Job Seeking: Man vs. Machine

This is not your father’s job market. Jobs are easy to apply for. And, once on the radar of ZipRecruter and the like, dozens of emails come everyday, your name in the subject line with, “Today’s jobs hand-picked for you.” I’ll get hired in no time I thought, with all of these jobs which suit me perfectly. “Excellent match’ sits next to job titles emblazoned on a one click button. Applying is as easy as ordering on Amazon, almost. 

One job an online recruiter sent me: “Emergency Room Charge Nurse” at a local hospital. I have been in that emergency room as a patient, but I have no training in nursing or medicine, other than being a frequent patient of doctors of various specialties.  

As COVID drags on, more and more jobs are being posted. A veritable potpourri of positions for a newly minted, 63 year old holder of a paralegal certificate, leaving aside a Masters in Economics, numerous publications and decades of positive work experience. But, interviews have been scarce. No, actually, less than scarce, my record of zero interview requests remains unblemished. 

I realize as a Boomer, that my  résumé-writing may be outdated, so I had a Gen Xer rewrite it. Looks fantastic, but no employer fish have hit my bait to date. Even old friends have turned up their nose at me and my skills, sans interview.  

I’ve sat through online seminars for Boomer-types. Taking their advice, I’ve scraped the dates from my schooling, dropped lists of published articles and books, and decades of work experience to get what amounts to a golden ticket down to one precious page to move past artificial intelligence (A.I.) gatekeepers and HR department humans who on average scan a   résumé for 6 seconds. 

A-J Aronstein, who has revised 3,000   résumés wrote a few days ago in the New York Times, “Recruiters often say they spend six seconds reviewing the average candidate. Are you worth seven?”

So job applying can be equated with staying on a bucking bull for the required time needed to score. Aronstein writes,

Leonardo da Vinci wrote the first résumé in the late 15th century. He pitched his weaponry chops — not his artistic services — to Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan. It seems right that Leonardo would have “Invented résumé” on his résumé, but wrong that he met the future patron of “The Last Supper” by applying for the job of entry-level war maker. A Renaissance man and a career changer.

If da Vinci had to apply via résumé, I guess I shouldn’t feel so bad. What he did not have to skirt was A.I. scans. 

“Want some real advice?” Aronstein asks.  “Résumés do violence to language. They are poetry, inverted. You must dry the joy from the bones of words; drain the human sauce; leave a labored husk printed on eggshell. Only then can you guilelessly communicate that you were on the dean’s list at your university for five of eight total semesters. And hope it matters.”

I’m not sure that helps.

Julie Weed, again, writing for the NYT, advises that before you can get to the six second ride, “To avoid getting caught by the résumé sifter [A.I.], job seekers should understand the new systems, which have been spreading to more industries and positions.” 

She explains, “Making it through the automated screening can require tailoring your résumé, not just the cover letter, to each job you are applying for.” The days of shotgunning your résumé are over. 

Weed says to repeat back the words from the job posting in your résumé, but only for your most recent job experience. Forget listing skills you used 10 years ago. The system will give you little to no credit for having used those skills. 

Is ten years ago a long time? For a human it’s not, but evidently for a machine it is. And don’t send your  résumé in PDF, it will “appear as a single image.” 

Should you make it through A.I., tests may be required online before you talk to a human. But, even navigating the tests probably means you have a slim chance of getting the job. 

Previously, candidates who made it to the interview stage might have a one in 10 chance of getting the job, Michelle Oliver told the Times. Now, “with the new tools you may have the same time requirement” for a much slimmer chance. 

Greg Moran, chief executive of OutMatch, advises job seekers to “make sure their LinkedIn profile is up to date and includes recommendations from managers and colleagues.”

Men Giving Up

“Twitter or other public social media accounts should include ‘digital breadcrumbs’ of information highlighting skills, experience and interests,” Moran says. 

In January 1948, male participation in the labor force was 86.7 percent. In March 2021, that percentage was 67.3 percent. It’s easy to see why.

You’ve come a long way buddy. The wrong way.