"Lost in the Headlights"

New Job Realities

I met Vince for the first time at a networking event last year. He had that “lost in the headlights” look about him as he shyly introduced himself.

It was painful to listen to him stammer through his qualifications. I didn’t know anyone could blush that many colors of red. He told us that his specialty was “utilizing geographical analysis to develop corporate strategy”. None of us had any idea of what that meant and no one asked. The meeting broke up and I ran into Vince in the parking lot. I asked him exactly what his profession was hoping I’d get a better description and this time I did. He explained that he used geographic information and demographics to select store sights of his company i.e. where to put the next McDonald’s or Walgreen’s or Costco. He’s just been laid off and this was the first time he’d looked for a job since college.

He said this was the first networking event he’d ever attended and he was very uncomfortable introducing himself to people he didn’t know. He leaned against his car and shaking his head said that he was highly regarded in his industry, but he’d been in the job market for three months and still hadn’t gotten an interview. He said that people kept telling him that the rules had changed for a job search, but he couldn’t get a handle on what the new rules were. You can probably identify with Vince.

Chances are that the last time you thought about the Career Game, the rules were very different. If you are in a job search you could call the last recruiter you used or answer an ad online and get an interview. The recruiter probably remembered you and even had a file on you. You could get the pertinent information about the position and get scheduled for a face-to-face within a reasonable amount of time. You could probably interview once with the HR manager and once with the hiring manager and that was it. No more!

To be continued.....