3 ms·

> There are people who still have trouble finding work in the status quo. Examples might be engineers who: > don’t look good on paper but are actually very goo

> There are people who still have trouble finding work in the status quo. Examples might be engineers who: > don’t look good on paper but are actually very good I think (hope?) I fall into this category. She talks about five on-site interviews being the usual limit for a single job search. After twelve years I have only ever had five, and it isn't for lack of trying. Actually I think my interview performance history is pretty good. I have had about twelve phone/live screens, of which I passed nine, resulting in five on-site interviews.[1] Those on-sites yielded three offers, of which I accepted two. The problem is, the response rate to my resume submissions is horrid. Even when I have an "in" at the company. I heard too many times while switching between programs at my first employer something to the effect of, "We would have never hired you by looking at your resume, but I'm glad we did." I have other, similar statements concerning underestimation of what I am capable of. Maybe what I need is more of a marketing specialist than an agent, but I have always imagined that to be the primary job of an agent. I really need someone to help me figure out how to present myself better. I would actually pay for that service; I guess, as she says in the post, there are not enough of me to support a business. Is that something that could be combined with a conventional recruiting operation, though? [1] Two on-sites I declined, one on-site didn't happen because the company decided not to hire for the position[2], and the third on-site never materialized because the company just stopped talking to me. [2] Or so they said. Maybe they switched me from "pass" to "fail" after telling me I passed.

spiritplumber 12y ago
It has happened to me that I was turned down for an engineering position whose main focus was working with a tool that I had developed the year before, because the other guy had a MSc and I didn't. HR people are weird.
- pja 12y ago
  Maybe you should have offered them a support contract instead :) The credentialism in this industry is often infuriating though, I agree.
- vonmoltke 12y ago
  That is where I see a big value proposition in agents for engineers, even in "hot" markets: cutting through HR's crap. That doesn't change, no matter how hot or cold the market is. I feel like that has been part of my problem, not knowing how to finesse my way past those gatekeepers. I still have trouble marketing my relevance to technical people, though. I don't have a very forceful personality, nor am I comfortable talking about myself without becoming (in my mind) a know-it-all douchebag. I need help and coaching on that front, too.
  - mallyvai 12y ago
    This is an interesting side effect of http://offerletter.io http://offerletter.io , I've noticed - we've been aggressively institutionalizing knowledge around many of these kinds of processes. Tends to give folks we work with a leg up. (Incidentally - We offer precisely this kind of help and coaching - let me know if we can help! mallyvai at offerletter.io :)
pja 12y ago
Sending out resumes is a terrible way to apply for jobs & the response rate is always horrid. Don't beat yourself up about that.
- sanderjd 12y ago
  Yeah, and a better way would be for somebody who specializes in creating relationships for the purposes of hiring to bring you to the attention of people they know who are looking for people like you. Sounds like an agent!
- leeny 12y ago
  It's true. I compare it to shouting into a void. The void does not often answer back.
alecco 12y ago
I would definitely pay. It is quite uncomfortable to sell yourself. Perhaps here is a great idea for a startup!
leeny 12y ago
It's funny; you almost fall into both categories. Potentially not looking great on paper (not sure if this is actually true) and being in a niche space like NLP. If you want to chat about how to market yourself or try to figure out where some of the issues you've been running into during your search are coming from, I'm happy to. aline@alinelerner.com

spiritplumber 12y ago

It has happened to me that I was turned down for an engineering position whose main focus was working with a tool that I had developed the year before, because the other guy had a MSc and I didn't. HR people are weird.

pja 12y ago
Maybe you should have offered them a support contract instead :) The credentialism in this industry is often infuriating though, I agree.
vonmoltke 12y ago
That is where I see a big value proposition in agents for engineers, even in "hot" markets: cutting through HR's crap. That doesn't change, no matter how hot or cold the market is. I feel like that has been part of my problem, not knowing how to finesse my way past those gatekeepers. I still have trouble marketing my relevance to technical people, though. I don't have a very forceful personality, nor am I comfortable talking about myself without becoming (in my mind) a know-it-all douchebag. I need help and coaching on that front, too.
- mallyvai 12y ago
  This is an interesting side effect of http://offerletter.io http://offerletter.io , I've noticed - we've been aggressively institutionalizing knowledge around many of these kinds of processes. Tends to give folks we work with a leg up. (Incidentally - We offer precisely this kind of help and coaching - let me know if we can help! mallyvai at offerletter.io :)

pja 12y ago

Sending out resumes is a terrible way to apply for jobs & the response rate is always horrid. Don't beat yourself up about that.

sanderjd 12y ago
Yeah, and a better way would be for somebody who specializes in creating relationships for the purposes of hiring to bring you to the attention of people they know who are looking for people like you. Sounds like an agent!
leeny 12y ago
It's true. I compare it to shouting into a void. The void does not often answer back.

alecco 12y ago

I would definitely pay. It is quite uncomfortable to sell yourself. Perhaps here is a great idea for a startup!

leeny 12y ago

It's funny; you almost fall into both categories. Potentially not looking great on paper (not sure if this is actually true) and being in a niche space like NLP. If you want to chat about how to market yourself or try to figure out where some of the issues you've been running into during your search are coming from, I'm happy to. aline@alinelerner.com