Jesse makes some outstanding points. I want to amplify on a couple of them (as one who has done hiring, as another person who mentors startups/early stage companies through early growth stages and one who has coached folks trying to get hired).
First - a number of great employers take the position that they want to hire people who are smart and motivated - they can teach them the skills they need, but if there is no ability or desire to learn & perform, the employee will never work out.
Second - companies hire folks to solve problem they have (just as a start-up produces a product that will solve a problem that the folks who will buy it have). It is incumbent on you, the one being hired, to understand the problem and tell them how you can solve it. Just saying "I've been an engineer who has worked in x" doesn't tell them how you'll solve their problem with production line efficiency (as an example).... or how you'll help them make more sales. You have to do due diligence before the interview, ask questions that let 'em know you can understand the problem, and then tell them specifically how you can solve it for them. Sometimes the companies don't know what they need - even better if you can define that for them.
(I coached recently had two companies that indicated they wanted her. The first one never could find the time to make a decision - it seemed like they needed her -or someone in the role- because the were too busy to even make a hire. The second one came back with an offer well above what they said they could pay, and it's turned out to be a really great environment.)
Third - two times now I've written the job description for my role at larger companies. And I've done several startups (where you define your job role every day). They realized they needed someone to do exactly what I was recommending - and I got the job. To do this, you need good insight and market research on the company, and really want to have some internal contacts that can help you both understand the company issues and can be an internal advocate for you. And Jesse did it exactly right as he describes in his last paragraph. You don't necessarily need a resume for that (though in larger companies the HR folks will want one because all kinds of EEO and legal requirements come into play).
(by the way, in the government contracting world doing that as a BD exercise with the agency that will be contracting is called "shaping the RFP").
Fourth - bad fits apply both ways, and it's a blessing to know early about fit issues. They don't want you? Fine. You don't want them because something doesn't ring true? Great. You've dodged a bullet. It can get really ugly when the hiring manager wants somebody and either HR or upper management doesn't.
Finally, I call the applicant tracking systems as "employment prevention systems". They are there to check boxes, ensure compliance with laws, and make it hard to get hired. The likelihood of even getting through one of those systems is virtually zero if you apply "blind". With larger companies, you'll probably have to fill out that sort of thing, but it is far better to do it after you have contacts in the company.
Just my $0.02. YMMV.
My applicant filter is very simple. I look for people that exceed the odds. If I look at them and suspect they may outrun me and take my job, I hire them. That may mean that they have an outstanding academic record or it may mean they came from nothing and are willing to run harder than anyone around them to get ahead in life.
I look for those type of people because that’s what our organization is. We are a VC startup that has exceeded the odds by running harder than anyone else in the business. We get **** shipped before our competitors can even schedule a meeting to talk about it.
I need them to have some skills but really don’t care that much. Our work is very niche and you’d never find someone with the skill set. Loyalty is also important to me. Someone with a history of a year or two max at each job is of no interest to me.
I hired three software engineers last year and pay them significantly better than anyone else in the region would pay software engineers. None of them were software engineers previously. Their life has changed, their families suddenly have doors opening, its spectacular.
One of them was a preschool teacher. The other one was a body piercer at the tatto parlor down the street, complete with all the piercings you could imagine at the interview. Another was a guy that was stuck doing QA work for a local organization that couldn’t see his potential. They make for the best damn engineering team I have ever worked with in my life. I feel sorry for those that have to compete against us.
There is no magic answer for the best way to get a job like the college professors like to say. There is no such thing as a magic resume that every employer would like (biggest bunch of ******** I’ve ever heard). The truth is - every organization is different. What impresses at one place will disappoint at another.
Be true to yourself and if you get rejected that’s a good thing. An organization that rejects you is not an organization that you are compatible with and you would never be happy there. Don’t take it personal and keep hunting. Do not change who you are.
The best jobs are the jobs that nobody was offering and you don’t need a resume to do it. I emailed the CEO of the company I work for now and told him what I could do for him. I knew what his struggles were before I wrote that email and I knew I could solve them. That lead to a phone call and a flight to New York. Took me about a week to create my own job. He never dreamed he’d have an engineering office in Nebraska before he read that email (NYC based company).
