Job Search Frustrations

Last month, I found myself jobless for the first time in my adult life. I was laid off for what my company called "financial restructuring". I later discovered while searching job boards that this was simply another way of the company saying they were sending my job overseas...where they could get someone to do my job for less than half of what they were paying me. But that is a whole other topic in itself!

For the last month, I have submitted well over 100 job applications, and have received ONE interview!

APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEMS

I quickly found the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to be my worst enemy! In my first week of searching for work, I received many quick rejection emails. By quick, I mean within 24 hours. I would find myself thinking that there was no way an actual human being even saw my resume because I met all of the qualifications for the job! This started me on the quest to figure out how to get my application/resume past this wall known as the ATS! I can't say how many times I've updated my resume in the last month...moving sections around, adding keywords, etc. I have found that I basically need to redo my resume for nearly every job I apply for! This is time-consuming and frustrating. I now have a whole folder of resumes on my computer.

DO THESE JOBS EVEN EXIST?!

I have been known to have a bit of a photographic memory. I read something a couple of times, and it imprints on my brain. As I go through jobs on all of the various job boards...LinkedIn, Indeed, Dice...I start to see the exact same job descriptions word for word listed for various different "companies". Turns out that these "companies" are actually recruiters. In many cases, these jobs don't even exist, but rather it is a recruiter who is resume fishing. Sure, some of the jobs are real for "clients" that they are recruiting for, but so many are just a means for these agencies to collect resumes in the case they may find something in the future they can put you in for.

Since I do not quite trust applying for a job through one of these job boards (I have concerns that the company never actually sees the application), I like to try to go to the careers page for the company. It is a bit frustrating when I do not see the same job listed on the company site. It makes me wonder if it is a stale job that never got cleared off of the job board once it was filled.

COMPANIES TOO PICKY

In so many of these job descriptions, I find this really long checklist of skills that they want the applicant to have. That is all fine and well, except that there really aren't any applicants out there who meet the 40+ items on the company's checklist! Many of us, especially in the tech field, concentrate on learning things as we need it because there is so much out there. Classes are not cheap, with many of them being over $1000 per class. We know the technology exists...we have read a white paper or an article. We just haven't gotten in-depth training, because we have not had to actually touch that technology, yet. And, depending on the job, we may never. It could be something that fizzles out to something new, and we never see it in our environment. Another reason why many of us in tech do not seek out education for every new thing...we don't want to waste time and money on something we may never use. Not to mention, these skills are often lost and cannot be tuned if we do not have actual systems to practice them on in the real world. Sure, if the software is open-source, we can load it on a personal machine to play with it. But without real-world volume (such as the cases with databases and performance optimization skills), we can't truly hone in on practicing the skill.

There are hundreds of applicants in the sea...and now thousands as companies realize many of these jobs can be done remotely from home. This leads companies to hold out for that one person who can check off every box on their checklist (the unicorn), while they pass up so many more-than-qualified applicants...people who could pick up the missing skills very quickly on the job once they need to. You also have multiple recruiters looking to get the payout for being the one to find that "perfect applicant". This is another reason why you basically see the same job listed over and over on job boards! I have already had three separate recruiters tell me they have the perfect job for me, and when I start asking questions, it turns out it is for the same position I already interviewed for...the position that I'm certain I will not get based on the fact that it has been 4 business days since my second interview without a single word on rejection or otherwise and there were gaps in the technical questions I was asked (some things I had to admit I did not know the answer to). Knowing that so many different recruiters are submitting for the same job giving the company a pool of thousands to search through for their "unicorn applicant", I know I don't stand a chance for the job even though I CAN do the job!

In the meantime, I know for a fact that the job I interviewed for has been open for a month now. I've seen many jobs that have been open for a month or more. Seeing as there are millions of people out of work, and all of these companies can likely find someone "today" that could start the job "tomorrow" and meets all of the qualifications, I find myself not having much hope when I submit my application. If these jobs are still open a month later in the current climate, it is a strong indication that the company is being way too picking in trying to find a "unicorn" for the position!

IN SUMMARY

I know some of you reading this may find yourself in the same boat that I am. We are riding this thing together, and we may have a long, frustrating road ahead. I tell myself, as well as all of you, to try to keep your head up. The jobs are there! We just need to figure out how to convince these companies that we are the person they should hire...that it is easier to find that less-than-perfect applicant and allow them to get up to speed and shine than it is to find a "unicorn"!