Tips to get past the "gatekeeper" when job hunting

[Wes Bucey]

Wes,

As a recent grad and even more recent employee, I have to add one that most may not have access to, but was quite fruitful for me - university postings. My "alma mater" (Waterloo) is known as the pioneering school for co-op education. As a result, the campus has a lot of great relationships with various companies in industry...and those companies often come hunting at campus for new recruits. I never worked for my present employer on co-op, and they've only recently started posting for co-ops, so I'm not sure why they posted for a full-time on our boards. I will say this, though - I put out about 15 applications for work after grad, and got three interviews - all with companies that posted on our school's graduating students' job board. I like those odds.

Again, not everyone has access to these sources. I do, as an alumnus - and the case may be similar for other alumni of any number of schools. (Oh, and they're not all entry-level postings, either - there are intermediate and senior positions as well.)

Cheers,
-R.

You are correct! Thanks, Rachel. I really didn't think of that one, even though I have been a life member of my alumni association for about 40 years. A quick phone call assured me I could register with my alma mater's job placement office the same as a new grad.

That avenue really does cut down the odds of getting an interview with a gatekeeper (the folks who come to campus rarely have the power to hire) and subsequently with a person able to hire.

Similarly, folks who are out of work as a result of mass layoffs may have access to outplacement services - USE THEM! Those university placement offices have lots of good tips (and some hokey, outdated ones) for how to craft your resume and prepare for an interview. If any of you have ready access to a university placement office list of tips, please post it if you feel you can without violating any nondisclosure agreements.

As more and more folks return to school to finish a bachelor's or advanced degree after being in the workforce for a while, it certainly makes sense for recruiters to have a list of job openings for students with real world experience.

 

[Caster]

We'll wait one more day for any additions to the list for job sources, then we'll tackle each one on the most efficient way to get through to the interview with the person who can actually hire you.

[font=Times New (W1)][/font]
[font=Times New (W1)]Here is my contribution to the list of job sources and sneaking past the gatekeeper.[/font]

[font=Times New (W1)]I have had 4 jobs in 25 years.[/font]


[font=Times New (W1)]The first 2 jobs I had were found through sending a targeted letter/resume to the President of the company (not to the HR hiring preventer). [/font]

[font=Times New (W1)]I work in the foundry industry and they publish a list of all members with names and job titles. So I sent a nice custom letter direct to the President of each company describing my skills. In both cases, he was just beginning to think about hiring someone when he read my letter. Result – no one else got a call, HR got told to get this guy here for an interview, and I got the job. Luck and timing is everything with this approach.[/font]

[font=Times New (W1)]The third job I got was found from the World Wide Weird. My trick to getting past the corporate gatekeeper in this case was to make sure my cover letter/resume included every possible key word from the job description. I assumed a computer was making the first cut by brute force matching. Of course, you better be able to back up the skills you claim when if they call.[/font]

[font=Times New (W1)]My current job, I saw a new plant being built, found them on the Web, and sent a resume and heard nothing. Then I e-mailed HR and said I would be in the area on other business, would they like to see me at no cost or obligation? They weren’t going to staff my position for a few more months, so after they talked to me, they stopped looking and I got the job. The early and aggressive bird gets the worm.[/font]

[font=Times New (W1)]I’d also like to mention the trade magazines, and professional organizations you belong to. ASQ has a jobs list. SAE does too.[/font]

[font=Times New (W1)]Also all those trade magazines we get for free have jobs in the back and usually on their websites. Inside Quality, Quality Digest, etc.[/font]

[font=Times New (W1)]This is a really useful topic and I look forward to seeing more ideas.[/font]

Caster

 

[Mike S.]

The answer, my friends, is the dreaded "gatekeeper" who screens the applications and makes the preliminary decision whether your application gets viewed by anyone who can say "Yes." The problem is the gatekeeper can only say "No!" and drop your application in the "circular file."

The problem is complicated by the fact the job ads you see rarely list the REAL criteria the gatekeeper will use to dump an application in the circular file.


Those, my friends, are the "knockout" questions for the gatekeepers who can only say no. Miss one of the criteria and the gatekeeper has no leeway - your application is toast. In addition, the gatekeepers may have "secret criteria" which ought to be in the resume. If you weren't able to guess and put it in yours - more toast.[/color]

Even though we joke the gatekeepers aren't HUMAN, sometimes that's literally true,

"How do I get past the soulless gatekeeper who keeps me from interviewing with the guy who can yes?"[/i][/b]

Only gatekeepers and bureaucrats care about the other stuff.

Wes,

I look forward to learning some things in this thread, and you seem to be fairly well versed in the subject. Glad to see it.

But, you also seem to me to be almost obsessed with this "gatekeeper" concept -- and with painting this "gatekeeper" as a no-good who must be defeated. Can I assume you've had bad personal experiences with a "gatekeeper"?

FWIW, I never allowed anyone to filter the resumes for positions I hired for -- I looked at every one personally. I figured I owed the applicant that much. But, I was not a CEO, nor was I in a huge company.

 

[mitsu11]

Terrific Resource

I recently finished a 18 month job search (during which time I was unhappily employed), and found a fantastic company to land it. During the last bit of time, I read "What Color is Your Parachute?" This book discusses a lot of these types of issues. One main topic is the gatekeepers, but moreso how to go OVER them rather than just around them. It discusses focusing on your perfect career, and then on your perfect company. Next it tells you how to find someone who can get you into that company. I am REALLY summarizing here, but the beautiful thing about the book is that it walks you through all of these steps in great detail. It gives you a great opportunity for self-discovery and realization. I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[Wes Bucey]

Caster: Great! Good work! I hope when you moved on to each new job it was your choice to move. It seems you definitely got the idea of going as directly as possible to the folks who make the decision. The idea of getting in so early there is no competition is an important addition. Thanks for the input. I'm sure a lot of Covers will keep the tips in mind when they are "in the hunt" again.

Mike S. Actually, I have no idea whether I've ever been burned by a gatekeeper, but I deal weekly with folks who are at the point of tears from not getting ANY response to the applications they send off. In the late 60's and early 70's, I took a minority share in one of Chicago's largest employment agencies as part of a complicated barter involving real estate and stock loans. I made it my business to learn the business from the ground up in the event I had to foreclose on loans and run it myself. I am ashamed to say the entire trade was literally a "meat market" whether it was our company or not dealing with applicants. The worst part was seeing our own staff classify some folks as "cannon fodder" whom they would sacrifice in early interviews with hiring companies in order to make later candidates look good by comparison.

In that case, WE were the gatekeepers. If applications and resumes came in for lesser pay jobs and were flawed in any way, we never sent them on to an employer for consideration. We also never bothered to tell the applicant what was wrong. Our theory was: "There's always more applications."

On the big pay jobs, where the commission was substantial, and the qualified candidates much fewer, we would make an effort to recast the application and resume to fit the position. We would spend time "role playing" with a candidate so he would make a good impression in the interview with the hiring company. (All stuff a candidate should do on his own.)

The primary reason to avoid a gatekeeper is not "emotion," just efficiency. Caster is living proof that odds of getting a job improve when you eliminate the stage of being compared with many other candidates.

The reason I use the term "souless" is precisely because the gatekeeper, whether human or computer software, has no personal stake in whether any particular candidate ever gets hired. The gatekeeper is employed to say "no" and not "yes." The guy with the hiring power, on the other hand, usually has a stake in getting a candidate hired sooner, rather than later. He is also conscious of the cost of gatekeepers filtering through hundreds of resumes and wants to eliminate that cost as soon as possible. This is all the more reason you want to present your credentials to the hiring guy as soon as possible. Unless you are applying for a CEO position, the reality is the hiring guy is looking for the first "good fit," not the "best." You want to make sure you are the first "good fit."

 

[Wes Bucey]

I recently finished a 18 month job search (during which time I was unhappily employed), and found a fantastic company to land it. During the last bit of time, I read "What Color is Your Parachute?" This book discusses a lot of these types of issues. One main topic is the gatekeepers, but moreso how to go OVER them rather than just around them. It discusses focusing on your perfect career, and then on your perfect company. Next it tells you how to find someone who can get you into that company. I am REALLY summarizing here, but the beautiful thing about the book is that it walks you through all of these steps in great detail. It gives you a great opportunity for self-discovery and realization. I would recommend it to anyone.

Yes! Dick Bolles (the author of What Color Is Your Parachute) updates this handy book every year. He also has a website where much of the material from the book is presented: https://www.jobhuntersbible.com/ If you are looking for a job or looking to hire someone, you should at least browse his website.

I met him once about 20 years ago. A very straight-shooting guy!

Good call, mitsu11!

 

[Mike S.]

The reason I use the term "souless" is precisely because the gatekeeper, whether human or computer software, has no personal stake in whether any particular candidate ever gets hired. The gatekeeper is employed to say "no" and not "yes."

Wes,

Your employment agency stories are, well, sad -- but I believe them. The job world can be quite cutthroat which I have seen and experienced firsthand. But a newbie reading your posts might wonder if it is ever possible to get a job without first getting a degree in job hunting. Not all "gatekeepers" are soulless, unfeeling people with no stake in the hiring process. Often they are HR people whose job is to get the resumes of qualified people in front of the boss so the positions can be filled as quickly and efficiently as possible. If this person can't get good people in front of the boss, and get positions filled, he/she will be replaced, so I think they often do have a stake in the process.

I guess I'm saying that I know getting hired isn't always easy or fair , but I also know it isn't always as difficult as you are portraying. The Bell curve still applies. JMO.

 

[Wes Bucey]

Job hunting is a job!

A lot of folks have a problem assimilating the fact that every job has skill sets that make the job easier once mastered. The kind of skill sets are different for every job, even some jobs that may seem superficially alike (taxi driving and long-haul trucking, for example.)

In both jobs, of course, you need good driving skills. The taxi driver may need more interpersonal skills to coax larger tips out of passengers. Taxi driver may need to know more alternate routes and traffic patterns by time of day in order to get from point to point quicker to satisfy customers. Long-haul drivers have to get used to being away from home and the loneliness of driving when the driving partner is sleeping in the back of the cab. Long hours fighting off highway hypnosis can be very scary the first time your wheels hit the rumble strip on the shoulder and you shout, " How the HE** did that happen?"

Similarly, job hunting is a job with certain skill sets that make the job easier once mastered.

Here's a brief list of the skill sets I know about. Can you add more? Are you adept in all of them?

1. Finding or creating job openings which meet your experience and ability
2. Attracting the attention of the hiring person to consider your candidacy
3. Writing effective cover letters and resumes tailored to the target employer to enhance your chance of being selected for an interview
4. Finding and coaching references who will boost your candidacy when contacted by potential employer
5. Interviewing well
6. Negotiating a good pay and benefits package when considering a job offer
7. Overcoming "seller's remorse" when everything about the new job is not what you envisioned
8. Overcoming "buyer's remorse" on the part of the employer when he thinks you aren't everything he bargained for
9. Adapting to the different company culture when you arrive at the new job.
10. Preparing to negotiate a good exit package if, despite everything, the new job doesn't work out.

What is on this list that surprises you? What's missing?

There is currently another thread running about resumes. Which do you think is more important in getting you an interview:

• a good cover letter?
• a good resume?

 

[Rachel]

Which do you think is more important in getting you an interview:

• a good cover letter?
• a good resume?

Cover letter, hands-down. They're not going to see your resume if they don't get past the letter.
-R.

 

[Wes Bucey]

Cover letter, hands-down. They're not going to see your resume if they don't get past the letter.
-R.

Would it surprise anyone to know that many gatekeepers (especially electronic ones) only scan the resumes and never read the cover letters? Note the use of the word "optional" after cover letter.

Resume Processing provides automatic extraction and data loading of key items from emailed and scanned resumes, routing, emailing, and faxing of resumes, flexible 'fuzzysearching' of complete resume text, and storage and retrieval of resume text, cover letter (optional), and image (if scanned). Resumes may be entered into the Greentree Employment System either through email, text or Microsoft Word documents, an (broken link removed) or through (broken link removed).

With Greentree Resume Processing you can:

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Contrary to candidate intuition, gatekeepers "know" that 90% of cover letters don't include as many of the buzz words they are keyed to look for as do resumes. Ergo, why waste time scanning a cover letter?

For the applicant: on the off chance the cover letter WILL be scanned, make sure you include a lot of the buzz words applicable to the position (usually variations on buzz words contained in the job listing.)

More reason to 'leapfrog" the gatekeeper, isn't it?

Who uses the software the most?
My research seems to point to employment agencies as the first big user because they seek and sort so many resumes for different positions. Next big user would be major companies with centralized HR recruiters who recruit and do preliminary screening for all locations. Least likely: small business or free-standing division that does its own hiring.

One of my mentees likened the scanning process to the "old way" some search engines used to work to decide which website to put first in a search.