Last time I wrote that finding a job takes heart, connecting to your passion as a means of aligning interests with skills and staying motivated. There is another aspect to finding a job that many of you have more than likely discovered.
For all the networking and connecting that it takes, finding a job is a solitary exercise. It takes pulling yourself away from family and friends, finding a way to stay on task through the winding road toward employment. It takes finding YOU within the chaos and tedium of it. Befriending you, observing you, pushing and motivating you to be able to discuss your accomplishments and answer all those behavioral questions that start with “Tell me a time when….”.
I read a quote today that speaks to the process that happens to each of us as we release the ties that bind to the old company after being severed. The Scottish historian Charles Mackay observed: “Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one.” He wasn’t talking about the unemployment malaise that engulfs so much of the U.S., but rather the Dutch Tulip Mania nearly 400 years ago.
How does this quote referring to speculation on the value of tulips until it all went dry have to do with job finding in the U.S. today? A lot really. Those Dutchmen who bet the bank on tulip prices were operating under the illusion that their product would continue for as long as they could see. They saw no reason to change their method of marketing to enhance the product longevity. 
What about the unemployed corporate workers who see their product, their skills, only useful to another big corporation? Is that really true, or an illusion? Here in Columbus there are a set number of really large corporations, maybe 6 or 7; medium to small sized companies make up the majority of business locally. If your plan to gain employment at a local corporation is not working, why not adjust your thinking and aim toward medium to small-sized companies?
You already thought of that, but haven’t had a response from smaller companies either?
Conventional wisdom is not so applicable in changing times. Creative ideas, new ways of thinking are better alignment with the changing world of employment.
This may be the reason why the smaller companies have not responded to your résumé. Your scope and breadth of responsibility, while true, appears daunting to the medium-sized employer. I read a résumé the other day that said the person had HR responsibility for 83 recruiters. In 17 states.
The first lesson of advertising is to speak to your audience. If you are trying to interest a medium-sized company (say 500- 200 employees) in your skills and your résumé proclaims that kind of breadth of experience, can you see why you are overlooked for their Recruiting Director job that is responsible for 2 recruiters?
It’s sad to say, but my bet is, you aren’t even in the running, as you are perceived to be too much for the job. If you want to stay in the area you live and the big companies aren’t biting, my suggestion is to focus your résumé on function rather than the numbers.
Medium to small companies have alot to offer: please don’t overlook them. If the job description speaks to you, listen deepelyto the job requirements and duties. Respond in kind by relating your expience to their job duties. Convincing the hiring manager that you would be happy after such wide responsibility will still come in an interview, but at least you may get the interview.
You could say on your résumé that you were responsible for the recruiting function. Leave the 83 recruiters out of the mix. Yes, I know resume writing today stresses the importance of numbers, but if the medium-sized company will be overwhelmed by the scope and breadth of your experience, think outside the box and send a résumé that will address the job and the company size. And see what happens!
