Hoyt Ag said:
I have used Teal recently, I like it. I am looking at a few people to help me rewrite it I found on LinkedIn, but I have done this 3 times already and it wasnt much help. However, I am really starting to think it is 99.9% about who you know and not your resume. I know my internal recruiters are worthless. If a candidate doesnt meet 100% of the job responsibilities, you are cut out. I imagine it is the same at a lot of places and they are missing out on great talent.
For instance, there is a Director of Operations position at a nearby facility vacant. I know the departing Director well, we fly fish each Sunday after church. He tells me he is being promoted and moving for his last hoorah before retirement. He tells me to apply so I tailor my resume, write a very specific cover letter and apply for the job. Nothing from the recruiter. Keep in mind, we are in NW CO, in a remote area. There are probably less than 10,000 people that live within 100 miles of this facility, so the pool of local candidates that are qualified is minimal.
I tell my friend I hear nothing so he says to send my stuff to him and he will get me a shot with the HM. Within 2 days, I have an interview next week with them. My friend asked HR why they didnt call and they had no answer. I am performing this role now, at a different facility, as a DO. I am fully capable of the role, but somehow I was missed by an HR person or the ATS. Makes zero sense. The system is broken in so many ways. Best of luck infinity ag and others, I know it is tough out there.
One of my favorite stories is from 1998. I was in College Stn, completed my degree, but looking for a job. I got a call to a company in Boston called Quickturn Design Systems. I reached Logan airport and get into a cab the company had sent for me that also had other occupants. Next to me was a 60 year old man. He asked about me and I said I just completed my Masters in Computer Engg and was looking for a job and was there for an interview. He said he was a VP at GTE (the telecom company) and gave me his card, and asked me to email him. So I completed my interview, got him and emailed him. I did not get a reply but 2 days later HR from GTE called me. They flew me in, I took a cab to Taunton, MA and before I could get back to College Station, I had an offer on my phone voice messages!! I ended up not taking it because the salary was 48k and I had no idea I could negotiate and I just went with a company that was offering 52k (I did no negotiation there either).
So if you know people who are in high places, it can help. I am trying for a tech job at Walmart. I have an A&M classmate who is VP there. I haven't been in touch for 25 years but we are connected on Linkedin so if the call I have fails, I might send him a message asking for help.
However, resume does help. Not everyone has high level contacts. I got many calls just from my resume. I am in the midwest, not known for tech so I don't have many contacts, which is why I am having a hard time. I don't think I ever got a job through contacts, but maybe that is why my career isn't growing beyond a point.
I get rejected at Walmart Tech for jobs I can easily do and are at my level. Why? I think the HR person did not even bother to read it. She probably found the first 10 resumes that matched and rejected the rest. Steve Jobs or Bill Gates may be the 11th applicant and they would get rejected. So being among the first to apply is very important in this market with 100+ applicants per job.
I spent Thu and Fri working on my resume through Teal. It opened my eyes. I like their format and what I liked was their AI feature which converts your bullet points into impact-based points with sample metrics. Earlier I had items like "Got alignment with Senior Management to approve roadmaps". I now realize that is boring and I either junk the line or find something else that shows how I am able to move the needle by 'x'%.
I debuted the new resume today with a few companies. Let's see if it makes an impact. Will keep yall informed!
. I see you joined A&M's Career Center in 2000, that was 2 years after I left College Stn. I was at A&M in the mid to late 90s and the career center was really great. We had to submit our resumes on paid floppy disks (I still have mine!) and they used that to enter it in the systems. Then we log in and pick companies and they select/reject students for interview. Then we go to Koldus and talk to them. I used Koldus over multiple semesters until I got a job and I am eternally thankful to A&M for that.