I'm struggling to secure job interviews...

I’m a mechanical engineer and have gained most of my experience in oil & gas. I’ve submitted my CV for a number of roles with major operators and EPC companies to take me to the next stage in my career but have only been invited to one interview and unfortunately someone else was offered the job. What would you suggest I do to get more interviews?

If securing job interviews is where you’ve experienced problems, it would seem to me that your CV needs attention. You say you’ve applied for ‘a number of roles’ with both operators and EPC companies; are you sending the same version of your CV? This could be your downfall.

A CV that is tailored for a specific vacancy is far more likely to secure you an interview than a generic version sent with every application. Use job specifications from vacancy advertisements to help you document exactly why you are the right candidate for the role. Different organisations will be looking for different things and, since they tell you what they’re after in the job spec, use this to your advantage and include as much evidence of your suitability for the role as you can.

Try sitting down now with your CV and one job specification in front of you. Go through and, highlighting relevant responsibilities and achievements, checking that your content matches what the company is looking for. Tailoring a CV needn’t mean re-writing the whole thing from scratch, it can be as little as a few slight modifications according to the requirements of a position.

As well as this, you should also check that everything you include in your CV is completely relevant – hiring managers don’t need to know about mountain biking at the weekends or the model railway in your loft – keep it professional and make sure that everything relates to your ability to do the job. You don’t say how many years experience you already have, but responsibilities in your most recent role may be considerably greater than those, say, in your student placement, so ensure that you include the appropriate amount of detail in each section.

Another possibility, which is unclear from your question, is that you’re applying directly to the companies that you want to work for. This is fine if you have the time to follow up applications and request feedback when you are unsuccessful, but the assistance of a reputable recruitment agency, could help if you don’t have the time to do this yourself.

Recruitment companies will advise you about whether or not your application is likely to be considered by the client. They also obtain interview feedback when you haven’t been successful to enable you to improve for future applications, and frequent contact with their clients also means that if similar suitable roles come up, your CV can be put forward for these too.

To summarize, I would suggest that you follow the steps below in order to get more job interviews: