I'm Good People

I got 'passed over' by a company this afternoon. Today's rejection was done over the phone. The hiring manager was fair and civil. I perfectly understood his line of reasoning (I'm missing the technical requirements of the position).

I've been looking for work for about a month now. Since the start of my job search, I've interviewed at three companies. Today's rejection lowers my current 'active' list down to two.

On my own, I've dropped my resume (via e-mail) to various companies. Not one company has called or sent e-mail stating that they have my resume on file. For every article I read where companies are 'on the look out for talent', my cynicism grows. Companies can afford to be picky now. There are plenty of candidates out there. One friend of mine said he was starting to consider a 'regular job' (i.e. not with a high-tech company).

There's no doubt the lack of activity is due to the general malaise of the high-tech economy. But c'mon, don't companies need good people? I'm 'good people'. Instead, recruiters focus on reformatting my resume.

Another colleague said it's the nature of human resources. They are inundated by resumes. They have to wade through them, passing only those deemed fit to the actual hiring manager. The key is to get to the hiring manager first. Recruiters help with this, but one also has to network or make a lot of cold calls. I'm starting to do this now. As someone remarked to me, forget trying to find the job, and just find a job.