Every engineering job I've ever had, I found on an Internet job board (Monster or CareerBuilder). Yes, it helps to read the job posting carefully and make sure your resume contains some of the same words or phrases, but that's true whether you're dealing with automated filters or just technically illiterate HR personnel. Once, during a pre-screening over the phone, I had an HR person ask me, "So, do you have any experience with metals?" right after I got done detailing my experience in a foundry; I realized that I had only used the terms "casting" and "foundry," never "metal." (Now, I am careful to say "metalcasting"!)
Several years ago the company I worked for sold to a competitor. I was asked to relocate across country to another state. Our kids were in high school and moving would have been extremely difficult. I thought finding an engineering job would be "duck soup". All I needed was to go online, post my resume and wait for the phone calls, at which time I would pick and choose between the most desirable companies. Never happened. Not one call after three weeks. During that period of time I did start the networking process and in this fashion found a much better job than the one I had. Everything I did was relative to inter-personal relationships--word of mouth. By the way, I'm still waiting on those phone calls.
Yes, Mydesign, given all that, networking becomes that much more important. However you work it, it's important to try to meet or reach those who are making the job decision before the job goes out to the world.
After finding myself seeking employment in 2008 for the first time in 25 years, I was badly un-prepared to re-enter the job-seekers market. But getting thrown into that situation, you learn certain things VERY fast. Several Lessons learned the HARD way:
Hard Lesson #1) Big job boards (Monster.com, TheLadders.com, etc) are filled more with predators than legitimacy. Alleged recruiters offering you phony interviews for the cost of professional resume writing services. "Oh, no you didn't get that great job I solicited, probably because of your weak resume; let me offer my service to improve it; $600"
Hard Lesson #2) Thousands of resumes being scanned and sorted by Keywords. The interviewing manager is subject to their own human-nature to thin the pile; too many choices are confusing. Ideally, the pile would get narrowed to 2 or 3 candidates. Getting into the final 3 is statistically improbable at best.
Hard Lesson #3) Most big companies don't even see applicants until their front line screening sub-contractors have done the weeding. Even On-Line, when you pick "Career-Opportunities" from an HP, or IBM sized corporate website, you are immediately redirected to their staffing firm, and get embedded into a lengthy application process, often pages long.
Hard Lesson#4) those recruitment sites often demand pages of pre-qualification data entry about you before you even get to the page asking for the resume download.
Hard Lesson #5) While recruiters and staffing firms can be a good ally, they will also dodge you unless there's an immediate potential up-side for them. They are, unfortunately, "fair-weather friends".
Most of us have been on both sides of the desk. When playing the role of hiring manager, you hate the interviewing process, and want a short list of candidates. When sitting of the Candidate side, you know you face daunting odds even landing an interview. My bottom line: Today's technology is more hindrance than help to job seekers, and nothing works as well as a face-to-face, personable discussion among like-mannered professionals. The trick is getting in the door.
I have not had many issues moving from engineering job to engineering job. In doing so I have usually been able to get better pay or benefits. I think the reason is that even though I placed resumes on the career websites, I worked a network of contacts. As suggested, the persistance and the heads up to HR helps get you noticed. Then you have to highlight your skills and experience. In one interview I even volunteered to teach the interviewer a new concept related to the job process. I would caution that make sure you are a skilled speaker and trainer. But the point is, present yourself and be proud of what you have to offer.
As a side note, I am working with my 19 year old son to get him noticed for hire. He is not a degreed engineer so he is looking for entry level technician or machine operator. However, I am using my network and coaching him in presenting his skills as a mechanically minded individual. He has not had a lot of luck breaking into the door for an interview. So skills and experience seem to trump ambition.
This explanation jibes with my experience. i figured putting my resume out via LinkedIn and a couple of head hunters would get me some meaningful responses, but so far it's only been for grunt work by employers that aren't interested in paying for experience, and very few at that.
I think the companies recruiting just can't weed through the excess of applicants so the only way for an individual to find a good job is through word-of-mouth and inside information, beating the crowd before the crowd gets wind of it. I suppose it's always been like this to some extend, but I used to be able to find suitable openings in a matter of weeks. I could depend on my skills bubbling me up to the top of the list, or at least high enough to merit an interview. Now the only jobs I hear about are the ones few would be interested in or that are beneath me pay/experience-wise. Perhaps this is just the nature of experience: there are just far fewer jobs of this nature available.
Rob, the multiplication factor for each job opening is somewhat between 1000 and 2500. I mean for a single opening companies are getting more than 1000 resumes. Which HR has the time and patients to go through all the resumes for scrutiny? Nobody will, they simply or randomly select some of them or outsource the process or go with recommendations. The result is talent is out and recommended peoples are in.
"Are online job applications more of a hindrance than a help"
Sylvie, how many HR or recruiting people really look in to the resumes they are receiving by mail? I heard that most such resumes are redirected to the trash. In most of the companies, recruiting is done from trusted sources like employee reference/recommendations or through third party recruiting agencies. Once I had registered my resume with some online job portal, I didn't get even a single mail replay from any of the employers.
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