Today I’m sharing 10 top mistakes I see job seekers making over and over as they are looking to leave their current job and transition to a new, better role.

Addressing even one of these will make a HUGE difference in you getting interviews and offers for jobs you actually want!

1.) Applying for a job because it’s available

Apply because you are actually excited about the position. A lack of passion for a position shows up in how you prepare for the job and how you present at the interview.

Employers can tell when you are not truly excited about a position you are interviewing for.

2.) Not being clear on what type of job you are going after

Without clarity, you can’t know what special skills and experiences to highlight in your job search package (resume, LinkedIn profile, and cover letter. ), which makes you pretty darn generic and forgettable.

With so many applicants out there for the available jobs, ‘generic and forgettable’ are basically a death sentence for an applicant’s prospects.

3.) Keeping the interview talk purely professional

People hire people they like, and these days, most interviews are all about finding the right fit.  So find appropriate opportunities to make a personal connection whenever possible.

4.) Inadvertently projecting that you are rigid and stuck in your ways

While saying things like “I have 20+ years experience in X” on your resume or during an interview may project that you are extremely knowledgeable in certain areas, it may also project that you may not be current in (or open to learning) the latest and greatest technologies or skills.

Of course, express that you are knowledgeable (aka valuable), but leave numbers out of it if at all possible.

5.) Forgetting about your LinkedIn profile (or using it incorrectly)

So many people make the mistake of using the LinkedIn profile as another place to share their resume.  Nope. Your resume is your resume. Your LinkedIn profile is your opportunity to share other things about yourself.

For instance, you can use the profile to share a bit about your personality and to highlight other relevant professional interests.  Using it solely to regurgitate your resume is a missed opportunity to help you stand out to recruiters and hiring managers.

So make sure your LinkedIn profile tells the story you want told about your awesomeness, attracts the attention of hiring managers, and helps you get the interview.  Check out my Free LinkedIn profile cheat sheet to show you how!

6.) Failing to prepare a proper narrative for why you are looking to leave your current job

The question inevitably will come up during your interview. Being prepared with a robust and compelling answer will help you stand out from the other interviewees, and will also prevent the natural tendency to bad-mouth your current company or role.

7.) Relying on the job search boards for all opportunities

Nearly all jobs worth having these days are being posted both internally at the company as well as externally.  The best way to get those jobs is to be submitted directly by someone with a relationship with the company.

If you are submitting through a job search board, then you are likely one of the tens (if not hundreds) of others doing the same.  Even if recruiters and hiring managers rely on the boards, they will likely only read a tiny percentage of the resumes submitted through that source.

8.) Taking ‘No’ for an answer

If you’ve managed to get an in-person interview for a position, then you are pretty darn awesome!  While they may have chosen someone else for the position, that doesn’t mean they didn’t love you, too.  So, don’t just walk away from a ‘No’.

Follow up to ask why you weren’t chosen, and use that opportunity re reiterate how much you would love to work at the company and what you can contribute.  Often, this personal connection will keep you top of mind for new opportunities when they arise and will create a personal reference for you when you apply for a different position in the company.

9.) Waiting for perfection to apply for a job

Often we fail to apply for a particular position because we don’t have 100% of the skills listed as requirements.  Conversely, we may not apply because the position doesn’t list 100% of our requirements.

Not applying in either of these circumstances is a mistake.  If you are missing some of the skills and they bring you in for an interview anyway, then those skills were really not THAT important (or they are ones they are willing to teach).

If the role doesn’t appear to have everything you want, but it has most (and/or the company is one you have been dying to get into), then try for the interview anyway. Once you get an offer (and only after the offer), you can talk about what’s missing and the likelihood of building that into the role.

10.) Spinning your wheels and wasting time going it alone instead of tapping into the right expert support

Most of us are already busy in our current jobs, with home, and everything else we have going on. We don’t have the time or energy to do the type of effective job search that gets quick results.

The right support can be the difference between being in your ideal dream job in a few months and still trying to figure things out a year later.

One key part of any ideal job search is a stellar resume that actually gets acknowledged by recruiters and hiring managers.

Grab my free resume template and cheat sheet, used by my clients to stop getting ignored and start getting interviews.