5 Steps to Land an Indeed Interview in Less Than a Week

I remember in my early days of job searching and Indeed using how many times I made an Indeed account, gave up after getting discouraged from my lack of inquiries after countless application submissions, then months later making another account, and the dreaded cycle continuing. “Oh, use Indeed! It’s a great resource for jobs and meeting employers!” I remember EVERYONE telling me. I couldn’t understand why everyone around me was having all this success with this website while I had tried countless times and couldn’t get a single fish to bite. Was I simply undesirable to employers?

The short answer is no. It didn’t have anything to do with me at all. It had to do with how I was utilizing the resources on the website, or rather not utilizing them, and how I was formatting my resume and cover letter.

I had a major ‘aha’ moment once I realized what I had been doing wrong, and this last time that I began using Indeed again after completely changing my approach to it, I got an interview from an employer for the exact job that I wanted in 3 days and 2 days later I was a hired employee. That’s right, after only 5 days with my new and improved profile I landed my dream job. Not to mention in those 5 days I had 6 other employers that I hadn’t even applied to reaching out to me asking me to apply to their job openings. It was a complete turnaround from everything I had experienced on Indeed up to that point. What had once been a desert where my hopes and dreams of getting any job offers went to die turned into an oasis of opportunities, and I had done nothing to change myself or my job experience.

So, if you’re like I used to be, confused at how so many are finding success on websites like Indeed while your inbox isn’t receiving a single job offer, read about the mistakes that I made that you might also be making to see how you can turn your profile from basic to one that will no doubt secure you an interview within your first week of using these strategies.

1. Always Attach a Personalized Cover Letter in Addition to your Resume.

On indeed, you have to have a resume obviously, but cover letters are optional. Your first mistake would be to think of them as optional. Your second mistake would be to not personalize them to each job you apply to. The purpose of a cover letter is to supplement your resume by informing employers about how the job experience on your resume and the skills you gained from it make you a great fit for their job opening, and why you are specifically interested in working for their company. That being said, not customizing your cover letter to each job you apply to completely defeats the point of having one at all.

I know this may sound tedious and like too much work, especially if you plan on applying to a lot of job openings, but in reality, once you have the basic outline of your cover letter written it should only take about 5-10 minutes to customize it for each job. This is especially true if you are only applying to one specific position for several different companies. In this case, you really only need to change the opening to “Dear _____” with whatever the company is called or the hiring manager that is on Indeed if their name is provided, and then pull specific skills/characteristics from their own job description, put them into your essay, and describe how your experiences have provided you with the skills and traits they require.

If you’re not the best writer, a super easy way to write an impressive, professional sounding cover letter is by finding templates online and basically filling in the blanks. Below is a link to a website that offers free cover letter templates in different styles that you can use.

2. Put the experiences that are most relevant to the job you are applying to at the top of your resume, and include all relevant experiences even if they weren’t paid.

Your resume is going to be the first indication to employers if you have the experience they’re looking for. Some employers may have hundreds of applications to look through meaning they may just be skimming through your resume. So, it stands to reason that the first thing you’re going to want them to see is the experience most relevant to the position you’re applying to. I had always put my most recent employment/experiences at the top instead of most relevant, and I’m sure I lost a lot of job opportunities when my most recent employment had nothing to do with the job I was applying to.

Another important thing to remember that can set you apart from other applicants is to put any experiences you’ve had on your resume, paid or not. When I retried Indeed I made sure to include volunteering and unpaid internships I had done in addition to the paid employment I had. I strongly believe it’s one of the things that set me apart from others, and I was definitely asked about these unpaid experiences in my interviews.

Another important thing to do when you’re looking at applying for jobs is to make sure you meet their requirements. If they require a certain certification you don’t have, or a certain amount of experience you don’t have, don’t apply. This will save so much time for you and the employer. I can’t tell you how many times I applied for so many jobs, didn’t get any sort of response, looked back at the job description and realized upon reading over it again that they required something I didn’t have.

3. Take advantage of the section on Indeed where you can enter your certifications and achievements.

I don’t know about you guys but I didn’t even realize this was a thing until recently. Once you have completed all of your resume information in Indeed, you have the option to add certifications and achievements in a separate section of your profile. Add even the smallest certifications/accomplishments you have, it can only help. I added everything I could think of to this section even if it wasn’t totally relevant because even if it doesn’t have to do with the position you’re applying to, the employers will learn more about you through this section, and chances are they will have a positive takeaway from it.

4. Do as many of the Indeed Assessments as you can.

Indeed offers short ‘assessments’ for specific job skills and personality traits that, if you do well, you can present to employers as a way to help prove your competence and let them get to know the personality traits you have that will make you a good addition to their team. The best thing about these assessments: if you don’t do well on them you don’t have to add them to your profile, and employers won’t be able to see that you even took them. It’s no risk, all reward. They only take a few minutes each, and they are an easy way to take your profile to the next level. Examples of assessments on Indeed include: “Work Style,” “Attention to Detail,” and more job specific ones like: “Electronic Health Records: Best practices,” and “Veterinary Technician.”

5. Reach out to jobs you have applied to if you haven’t heard back in a few days.

A convenient thing Indeed allows you to do is message employers whose positions you have applied to. Many employers look for this to see if you are really interested in working for their business or if you are just blanket applying to every position opening you find. Definitely make sure to wait about 4-5 days after submitting your application before messaging the employer to ensure they’ve had enough time to review your application. Do some research on the company first and use the unique things you find out about them in your message, telling them how those things have made you very interested in learning more about the company, and reiterate why you would be a good fit for the job. This will let employers know you are serious about working for them.

If you’re struggling to find a job using Indeed, implement these quick, easy tips and I guarantee you will start seeing more interest in your profile. Don’t be discouraged and do not forget your value! Companies need you, you just need to show them that. Good luck job hunting!