Job Seeker Communications: Say Whaaaat?

The job search game is a funny, odd and dysfunctional process.  Okay, I know I am searching so this sounds like the beginning of a long whining rant of “why doesn’t anybody hire me?”   And yes, I admit I have an ego and want things like a paycheck, a place to go and something to tell friends and family.   

But consider these things that make finding lasting connections so difficult:  Companies want to use the Internet for all communications with job seekers, they often don’t respond unless they are interested even if you meet all their job criteria. Their inability or refusal to interact prevents candidates like me to move on or stay engaged.  When we DO increase the volume and follow up to find out about the job status, people on the other end get grumpy.  It’s like they either are trying to avoid saying something they think you don’t want to hear or more likely, they are overworked and disorganized. The hiring game is hard for everyone involved.

Interviews are interesting too.  Each party is telling the other all the fabulous things about themselves and the workplace without any real conversation about the realities of the job or even delving into the other aspects of self such as outside interests that play a huge role in whether there is a fit at all.  Resumes are snapshots of what a person did in the PAST.  The job at hand is now and the future but little time seems to be given exploring these realms.  Hiring firms perceive they have square holes and they want square pegs to fill them.  Yet often, management seeks different viewpoints and skill sets to grow the businesses.   Interviewers speak about “out of the box thinking” and “leadership” but when the job is awarded, the new employee is soon asked to stay between the lines and not rock the boat.  Companies are not places that necessarily ask for unvarnished truth, they ask for people to get along and go with the program yet they have a difficult time articulating what they want.

I know this is a game of sorts.  I am not a rebel out to wreak havoc in a company.  But I do think employees need to know the big picture and where the company is headed to be able to do their jobs well in support of that mission.  We are such a reactive society.  Very little time is made to STOP, THINK and then DO.  This is hard stuff!  I met a new friend who works for PepsiCo and we spoke about the importance of big corporations accomplishing their goals while also leaving the world a better place.  I hope his personal need for balance manifests in the company’s culture but it takes time.  Very encouraging to hear tho!  Another friend at a mountain resort spoke of the “friendly competitive silos” the president created for staff.  It reminded me of the cold war era.  How is this fostering trusting, collaborative team effort?  I have been told that I must be the square peg first, and then go from there. That is good advice.   Having twenty years in corporations and that last nine in my own businesses, I must also speak my Truth as a person and a candidate for that is what I have to offer and that is what the right employer (for me) is looking for if I have the courage to say it.  If I say and do things others expect from me, where will I be?  

I do not have a job yet.  Yup, I am frustrated wanting a good one that’s right for me.  That’s the rub.