You’re Not Going to Like This

Your enemy can really be your friend

So much has changed in the job-search world over the past one or two decades and most of it is perceived as bad news for the older job seeker. In and of itself, the vast amount of change isn’t good for someone who might not have had to look for a job over the past several decades. And then there is the whole concept of ageism which doesn’t help in the slightest.

Technology can be your friend or foe

Upon closer inspection, much of the change in job seeking can be tied to technology. On the good side, word processing can be an enormous help with your resume. Rather than the boring output from a typewriter (remember them?) with word processing you can easily bold and color type, make italics, insert boxes and other visuals (including your own photo.)

Also, database management software (including spreadsheets like Excel) can help you keep contact information, sort and separate job leads, remind you of deadlines, etc. You can do all that with a few simple clicks. Then there is email which makes it so much easier to stay in touch with interviewers and other assorted contacts. And we haven’t begun to talk about LinkedIn yet.

Yet there is bad news… maybe. Led by ATS (automated tracking systems) and AI (artificial intelligence), it sometimes seems as if there is a conspiracy against job seekers to lock them out of companies, jobs and even getting the old “foot in the door.”

ATS has been known to reject as many as 95 percent of all applications and/or resumes that are submitted for a particular job with no consideration at all for the individuals who submitted them. Talk about frustration. Today, a job seeker can’t even get to first base before being discarded.

And AI isn’t much better. AI generated job descriptions have been known to block out a substantial portion of the people who express an interest in any given job. And if your AI-generated resume or cover letter doesn’t precisely match the employer’s pre-determined criteria, you’re out the door before you even start.

So where’s the silver lining? As a job seeker, one thing that you don’t want to do is waste your time. Time wasted to see if you made it past the first cut; time wasted waiting for a return call that will never come; time wasted hoping and praying that you’re in the race. You have better things to do with your time. Why not spend it pursuing people and employers who take the time to have an interest in the people they hope to hire, and not on the paper that gets submitted?

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