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Hello, I am an HR professional with over four years of work experience in the field. I have gained experience in full-cycle recruitment, training and development, performance management, implementing employee engagement strategies, organizational development projects, crafting HR policies and procedures, onboarding documents and training manuals and more.
I am based in Toronto and have been looking for a full time position since the past one year and have applied to more than 400 jobs. I have been getting interviews but that's the farthest I have been in the job seeking process. I have implemented every strategy in my approach to applying for positions; from tailoring my resume to the job requirements, reaching out to recruiters, and registering with agencies. I have tried applying on different portals like linkedIn, Indeed, Zip, company websites, remotejobs and more. While for the interviews I go completely prepared; I study the job description, relate my answers with it and how I can incorporate my past experiences in the role I am interviewing for, I research the organization, its mission, vision, values and culture and also subtly include it in my answers. And after every interview I send a thank you email. My interview answers always follow the STAR method. Am I still missing something? I don't know what else I can do to finally reach to the offer stage. I will truly appreciate any guidance, advice I can get. I feel absolutely stuck and lost.
Thank you.
Anonymous
08/14/24 at 12:15PM UTC
if you are out of ideas, you may wish to check out Andy LaCivita and his videos. He is really good at helping you concisely state your value to an employer plus he has a lot of interview tips. As you replay some of your interviews, see if some of these tips would help -- You may just need to interview for more positions to find the right fit, also.
For my last position I interviewed multiple times and in the end was glad that I had not succeeded with the previous interviews as I ended up with a position that was a much better fit and salary than those where I hadn't succeeded. Remember - you only need one "yes"!
Alfiyah Qureshi
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08/15/24 at 4:35PM UTC
Thank you very much. I will look up Andy LaCivita. Hopefully the videos will help me put myself forward in front of employers more skillfully. I also use the tool Big Interview to help me refine my interview skills. But yes the more interviews I gave the more it helped me with my confidence. I am sure the right job will be worth the wait and I am eagerly waiting for my final "yes"!
Anonymous
08/13/24 at 8:49PM UTC
Hi! Please take some comfort in knowing that you are swimming in an ocean of others like you.
Since you've had interviews and it sounds like you applied all the best practices out there. There are only 2 things that I might suggest.
Keep growing your network and try to get out to relevant events for in person networking. If you're introverted and don't know how to insert yourself into conversations; there's always courage in numbers and bring a friend or one simple way to get into conversation is casually walking up to a group and ask "Is this your first time at this event?" And that can naturally segway into an introduction and you can also be sincere and mention you're currently looking for your next opportunity. If you do this early, you take the pressure out immediately and can focus on relationship building. Work the room and follow up with a friendly note as soon as you can.
The other may just be how you do or come across during your interviews. I think it might be helpful to record yourself answering a sample interview question. Review it and analyze it. Do you sound like a robot? Do you sense that you're not coming across as friendly or warm? Take note of things you think could be better and record it again. Keep doing this till you are happy with how you did, now send that recording to a friend or someone who's opinion you trust, ask them how they think you did and any observations they made. If not comfortable with this, an interview coach can be helpful (but depends on your financial liquidity, of course).
Rinse, repeat.
Rinse, repeat.
It's a tough job market right now, but I sense that you're tougher! Be kind to yourself and good luck!
Alfiyah Qureshi
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08/15/24 at 4:40PM UTC
Thank you! I understand the market is tough. I value your advice. I will start attending more events, that will help me put myself out there even more. And honestly speaking, being introverted is not an option anymore. So yes, I will network more, connect with professionals from my field and will practice more on my interview skills. Thank you very much for your motivating words. I will rinse, repeat and keep going!!
Anonymous
08/13/24 at 7:41PM UTC (Edited)
So it sounds like there is something wonderful in your resume, and cover letters that get you to the interviews. What is missing is offers. This may sound uncomfortable, but get a mentor, and have them do a mock interview with you. I'm a former recruiter, and currently work within a career center in higher ed with a very prestigious school. Go to your alma mater and see if they offer career coaching. You may have all the right things listed on paper, but there may be something you are not doing correctly in your interviews. Think of it like this, you received a first date but have not been asked out again. The dating process stops at a certain point. This is a time to stop, realign yourself, and get some blunt feedback from professionals. In doing many mock interviews, I have found talented folks but their body language needed work. Twirling the hair, swiveling in a chair, not making eye contact, or maybe it's too intense. Practice on Zoom and tape yourself, but do reach out to others to do mock interviews. You have fabulous experience, you may need to just hone the interviewing skills/behavior. See if that helps you and do keep us posted. Good luck!
Alfiyah Qureshi
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08/15/24 at 4:47PM UTC
I have a recruiter friend who has been helping me with mock interviews and her feedback has been very positive on how I approach the interviews. But I also feel there might be something off in my interviewing skills that I reach the last stage of the interview process and still have not been able to secure an offer.
I have considered getting myself a mentor but I am uncertain on how to go about it. If you could help me understand how my approach should be like, it'll be great! I will check my alma mater too. Thank you, I will surely keep coming back here!
Anonymous
08/15/24 at 11:56PM UTC (Edited)
Find a friend willing to mock interview over zoom. Or find someone who doesn’t know you. Either are great resources. Think of the last few interviews you had. Is there a common denominator? did you perhaps get too chatty as you were nervous?
yes contact your Alma mater to see if they offer alumni career resources. And coaching services. A mentor is one that isn’t a friend but one who may be willing to guide you and do mocks with you?.
Anonymous
08/13/24 at 8PM UTC (Edited)
Wow, your diligence is very impressive and commendable. Kudos on your effort, and no worries all is not lost. I'd like to take a different approach with this as to what has and always seems to work for me is talking to my network/former colleagues and recruiting them to assist me in my job search. Every position that I have had has come by way of my network/former colleagues, whether it's a referral or simply a phone call/LinkedIn chat message to a colleague that was either looking to fill a position or passed along information about a position.
Yes, it may require you to be a little more bolder and get out of your comfort zone, but I get the feeling that your diligence has prepared you for this and you're good to go!
Wishing you all the best!
Alfiyah Qureshi
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08/15/24 at 4:52PM UTC
Thank you, that is exactly what has kept me going. I do have my days but they haven't stopped me from working towards what I want to do.
And yes, I should start connecting with my network again. What kind of a message do you suggest I can send to start the conversation on the right note? I will appreciate your advice. Thank you!!
