Too many good candidates are not being heard...

...you can be the best, most qualified candidate in the world and you will not get the time of day from 99 percent of HR people. It's very frustrating. There are many of us who have sent out hundreds of resumes (not boilerplate, mind you, but custom fit for each job opening) with little or no response -- not even a rejection e-mail. I've been looking for six months and I'm guessing others have for a lot longer. I've had a grand total of 2 interviews. I've got a degree and more than seven years experience in my field but that doesn't seem to matter. I admit I'm not the best qualified for every opening to which I apply, but come on -- I don't even get a call back 5 percent of the time? I suppose for some jobs since I don't have the "right" degree I can't possibly do the job even though I have the equivalent experience as a substitute.

"The market is flooded, it's very competitive," is what I hear. I suppose so. But I for one don't like that excuse. Companies need to know that there are a lot of potential employees out there with great credentials that only wish to be heard. HR people need to recognize that all skills and job experience cannot always be quantified into standardized, computerized online application forms which, by the way, leave no option for creativity or alternate explanations for unique job experiences and career directions. This is not an indictment of HR -- they have their jobs to do. I understand that in this standardized, streamlined homogenized modern society, automated job application procedures are a necessary evil. But I don't have to like it and I mourn the increasing loss of face-to-face (or by phone) personalized contacts.

I am ready and eager to work hard again for some company out there. Unfortunately no one will hear me out. I'm afraid my story is far from unique.

I apologize that this is more of a rant than a practical posting but if you read all the way to the end, thanks.

YOu are dead on!!

I've been in that situation myself. The best solution in this economy is to have a head hunter help you get the exact job that you want.

Don't waste your time with headhunters. These narrow-thinking bottom-feeders lie, renege on promises and are rude. It's a lot of effort, but you're far better off in the long run applying to companies directly.

Best of luck with your job search.

I know that there a lot of recruiters out there, not headhunters that only care about numbers and money, but there are a few good headhunters that do their job. Which is place top talent with a great company. If it wasn't for my headhunter, I wouldn't be President of the firm I work with right now. When I was job searching by myself, I went 9 months without employment. When I finally accepted help, I landed my current job in less than a month with the salary and conditions that I wanted. Food for thought.

Real, professional executive search firms that recruit CEOs and the like for six-figure salaries are one thing. Headhunters who recruit for the worker bee jobs of the world are quite another.

A recruiter tried to hold me responsible for her fee. I interviewed with her for a fee-paid position. "Fee-paid," of course, means the employer, i.e. the recruiter's client, pays the agency's fee. At the end of the interview, the recruiter shoved a contract at me. The contract would have bound me for her fee were her client to fire me. I walked out.

I spoke by phone with the president of the agency. The president was dismissive of me. She said their clients were their first priority and, in so many words, that candidates be damned.

A couple of Half headhunters have stated this practice is irregular. I doubt it. I submit if this agency did it, so do others.

Years later, I wanted to change jobs. A law firm had rejected me for a job. That's life. A couple of weeks later, I answered a legal recruiter's ad. The position was for a similar job. I knew of the recruiter because she officed in my building. My then-firm had used her temps.

I met with the recruiter. During the interview she badmouthed the shareholder of my then-firm. She asked where I had applied for jobs, ostensibly, she said, to avoid duplication. I inadvertently forgot to give her the name of the firm which had rejected me.

A few days later, that woman called me. Turns out that law firm was her client!! She reamed me for not giving her its name. She bluntly accused me of trying to make her "look bad." She was very rude. Her badmouthing of my then-boss was also rude. This legal recruiter had been operating her own agency for ten years when I encountered her. She still operates her agency.

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Continued...

Since when was it the candidate's responsibility not to make a recruiter "look bad"? Where was the harm? Her client only had to say was it had already interviewed me - which it did. Not only that, it is well known recruiters pump candidates for employer contacts to find out openings to push their services and other candidates at these employers.

It is also common knowledge that headhunters advertise false jobs. They do so for many reasons. One reason is to impress potential clients with their large candidate pools. Headhunters also waste candidates' times by interviewing them without intending to place them. They pull that trick to up their body counts.

Food for thought for you.

I have been out of work for a year, now. In better times my resume on Monster and Dice would get me calls and interviews. I have not had a interview for 6 months. So now the way to go, as I understand it, is to research the companies in your area to get hiring manager/director names and to go in and do a face-to-face, cold call. Handing a resume to someone who does the hiring, NOT HR, is the most important thing. Like you say, face-to-face interaction is becoming less so you need to take things into your own hands. Remember too most people are hired not on qualifications, but on weather the hiring person likes you.

just my .02

Looking for an opportunity in the San Diego area as a area operations executive in the food service industry.