Without wanting to sound dogmatic we believe it is fair to make one categorical statement about job applications: Qualifications must meet requirements. That much seems obvious.

But the obvious is not always the norm. In fact, large numbers of job applications have trouble meeting job specs. There seems to be one common denominator for this: Job seekers decide that they can do the job. Quite obviously many respondents could do the job if given the opportunity, but he key is to have experience line up with the job requirements.

So, then the question is when one can reasonably expect a positive reply to resume submissions. For the answer it helps to know how selections are made. There are certain objective search criteria that must be met. The best chances are when experience matches the following objective components:

1. Having the same industry, product or dosage form experience.
2. Having the requested job experience.
3. Having the requested education.

 

These are your chances:

100 % / Total match: If you meet all three categories, you are a complete match and given a solid work history you will be selected for interviews. We can practically guaranty it.

66% / Partial match: If you meet two of the three categories, you could still be a match if your job experience lines up with the required experience in the job description. In our experience, employers may have flexibility in either industry / product experience or education, depending on preferences, but not in job experience. Therefore, if your job experience lines up with the job specs, and given a solid work history, your chances are still excellent that you will be selected for interviews.

 33 % / Runner up: If you meet only one of the three categories it would depend on the preferences of the employer and the qualifications of your competitors whether you not you will be invited for interviews. For instance, if you are replying to an R&D position requiring a PhD, that level of education would be a must and one or both the other two requirements might be flexible. If you are responding to a manufacturing position, matching production experience might carry the day, whereas education or product experience might be flexible. On the other hand, if you are a local candidate with experience, you might have a leg-up on candidates from out of town. In other words, invitations to interviews depend on what, in the eyes of the employer, the one or two core requirements for successful performance in the job are. If you meet them, we could recommend with some caveats that you should still apply.

However, if your experience, no matter how excellent, meets none of the requirements, applying in the hope that the employer might have some other matching job for you is not recommended (unless it’s a recruiter). Remember that there will be competitors whose experience matches the requirements 100 or 90 percent and employers will always invite them first.

But how does one explain this dichotomy?

But how does one explain that your resume was filtered out when your experience meets the requirements 100 or 90 percent? The answer is that your resume probably got stuck in a computerized system and sent to the Resume Black Hole because of the way it was designed, written and formatted. But you can improve your prospects dramatically.

We can optimize your resume free of charge which will greatly improve your chances to get through the filters and will lead to greater numbers of interviews and ultimately to more and better job offers. Upload your resume and we will send you your personal optimized resume to use with any and all job applications.