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Sometimes when we apply for a job we think we are suited for, we don’t even make it to the shortlist for interview and wonder where we went wrong. A behind-the-scenes view of what busy recruiters do to shortlist candidates may well help you to look at where you have gone wrong in the past.

It helps to put yourself ‘in the recruiter’s shoes’ and look at your application from an objective point of view. This may well be difficult at first but you could get a friend to help.

Take the advert or job description that you have received or any details you have about the job you wish to apply for. Highlight the main points that the advert is asking for.

 Essential vs desirable. If the advert uses words like “it is essential that the applicant has…” then these will be key shortlisting criteria. If

one minute wonder Put yourself in the recruiter’s shoes and draw up the shortlisting criteria to check yourself against. How good a fit are you? Do you tick all the boxes or not?

the advert says “it is desirable that the applicant has…” then these things aren’t as important, but great if you have them too.

 Shortlisting matrix. So take all the “essential” elements asked for, qualifications, location and experience requirements and write them in a list. Now go through and see how many you can tick as being a 100% perfect fit? Now ask yourself the question, how likely would you be to get chosen? If you have all the essential criteria on the list then add on the desirable criteria and see if you meet them also.

 The 30-second sift. Recruiters draw up a matrix with columns across the top headed with the key criteria they are looking for and then down the left-hand side they write the names of the applicants. In the first sift the recruiter will skim through the CV in probably less than 30 seconds and either put ticks or crosses in the boxes to show whether you have met that criteria or not. They then go back and highlight those candidates with the most ticks to look at in more detail. The more ticks you have the more likely you are to get shortlisted. So would your CV make it through the 30-second sift?

It will always depend on the competition – if there are people more closely suited to the profile, with more ticks in the boxes, then you just won’t get chosen on this occasion. If there are many applicants making the first sift, then the recruiter will add more criteria and sift again – this is when the “desirable” criteria often get used.

Going through this exercise will help you to be more realistic and more targeted in your approach. Now you have the list make sure you get everything into your CV and letter to show that you have the skills, experience or qualities they are looking for.

If you miss something off your CV, then you won’t get that all important tick in the box.