{"id":5257,"date":"2020-01-20T03:28:20","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T11:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coyotecommunications.com\/coyoteblog\/?p=5257"},"modified":"2020-01-27T06:54:43","modified_gmt":"2020-01-27T14:54:43","slug":"why-qualified-people-get-passed-over-for-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coyotecommunications.com\/coyoteblog\/2020\/01\/why-qualified-people-get-passed-over-for-jobs\/","title":{"rendered":"Why qualified people get passed over for jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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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?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m sure it’s a frequent self-question for many people looking for a job in any sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been a part of many committees and panels to review r\u00e9sum\u00e9s 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<\/em> (this has never been my experience) or you have to know someone at the UN to get a job there<\/em> (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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 r\u00e9sum\u00e9s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 r\u00e9sum\u00e9 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that stack of r\u00e9sum\u00e9s 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 r\u00e9sum\u00e9s. That might be 30. I then look for jobs on the r\u00e9sum\u00e9s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n