Job Search: Revenge of the Robots

Work Wednesday

Having recently found myself in the position of "not exactly employed," as I like to call it, I've had many opportunities to road-test all manner of job application methods: online forms, email boxes, "phone screens" by recruiters, skills tests, and my personal favorite, the hand-written job application form. This won't be news to anyone who's ever tried to find a job, but the whole process can be incredibly time-consuming and disheartening.  It's hard to hang on to your self-confidence when 99% of employers don't even notice you in the first place.  

It's true what they say: networking makes a difference. The in-person interviews I've landed so far have happened because someone I've worked with in the past recommended me to someone they know. But oddly enough, my two most recent full-time jobs resulted from the least likely method: I found a job posting in the newspaper and sent a resume and a cover letter. 

So, I have (anecdotal) proof that it works. The trick, however, is to get that awesome resume and cover letter in front of the right person. The real, live human being who is actually making the hiring decision is usually a reasonable person who bases her decision on some kind of logical thought process.

Unfortunately, this person is often hidden behind an army of unreasonable robots.

Getting past those robots is especially difficult if you have no existing connection to the company or if your areas of expertise are not easy to describe in a few key words.

Even though there are lots of smart, skilled people looking for jobs right now, I still hear frustration from the other side: employers having trouble finding someone to hire. They're getting a pile of resumes that don't fit the job, or they're getting hardly any applicants at all. Something is not working. I, for one, blame the robots.

While there is plenty of advice out there for people like me who want to improve their chances of being noticed, it's the employers who can really make a difference. Here are a few suggestions for employers that will make recruitment a better experience for everyone.

1. Don't re-use old job descriptions in your announcement. Chances are, even if the job title is exactly the same as a position you posted 2 years ago, the job is not. Even if the job description is a recent one, the actual work can vary a lot from department to department or project to project. Instead, envision a person doing the job and everything running smoothly. What is that person doing? What skills does she have? Now envision the job. What is important about it? What is the new person going to help you accomplish? Write or revise the job description based on this vision.

A focused job description will help you find the right people, and communicating the goals and impact of the job will make people want to apply. Think about it this way: would you want your applicant to send you an old resume and a cover letter that he used for another job, or do you expect him to make an effort to market his skills to you? 

2. Don't turn the job announcement into a holiday wishlist. While it may be the most wonderful time of the year, you know Junior is not getting a TV and a game system and a telescope and a pony and a trip to outer space. Some employers try to get out of writing a tailored job description by creating an all-purpose announcement that includes all possible duties and skills. Other employers believe they can find one person to do the work of three people. And some are just pie-in-the-sky dreamers who believe there is a person with deep experience in three unrelated areas who is just waiting for a chance to work for your company.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't branch out and develop skills in new areas. But if you, the employer, puts everything you've ever wanted and more into a job announcement, two things will happen: you will get a lot of resumes that aren't a good fit (hey, this employer wants everything, so why not?) and the smart people you're looking for won't apply. 

3. Lock up the robots. You have a database that keeps track of your sales, a phone system that routes your calls and voicemail, a machine that scans, prints, punches, and binds your reports, and robocaller that reminds clients about appointments. Why not have a machine handle your recruiting? Because applicants don't want to spend hours and hours entering information into a system with no assurance that it is actually going anywhere. You will lose people before you even know they exist.

I have filled out many an online form, and there's nothing I hate more than this scenario: I click the "apply" button and fill in my name, contact info, and some basics. Then I'm asked to upload my resume and cover letter. I find the resume and cover letter that I've written specifically for this job and upload them. Hooray. Then, another form pops up. I'm asked to fill in, manually, all of the information that is already in my resume. Every job, every date, every description (oops, you are over the word limit!), everything. An hour later, the page "times out" and I lose everything. Guess what: you can take this job and shove it.

4. Lock up the recruiters. I fear I may be offending all the recruiters out there who do a good job of finding qualified people, but they are few and far between. I see a lot of companies using in-house, generalist recruiters who rarely know anything about the jobs they are trying to fill. Perhaps they are instructed to screen for basic things like "can the applicant talk on the phone?", I really don't know. If you are an employer looking for a qualified person to work on your team, you need to take charge and involve yourself in the hiring process early on. Otherwise, you risk losing a smart applicant because the recruiter doesn't understand the significance of the applicant's answers to the initial screening interview. 

Those are just a few thoughts. I know it's not easy to do these things, and companies have to find efficiencies where they can in order to remain profitable. But the best investment you can make is in finding smart, skilled employees who understand and value the work that you do. Let the robots handle the mail and make your coffee: Recruitment is best done by you. 

Robot photo by Andy Field/Hubmedia on Flickr.

Comments

[Katherine]

What a smart post. I am sorry you are in the always-stressful position of job hunting, but glad that your pain is our gain. And hopefully an employer or two will read this and rethinking relying on robots! Good luck finding the right job for you.

[Michael Schonfeld]

Wow, what a great post! You've accurately represented the challenge that most job applicants face today. I share your concerns and feel your frustration regarding the use of Applicant Tracking Systems. However, I'm not confident your argument will reach the ears of key decision makers (hiring managers) who are somewhat disconnected from the hiring process. In my blog, "All About You," I'll be publishing a post for creatively using an elevator speech. It's a strategy used in tactical sales learned over several years. I hope you'll take a moment to view it and contribute your comments.