So you’ve received an email or letter with the standard ‘thanks, but no thanks’ regarding a recent job application. Not only can these communications be disappointing, but they don’t usually offer up any reasons why you weren’t successful in getting through to the interview stage.

Unfortunately, this is pretty much standard practice for many companies who simply don’t have the time and resources to respond to each applicant individually to detail why they weren’t invited to interview.

But that’s not much help to you going forward. Try not to be too disheartened, in my experience there’s a few areas where candidates can slip up and lead to the employer passing them by as a potential candidate.

Not using the job specification
All job vacancies have a clear job specification which is very much like a wish list for the perfect candidate. You can easily use the job spec to your advantage by using it as a checklist when tailoring your CV.

Make sure that you work through the list of what the employer is looking for and tailor your CV to include any relevant skills, qualifications and experience you might have as detailed in the job spec.

A wordy CV
Many employers only have a limited time available to sift through applications, so try and condense your CV and make key relevant skills and experience stand out and easy to spot.

Most people won’t take the time to go through a wordy or overly long CV to try and pick out the pieces they’re looking for, so you need to present the key pieces of information in an easy to digest format.

You didn’t follow the process
Some application processes ask for a covering letter or email or for you to provide answers to questions regarding your experience. Failure to comply with the employer’s requests when submitting your application signals that you aren’t able (or willing) to follow instructions and you might not be providing the company with the information needed to make a decision on your application.

Worse still, if you’ve not noticed the application deadline on the advert and applied anyway then you’re not likely to hear anything back from the employer as it would be unfair to other candidates who have applied before the deadline.

If you want to make sure your CV ticks all the boxes, then register for our free CV surgery to get expert help and advice over the phone on how to get your application noticed. Click here to find out more.