio, LinkedIn Profile, Dribbble account, Medium profile etc.
Attach your resume
Contact details

Bonus Tip: Try to reach out to the specific team or team members you want to join while applying. It’s increases the chance to get shortlisted. So, if you are a designer reach out to design team.

5. Follow up

Sometimes it takes time to reach back to you for a few employers, in that case, wait for 4 –5 days and then send a follow-up email asking if they get time to check your application or they need any more information.

This is a nice approach and shows that you are really interested in the job.

Thanks for making it till the end

Job hunting might be crucial at some stage but if we take care of applying process then the chances are to get one.

Any suggestion or interesting thing you want to add, or need any help with the hiring process, don’t hesitate to reach to me. If you learned something new, let me know on Twitter.

Thanks to Smrithi Jacob, @kingsidharth and Niteesh Yadav for helping me with the copy and Sanjay Raval for suggesting a few items to add.

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I have some other interesting articles on medium
Check out my work at creativemj.com
Random thoughts at Twitter
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How to get shortlisted for that job? was originally published in Noteworthy - The Journal Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.