It’s Halloween, the spookiest time of year, so in this week’s blog we’re opening the door on some scary jobseeking mistakes.

If you’ve done a decent amount of jobseeking, you’ve probably had that one interview or recruitment experience that’s been worse than seeing a black cat, breaking a mirror and walking under a ladder all in one day. Sometimes you just can beat the bad luck, but when it comes to these three jobseeking nightmares, there are some simple steps you can take to turn them from tricks into treats.

#1 CV or cover letter full of cobwebs

Applying with a CV or cover letter so old it has cobwebs puts you on the back foot. It gives the recruiter the impression that you haven’t really tried and puts you at risk of missing important experience or skills relevant to the job you are applying for.

Turn this trick into a treat….

There’s really no solution to this one except for a bit of time and effort on your part. Review your CV periodically and ensure you have updated it with your latest roles and any new qualifications, and consider pruning any really old jobs from the bottom. The same goes for any online profiles you have, like your LinkedIn Experience section. Before you apply for a role, think about tailoring your CV to highlight the skills and experience that best meet your new role’s requirements.

Cover letters should be tailored too - using the same template cover letter each time is a quick way to get a trick, not a treat from a recruiter. Your cover letter needs to be written with the job ad in mind and pull out all the best bits of your skills and experience. Our Cover Letter Magic resource can help you out here.

#2 You turn into a zombie at the interview

No, we don’t mean that all your clothes are ripped and you start trying to eat people. But you might zombify and sit there not saying a word and not knowing how to think straight. Not a good look!

Turn this trick into a treat…

If you know you struggle with interviews, our advice is practice, practice, practice.

• Ask someone to run through a mock interview with you. If you have a friend or family member willing to fire some questions at you, then try a mock interview before the real thing. If you can’t find someone to play the interviewer, then practice your answers out loud in front of a mirror so that you can watch your body language too.

• Do some research and come up with a list of possible questions and prepare some notes on those. You don’t want to sound like you are reading from a script but having some answers or examples prepared can help reduce your nerves.

• Practice some responses that might give you breathing space if you get a question you aren’t sure about.

Find yourself faced with a zombie interviewer? 

Sometimes it’s not you that’s the issue but the person or people doing the interviews - like the manager we heard about who spent an entire interview scrolling on his device, or the head of HR who used to take her watch off and put it on the desk when she felt the interview was going on too long.

Turn this trick into a treat…

In that situation, you simply have to try and not let it put you off. If there is a panel and some of the people are interested, focus your attention on them.

Go to the interview armed with some questions of your own too, so that it becomes a two-way conversation. Most interviewers give you the chance to ask questions at the end and it forces the interviewers to engage.

#3 Being ghosted

This was the top response when we asked people to choose their scariest recruitment experience in our recent LinkedIn poll. Being ghosted is when an employer stops communicating about a role you have applied for. It can happen at any time during the process but often happens during the early stages of an application. Often it’s because the recruiter has lots of applications and just doesn’t have the time to respond to them all. That doesn’t make it any easier though. And when you are ghosted later on in the process, it’s even more galling.

Turn this trick into a treat…

What you do in this situation probably depends on what stage you are in the application process and how much you want the job.

Before you follow up, especially early on, double-check the job ad. Some organisations won't respond to everyone, especially if they get a lot of applicants and will state this in the advert. If that’s the case and you haven’t heard anything in a week or two after the closing date, you should probably assume you haven’t been selected.

If there’s no mention, then there’s nothing wrong with following up. If you have reached the interview stage or beyond, then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with following up. After all, you (and the recruiter) have put time and effort in by this stage.

The key is doing it without sounding rude or burning any bridges for the future. Send a polite email, or phone if it’s appropriate, simply asking whether the process is still on-going or whether the role has been filled, and whether there is anything else you can provide to help the recruiters. If you don’t get a response, one more follow-up is probably worthwhile.

It can also help to double-check the expected timeline when you are at the interview. Ask the recruiter when they expect to be finishing the interview stages and making a decision on the role. That will give you an idea of how long you should wait before following up if necessary.

Want to find a job that’s a definite treat and not a stinky trick? Our job board is full of opportunities with organisations that want to make an impact and share your values. Check out our latest listings today.