If I do not get an interview call, should I contact the recruiter to explain how I fit the role? [duplicate]

Question

I applied to a position that I am qualified for, have relevant experience, and a pretty good resume. There isn't a requirement I don't meet, but the recruiter didn't even invite me to an interview, and they are not even a prestigious employer. I really want this job, it sounds like a fun role and it is where I want to be geographically.

I want to contact the recruiter to give them a better idea of why I meet all the requirements. I am thinking of sending them a slide deck about how they should expand their business model. I also am thinking of having their requirements listed out and giving my qualifications for each.

Would it be right to do this?

Answer 1

I'm concerned about your fixation on one position and the thinking that clearly this low-prestige position must want you if Google is interviewing you. This could be seen as belying a deep-seeded ego/narcissism that will make you very difficult to work with. It also points to a lack of experience in the interviewing process. You really should do some self-examination before you get to the interview, because you do NOT want to convey that impression to them.

Regardless, the answer is No, it is not appropriate to call the recruiter and explain why you're the best fit. The simple reason is YOU DON'T KNOW YOU ARE THE BEST FIT. You don't know any of the circumstances of the position. Maybe the description isn't accurate. Maybe the position has been filled. Maybe there are other requirements that they're not saying openly (like they prefer an internal candidate or have someone in mind).

You could follow up to show your continued interest, but it unless you are given an interview of some form it's not appropriate to start "selling" them.

Treat a job search as any marketing campaign. Your resume/application is just an advertisement. Does Geico get upset when I turn off the TV instead of calling them to buy car insurance? No. Do they call me to try to persuade me that I should be spending my next 15 minutes to save that 15%? No. They move on to the next one and focus on building their brand in a way that maybe I'll want to buy from them in the future, or maybe my friends will. If I call them, THEN they engage in "selling" me, but until then it is basically harassment (they don't know for sure I still have a car even). They also want my experience to be excellent so I'll have a good impression of them and maybe buy additional services (i.e. get a promotion in the future). My apologies if people don't get the reference, but using a real company helps make the point clearer.

You are the product and the marketing department. Cast a wide net - you only need one buyer right now, but will likely need others in the future.

Answer 2

There are a few points that need to be made here.

First of all, back off. You may be a good fit, but you can't know for sure if you are the best fit. Maybe they already hired the best fit. Maybe they even hired the second-best fit, and the spot is now filled, so you - the best fit - were simply too late.

Secondly, consider your résumé. If you believe that they don't understand that you should get the job, then you should blame yourself for writing a résumé or application poorly. Everything they need to know about you, should be in there. Anything you want to call them and explain, should have been explained in the papers you submitted to the company. Go back, re-write it if you need to, and apply somewhere else.

Bottom line: No. You should not be calling them to explain yourself as the perfect fit. You may call them to show your continued interest in the job, but you should expect that this will not change their minds.

Answer 3

I was made redundant a couple of years ago and spent two very stressful months applying for every job I could find that fit my skillset. During that time, I developed the following strategy for every application I made:

1. Send in a CV specifically tailored to highlight how I was a good match for that role.
2. Make sure that the covering email pointed to the specific bits of the CV that I wanted them to look at, to show the agent how well I matched the spec they'd advertised.
3. No more than ten minutes after sending the email, call the agent and ask for their help in tailoring the CV to match the role before they sent it on to their client.

Ten minutes is usually long enough that they've received the email and short enough that they haven't read it yet. Having you on the phone makes it harder for them to dismiss you out of hand in that first thirty seconds of reading the CV, and makes it more likely that they'll point out where you're lacking and give you help to make the CV better.

It has additional benefits as well: if the agent couldn't take the call and didn't call back within fifteen minutes, I wrote that application off as "CV fishing" and ignored any other adverts for that agent. If the agent wouldn't give advice on how to tailor the CV further, I wrote the application off as "agent not helpful" and ignored any other adverts for that agent.

Given that those months were August and September, I'm pretty happy with this strategy and would use it again if I found myself in similar circumstances.

In your case, I'd suggest a call to the agent to ask about where the gaps in your resumé were, rather than anything more aggressive like trying to prove they got it wrong.