The Evolution of the Commodity Job Seeker (and what you can do about it) - CareerEnlightenment.com

The meta-information age (mid 00s+)Google’s rise to prominence signaled the moment when meta-information (information about information) began to trump information itself.Retail search engines like Shopping.com used this new technology to allow users to simultaneously search the central retailers (like Pets.com and Amazon) as well as the brick-and-mortar retailers’ websites themselves (think BestBuy.com), making comparison shopping very quick and easy. Amazon.com had no choice but to follow suit, including not only its own prices for products, but also other retailers’.Job search engines like Indeed.com and SimplyHired were an inevitable evolution. They searched central job search websites like Monster and Hotjobs as well as the employers’ websites themselves.   This simplified the location of relevant online job postings for job seekers, but it made the distribution of resumes so efficient that employers were now getting inundated with unsolicited resumes.   and erasing the advantage well-qualified candidates used to enjoy based on their resume alone.The downside of the job search’s entry into its meta-information stage was that erased the advantage local or well-qualified candidates used to enjoy based on their resume alone.   Suddenly, everyone could now find (and apply to) jobs anywhere in seconds. An unsolicited resume circa 2005 had become what the free weekly AOL startup CD in your mailbox was in the 1990sâ€"a somewhat-annoying, somewhat-laughable distraction.Although the meta-information age has helped consumers get the best prices in travel and retail by reducing search costs and commoditizing even luxury goods, it has also dehumanized the job search, giving job seekers the illusion of progress despite not making any personal connections, getting any actual interviews, or learning more about their industry or employer of choice from those already in it.What a Job Seeker Can Do To Fight Back!Getting a resume into the hands of an employer is no longer a challenge; employers have plenty of resumes.   Getting an employer to look at a resume is the challenge now.During the low information stage, employers would care about the resume first and the candidate second.   The reverse is now true in the meta-information stage; to get an employer to look at your resume, you must first get them to care about you as a person.   It seems counter-intuitive that relationships are now more important than ever before, but resumes are so cheap to distribute that only those job seekers who rise above the online job posting clutter will be considered.Technology can facilitate this process, but it must be used correctly to ensure a positive return on effort.   This requires integrating the right technology into one unified strategy which systematically prioritizes targets at specific employers, allows efficient outreach, and creates genuine advocates.   Only then does the job search become less like a lottery and more like an investment.Techno logy may have killed the resume star, but it has also given resourceful candidates a reason for hope.   The rules have changed, but the optimal strategy for finding employment today has yet to be established, leaving those who adapt most quickly to the meta-information age the opportunity to dramatically outperform the competition.KEY TAKEAWAY: If you have a free hour, spend it on an informational interview rather than your resume, because nobody will read the latter without the former.