It is the number one question or topic of discussion on any online discussion group about looking for a job in the humanitarian sector: I keep applying for jobs that I believe I am perfect for and I keep getting rejected. Why?

I’m sure it’s a frequent self-question for many people looking for a job in any sector.

I have been a part of many committees and panels to review résumés or interview candidates for a variety of jobs, including at the United Nations. I have also been told a few times why I got passed over for a job. And all of the reasons I’ve heard first hand about why someone, including myself, aren’t going to be interviewed run counter so many things we hear regularly about job hunting, like It’s easier to get a job when you already have one (this has never been my experience) or you have to know someone at the UN to get a job there (all three of my jobs at the UN came without already knowing anyone at any of the agencies where I was hired). Yes, luck and good connections can have a lot to do with finding a job, and knowing someone at a company you want to work for can absolutely help you get a job. But don’t assume that that’s why most people get hired.

In many cases, an applicant that doesn’t make the cut for an interview actually isn’t perfectly qualified for what they are applying for. When I get a stack of CVs for a job, I can eliminate half of them at first glance just by comparing what the résumés say versus what the job asks for. I can eliminate even more by looking at them in more detail and quickly discovering that some very specific things asked for in the job description not represented in the person’s profile.

So before you complain about being perfectly qualified for jobs you are being passed up for, make certain your profile represents the exact skills and experience asked for in the job description – if the job says applicants must speak Spanish, for instance, part of your cover letter needs to be in Spanish. Your résumé must explicitly list the skills and experience asked for in a job description – not just inferred. And if the job asks that you have a certain number of experience in a certain field, and you don’t have it, you go into the rejection pile, period.

With that stack of résumés from qualified people that I glean, I then put them in the order that I think represents the very best candidate on down. That might be just 10 résumés. That might be 30. I then look for jobs on the résumés that are similar to what we are asking for, I look at the type of education they have and I look at the kinds of work they have done that are most like what we’re asking for. Then I look at the top 3 or 5 or 10, whatever we’ve decided is the number we’re going to interview, and I ask myself, “Self, are these really the top folks you most want to interview?” Indeed, some of the people who don’t make the cut are qualified for the job – but they get beat out for an interview by people who match the profile even more.

When I interview candidates on a panel, we always have the same questions to ask applicants, and we assign a score to each answer. Afterward, we compare scores. Usually, we all have the same top candidate – our number twos and threes might be different. Sometimes, we don’t all have the same top candidate. It only gets dicey and uncomfortable when our scores vary wildly and we stanchly disagree on high and low scores – and in more than 20 years of being on hiring panels, this has happened just twice.

With all of that said, yes, I have heard arbitrary reasons for not considering a qualified candidate for a position. Not everyone chooses candidates to interview like I do and not everyone chooses the person to hire the way I do, and it’s when the arbitrary reasons for not choosing someone creep in that the process becomes unfair or impossible to navigate, that is absolutely true.

What are the reasons that don’t have to do with a lack of qualifications or lack of experience asked for that exclude a candidate? Here are reasons I’ve heard, blatantly or implied/inferred, as to why qualified people are not going to be interviewed or considered for a job:

• This person already has a job. I’m suspicious of why they want to leave it.
• They have a post-graduate degree, which is what we asked for, but this other person has a Master’s!
• We asked for people who at least have a Bachelor’s – this person is overqualified because they have a Master’s.
• They have applied for other jobs here. I’m suspicious of why they want to work here so much.
• They might not stay long if they get this job. This person has never been at a job longer than four years.
• They might want to stay in this job too long. This person has had only two jobs, both longer than 10 years.
• They seem ambitious and will want a promotion quickly if they get this job.
• They don’t seem very ambitious.
• They seem overly-confident, maybe even arrogant.
• They don’t seem confident enough.
• This CV is too long. It has too much detail.
• This résumé is too short. It doesn’t have enough detail.
• Wow, this person has worked at insert name of very well known organization here. Why in the world have they left that company/that profession? Why do they want to work here instead? I’m not impressed – I’m suspicious.
• Too old (50 or older)
• Too young (26 – this was by someone at the UN who didn’t believe anyone in their 20s was capable of working abroad)
• They don’t seem healthy (said about candidates over 50 or candidates who might have a perceivable disability).
• They have a family. They might be too distracted for this work.
• They don’t have a family. When they start one, they’ll need lots of leave time.
• They don’t have a family. That means they have no ties to our community.

What has hearing these arbitrary and unfair reasons for not hiring someone taught me? For one thing, it’s taught me that it’s impossible to come up with that perfect résumé or cover letter – what one person will love another person will hate. It’s also taught me that it’s impossible to give a perfect interview for any situation – what one group likes, another group won’t. It’s also taught me that many career coaches and career consultants really don’t know what they are talking about – their ideas may or may not work, and there is absolutely no magical formula, no matter what they say.

Here’s my advice, in a nutshell, when applying for jobs,

• Be accurate, be specific, be honest and spell correctly in your application
• Make sure your résumé clearly shows why you are perfectly, exactly qualified for the job you are applying for, as described by the employer.
• If you get the opportunity to ask someone why you weren’t chosen for a job or an interview, absolutely take that opportunity – but take the advice with a grain of salt. If someone says you seemed too confident, is that really something you want to change? Wouldn’t you prefer finding an employer who likes your confidence?
• Apply for a job with absolute commitment and determination, as though it’s the only job you are applying for, and after you hit “send,” forget about it and move on to the next application.
• Stay busy during your job search and, to anyone who is watching you, in person or online, stay positive.

Also see:

• Jayne, how did you get to work for the UN?!.
• Tips for Long-Term Unemployed People Seeking Jobs & Older Job Seekers
• Career consulting for people seeking to work in humanitarian-related fields
• What To Do After You Have Been Fired from a Job

If you have benefited from this blog, my other blogs, or other parts of my web site and would like to support the time that went into researching information, developing material, preparing articles, updating pages, etc. (I receive no funding for this work), here is how you can help.