I’ve been gaining decent traction these last few weeks… it feels great, but being the nerd that I am, I’m always trying to analyze and attribute the turn of events to very specific factors. Was it the optimized resume with less text and more white space? Was it the abbreviated cover letter? Was it the check-in email post submission? Honestly, my sense is that several factors contributed, but one definite thing that is helping is name dropping or connections. Every week, ProMatch reiterates that 80% of jobs are netted through networking. So fine. In the last several months, I’ve continued refreshing my old networks and reaching out to strangers. Slowly and methodically, I have grown my LinkedIn connections from around 100 to over 300. And the good thing is, I actually have met and talked with nearly all of those 300 people. I can honestly say where they work, what they do, and/or what they are seeking. Go ahead, test me! 😉

This month, I had five phone screens and two in-person interviews, with a third one scheduled for Friday. In 4/5 job opps, I had an “insider” contact (a current/former employee or someone who knows the hiring manager personally) either plug me if we worked together, or mention me as someone they loosely know. Certainly, the personal plugs from former colleagues or former collaborators did wonders. In three of those cases, I was very quickly contacted for a phone screen. In the other scenario, where an insider just mentioned me and my application (but didn’t necessarily vouch for my competency), my resume and paperwork got enough “view time” to get me an initial screen.

In two phone screens, I ended up withdrawing my application because of a very large salary gap, but still. These experiences really reiterate how influential any connection– even a remote one– is for recruiters and hiring managers. Turns out, HR is desperate for anything that will help filter and weed people out from the enormous pile of applications.

I did something differently yesterday. I came across a job posting from June for a higher level strategic marketing and communications role at an education nonprofit. Based on the description, the role actually seemed like a great fit for my existing experience plus there looked to be some decent room to grow. When I looked online, I discovered a standard web submission process: register here, then fill out a bunch of online forms, then upload your docs, etc. I HATE those automated job submission systems. First, I had zippo “insider” connections at the org. Then, seeing that the position had been posted for two plus months, where SURELY my resume would end up on a tall stack of papers, I decided to do this shit up guerrilla style! The hiring manager was listed as just a job title (no name), so I found the name and email and just sent my application to her directly– bypassing the whole system and HR. You would not believe. Within 24 hours, I got an email from HR saying that the manager had passed my info to her, and she’d like to do a phone screen. That was this morning. Funny thing, one of the HR lady’s first questions was: So you found our posting online, and you saw the instructions to apply through the system, but instead you emailed the manager directly. Why did you do that? Eekk!

I laughed nervously, because the HR director didn’t sound all too pleased about my blatant disregard for the process, but I just told it to her straight. I’ve attended a lot of job search workshops and read a lot of articles on job hunting. Sometimes you just have to do things differently, and see what happens. Change things up and try new strategies. Haha!! I didn’t divulge, but yeah, it’s all about adapting and iterating. I have heard SO MANY disastrous stories about applications falling into the black hole system, just getting stashed into some random desk drawer… Anyway, I’m sure she was a little annoyed and a part of me felt compelled to apologize, but heck, I was actually pretty proud of myself for scoring the call this way. Shows some initiative and gall! And in the end, if I’m a good candidate who offers value, who cares? Both sides win! Ice cream for all, as they say!

That first question definitely caught me off guard, but after that, the call went really well. She said they were already super far along in the recruitment. Two finalists had already gone onsite for in-person interviews with the director. But she said she was impressed with me, and she would check to see how set the director was feeling on the other two. Maybe it would be worthwhile to bring me on site. Woot, woot!! That’s right, sister. I’m the dark horse blazing ahead in the final stretch! We’ll see what happens…

In other news, J and I are headed back East to take care of family bidness. It’s going to be another packed couple of days. In person interview. Meeting with a property manager. Catching up with family. Then back on Monday to start September fresh.