The biggest mistake job seekers make? Thinking like an employee instead of a recruiter.
This mindset gap causes job seekers to miss out on opportunities because they don’t tailor their job search strategy to how recruiters think and work.
As a recruiter and a career coach, I have seen job seekers make two common, yet avoidable errors.
The Two Biggest Job Search Mistakes—and How to Fix Them
“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein
The first and most common error most job seekers make is to view job postings as a list of required skills. They fail to understand that new positions are a company’s attempt to resolve an internal problem such as vacated positions, increased business demands, or skill gaps. But, for recruiters open positions represent a company’s problem in need of a quick and lasting resolution.
Their second error? Many job seekers don’t realize that recruiters skim résumés in seconds to determine if they’re worth a deeper look and thus their generic applications get overlooked.
Even when job seekers make it to the interview stage, they struggle because they fail to boldly showcase previous experiences and their success in resolving similar problems. Instead, they expect recruiters to connect the dots for them.
When job seekers don’t zoom out to understand the company’s problem, they miss their opportunity to position themselves as the solution.
A Recruiter’s Perspective: The Candidate Who Almost Got Overlooked
As a recruiter, there have been several occasions when I’ve suspected an applicant was more qualified than their résumé suggested and scheduled a quick screening call—only to discover a standout candidate.
In one of my favourite examples, we were hiring for a highly technical role.
The hiring manager passed on a candidate, but I had a hunch she was more qualified than her résumé suggested. I scheduled a short screening call, and she blew me away. After I shared my notes, the hiring manager agreed to meet her. Long story short, we hired her—and she became one of our strongest team members.
A Career Coach’s Perspective: How Clarity Changed One Job Seeker’s Future
As a career coach, I work with job seekers who feel exhausted and frustrated by their search.
It’s usually not a lack of experience, but a lack of clarity and communication of the problem they solve and their special approach to solving it. Once they adjust, they get more interviews and even multiple offers.
One of my favourite success stories is of a client who had recently immigrated to Canada.
Despite her strong experience and a post-grad certificate from a local college, her job search was going nowhere. She was discouraged. But it was clear to me that her résumé and LinkedIn profile were not doing her justice—they didn’t showcase her experience and capabilities and how talented she was in her field of expertise.
Once we clarified her offering, revised her résumé and LinkedIn profile, and improved her interview skills, she received not one but two offers for mid-level roles from fantastic companies.
Years later, she still gets compliments on her résumé—a reminder that clarity and confidence change everything.
Shift Your Perspective, Change Your Career
"Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself." – Mohsin Hamid
Experience has shown me that when job seekers step out of the employee perspective and into the recruiter’s perspective, they can better demonstrate that they are the solution a company is seeking.
When you shift from thinking like an employee to thinking like a recruiter, you don’t just land more interviews—you take control of your career.
Bliss Careers | Free Tools for Job Seekers
Bliss Careers is a boutique career coaching firm that empowers professionals to elevate their job search strategies, boost confidence, and build careers they love.
📩 Join Career Bliss Letters for exclusive insights, strategies, and tips every two weeks.
✏️ Plus, explore our Free Tools to start optimizing your career today!
