The Irony of Job Search
Today’s high tech job market in Chicago is frustrating and contradictory. The big companies have been laying people off, downsizing, outsourcing, off-shoring, and many people I know who are still at these companies want to leave. They are worried about losing their jobs. The startup market is pretty weak right now as well, with fewer entrepreneurs basing companies here.
However, if you do have an open position, it is very hard to find qualified talent. Post a job description and you’ll get 100 resumes, but only five of them worth following up on, and if you’re lucky, one worth interviewing. And when you find a good candidate, they will expect more compensation than you’d think they’re worth. Openings sit unfilled for months as managers try to find qualified candidates.
There seems to be a disconnect between those with talent and those looking for talent. The now-traditional way of getting your resume out there, via job sites like monster.com, is weak. It is too hard for the qualified applicant to stand out, and it is also too hard for the hiring manager to separate wheat from chaff.
Recruiters aren’t much better, as they tend to pigeonhole talent, and de-emphasize location. If you’re a great software development manager with experience in cellular user interfaces and you live in Chicago, you’ll get plenty of recruiting calls for similar positions on either coast, but will probably get passed over for a local job focused on software development in another area.
For various reasons many good job openings never get publicized. The job seeker needs to know the right people or be in the right place at the right time. The saying, “It’s not what you know but who you know,” is still very true today, but outside of the circle of people that you know may be the ideal match for the position you’re trying to fill. How do you find that person?
Jobs exist and the talent exists. We need a better way of putting them together. Perhaps this could be accomplished by having recruiting done by an individual with the appropriate technical and managerial experience. Perhaps job sites could do a better job pre-screening both openings and applicants. Perhaps the resume is a poor means for evaluating the scope of one’s talent and experience and a better alternative is needed.
Perhaps all of the above. There may be a lucrative opportunity for someone to crack this nut.