How do i get a job interview?

I got one interview out of so many jobs I apply for, but I didn’t know it was for a management position the ad said no experience was all right. I’ve only had about 3 months experience in retail, which isn’t enough for anyone it seems like to me.
I do call backs and they say the manager isn’t in; you aren’t experienced enough, etc.

How do I stand out when other people are obviously more qualified then me?

First off you’re applying for a job in what many consider the most competitive job market in decades. So naturally you’re going to have to work a lot harder just to land the interview, let alone the job. I am positive you’re not exactly thrilled to hear that, but it can help you if you’re willing to put forth the extra effort and back it up with hard work.

The first step to getting your job is to pick the field of work you’re interested in. Most often with teenagers this includes basic retail, food services, etc. For yourself I would recommend keeping with retail as you have some basic experience in that. First thing first is to pick the top 10 stores / companies you’d like to work at and find out if they’re hiring. Be realistic when looking for companies, Microsoft & Facebook aren’t likely to higher teenagers with out a degree, so pick jobs that match your qualifications.

Once you find out which ones are hiring spend a good 2-3 hours reading their website, not shopping but reading. For example read their about page, their blogs, mission statements, and anything else you can find not to mention new articles if there are any. You want to know what the company / store does and what their goals are, their goal or mission statement often can give you great insight to what keywords to put in your résumé that will help you land the interview.

Speaking of your resume after you have done research and think your ready to submit a resume stop yourself. Open your resume and redo it. Tailor it so it fits the company your applying to; make sure you do this for every company you apply to. According to job application reviewers one of major turn offs to an application is a mass-produced resume, which handed out to every company and is the exact same. Since you don’t have a massive experience make sure your resume focus on your skills and not your experience, and supply facts, which support those skills. For example I am very talented in web development but I haven’t worked with a design firm for more then a few weeks, so I would show a few awards I have won as it adds creditability.

Like just as important if not more important to your resume is your Cover Letter, each resume you submit NEEDS a cover letter and a custom one at that. Your cover letter is the first thing your employer will see and it often is the item, which will sink you or swim you. I am not exactly good at explaining the cover letter process so please refer to here: Click Here!

They will be able to walk you through the creation of your cover letter.

Then once you’re all done make sure to double check your work and submit your resume. Follow up as need be, but once you land your interview make sure your prepared. I personally recommend once you find out you have an interview do some more research about the company and refresh your memory as you want to know about the company and if can come to the interview with a few questions in regards to the company, like how their expanding their reach to the east coast from the west etc… If your one of the people who aren’t a great people person then make sure you have a friend or parent conduct a number of practice interviews asking you typical interview questions. This will help prepare you for the stress and questions of a real interview.

I know this wasn’t exactly the best article on how to improve your job search so I am including some additional reading materials.

Resumes:

http://www.groovejob.com/resources/resumes/tips.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_5474486_build-perfect-resume.html

Cover Letters:

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverlettersamples/a/coverlettsample.htm

Interviews:

http://careerplanning.about.com/od/jobinterviews/Job_Interviews.htm