It always helps to see what’s happening on the other side as I push forward with my own job search. An interesting article came to my attention called No Hire is Better Than a Bad Hire.

The article has two parts at the time of this posting, with a third coming. The gist of the first part is that making a poor decision while hiring in a tight labor market has severe potential negative consequences: those being, loss of morale among other team members from a poor fit, or worse, simple incompetence from the new hire.

The second part makes a point about hiring strategies that i found very salient, and that was that it’s important to assess candidates whom could be good fits, but may not be caught up by “traditional” assessments. My favorite bit:

High performers may develop capabilities from one year of job experience that other people may not gain from five or more years in the same job. Encourage hiring managers to also consider candidates with alternative types of experiences and education that can provide job-relevant capabilities even if it comes from working in a seemingly unrelated field.

Now, this is probably at the core of what I find to be so dis-spiriting about modern job search techniques… especially the resume into the keyword grinder. I’ve been tapped up for “opportunities” which have absolutely no relevance to my experience or, more importantly, my objectives (i.e. I am looking for Strategy + Marketing/Project Manager positions… I have been a developer, but do not wish to be one again. Ever.). But even worse, I’ve crafted some lengthy and—to myself, seemingly winning—responses to positions that seemed extremely interesting, and more importantly, had the look of a “good fit”. But the responses went to good ol’ /dev/null… apparently. My obvious thought is that my attempts to suggest why I would be a winning candidate fell onto deaf ears as I landed in a sea of resumes, with a harried admin or recruiter “plonking” through the pile.

It seems like recruiting, or being recruited, is a “black art” on both sides. So what is the best technique? Mindshare is an obvious analogy, but when it’s a matter of marketing oneself as an unknown quantity to an unknown quantity, it’s all luck and spit and polish. No rhythm, no reason.

In sum, I’d like to take heart from the obvious positivity out there as regards recruiting and being recruited. But it certainly doesn’t change the fact that it is a disconcertingly anonymous process working towards that goal.

Oh, and one last thing… if I show up on your doorstep; trust me, I’d be the best hire you ever made. Reasons why are forthcoming…