The REAL Reasons why CV rejections happen.

Eg. 1 “We have reviewed your CV and unfortunately, we are not going ahead with your application this time “
Eg. 2 ” We regret to inform you that we have found another qualified candidate for this role”

A lot many of you have ever wondered why you don’t get proper feedback from company HR regarding your why your CV was rejected despite meeting all the criteria?

As per law, employers are not obliged to giving candidates feedback moreover many company lawyers recommend HR to keep the feedback as general to avoid any litigation in relation to discrimination charges in hiring.

However below are the major (real) reasons why you see rejections mainly at the CV stage –The 3 Gatekeepers of CV selection Most often your CV goes to 3 stages before shortlisting for an interview and many times people are unable to make a balance in the CV to meet the requirements of these 3 gatekeepers- ATS, Recruiter, and Hiring Managers. Let’s talk about these below –

1. Irrelevant Information:
   If you’re not explaining your achievements in the right context then it may appear unrealistic and lead to rejection. People with less than 3 years of experience should be very careful and write proper context on phrases such as “Led a team of X people ” , “Increased Revenue / Sales/profits by X%”. If you’re automating some scripts or processes then explain the change and explain how did you do that.
2. Not focussing on the Real Question in the Job Spec :
   Recruiters and hiring managers pay equal importance in knowing “What problem you can solve for them ?” If you’re applying for the Business Analyst role then try showing how you can help them in bringing the customer engagement to the next level and how you can help employers in improving the systems and processes.
3. Not focussing on Full-time Role :
   This one is a little subjective but if your CV contains multiple roles such as Business Analyst / Scrum Master. Then you have got a problem as these two roles are quite dissimilar in responsibilities and a CV with divided responsibilities and may not fit best for either for a full-time Business Analyst role or a Scrum Master role.
4. Unrealistic Achievements :
   If you’re not explaining your achievements in the right context then it may appear unrealistic and lead to rejection. People with less then 3 years of experience should be very careful and write proper context on phrases such as “Led a team of X people ” , “Increased Revenue / Sales/profits by X%”. If you’re automating some scripts or processes then explain the change and explain how did you do that.
5. Failing to Grab initially attention;
   Have ever watched a TV advertisement that is boring in its first 5 sec? Sometimes yes but Many times NO. The same is with the CV. If you have a poor career summary not explaining why you’re distinguished or why you’re the best fit for the role then it will fail to grab attention and most likely lead to rejections.

Cover Letter :

As per my own 15 years of experience, I can confidently say that sending a cover letter is always important. For management roles, these are even more important because a cover letter is a personalized document and let you explain why you are the best fit for the role and how you fulfill the job criteria. Especially the hiring managers pay important attention to cover letters. If you won’t send the cover letter then someone else will have that advantage.

Hope it helps !!
All the best for your Job Search.