Tuesday, January 16, 2007

I just don't know

A few months ago, I thought that getting a job would be easier. Now, I don't know.

You see, even if you find the perfect looking job posted on the Acme Inc website, and you tailor your résumé to fit the description, and you write a nice brief yet compelling cover letter, and you follow all the directions on the website about submitting your application... nothing ever happens. OK maybe you get an automated thank you, or MAYBE you get a standard email that says, "No" only in a lot more words.

I've tried this route with 26 companies for about 30 positions. Exactly NONE of these efforts has resulted in me being contacted by the company for an interview or phone screening. You could say I'm underwhelmed. It is an effing black hole.

I HAVE gotten results by actually contacting people within the company directly. As far as I can tell this is the only thing that works. Only problem is that this is that it is lots harder. You have to find these people, convince them to call you back, then get them to take your résumé to the hiring manager. To prove this point, I just told a friend of mine about my job search, she mentioned her daughter works at one of the companies that I am targeting, she called her daughter, and here daughter immediately called me back. All of this happened as I was writing this post. Sheesh.

EDIT: I just realized that I refuted my own assertion in the last paragraph. I need to speak with my editor...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bob, it has always been more successful for me to mine my personal contacts and follow those chains (just like you're doing). Job ads can get an overwhelming response, often from mostly unqualified people, and the good ones too easily get lost in the shuffle. Don't forget that your friends are pulling for you -
&:-)

Anonymous said...

I bet if you could just a face to face meeting and flash your boobs, they'd hire you in an instant....;)