Saturday, March 21, 2009

Gate Keeper 101

Today when it comes to finding a job, the "gate keeper" is no longer a "secretary" screening your mail or phone calls to connect to a potential hiring manager regarding a job opening. In our modern era of technology, the gate keeper has by and large become a computer application that captures your provided/sent information, i.e., your resume, and scans it's contents for specific predetermined keywords and phrases carefully selected by hiring managers and human resource personnel.

Not familiar with these (Applicant Tracking Systems) ATS applications? I recently wrote a blog in regarding to ATS systems that you may wish to read for more details. If you have read this blog post, then you have a basic understanding of the the nuances with these applications. The tragedy is that at times, you inevitably have to go through these "gate keeper" systems to submit your resume via the corporate resume submission black hole. This being the case, I have some recommendations you may want to consider beforehand.

As job seekers catch on and rewrite their resumes tailored to a specific job and use specific trigger keywords and phrases, the applications are forced to become more artificially intuitive in what they are meant to perform for hiring managers - resume screening. Hence the problem is - as job seekers better understand how to trick these systems, the systems in turn, are reprogrammed to be more effective.

But perhaps you’re not a real life human popinjay, or online digital word-smith. What can or should you do to try and get through this initial application's screening?

Well, the goal always was and continues to remains the same - you have to be aggressive, prepared and proactive - in no particular order. Overall, the best thing to do is to try and find a contact at the company you are seeking employment with via am email or telephone number and politely explaining that you heard there was a job opening that you felt to be a perfect candidate. If you can forward you resume off to that person then perhaps they can then help guide or nudge you through the internal corporate process. Ultimately it is still much easier to get an interview if someone from within the organization can refer you to the appropriate gate keeper.

I realize that some HR personnel actually review every resume that comes into a company, but I also realize that some companies are just too large and to humanly sift through thousands of resumes can be too cumbersome and ineffective for internal hiring personnel. The trouble with this, is that you may be perfect for a job and never get the time of day to showcase yourself to the proper hiring manager.

While there continues to be an evolving process to enhance the congested superhighways of resume sending, I am still of the school that being aggressive and creative can help get you further. I urge those job seekers that disperse their resumes in these black holes, and assume they have done all they can do to find that next job, to rethink their strategy.

Do not rely on what appears to be the only gate keeper - the online ATS. In many cases, there are other options that can help you make the connection that can lead you into your next perfect job!

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