Breaking through the gauntlet
To many people in pursuit of a new job opportunity, this is a familiar scenario: you become excited about a posted job opening at a company for which you’ve been longing to work. The experience profile required for this job is a bit of a stretch for you, but you are confident and even excited to show that you are ready to take on the higher responsibility. After eagerly submitting your application, you wait…and wait…and wait for a reply. Eventually you get an email reply (looks like a form letter) from a human resources manager saying “thank you for your interest” and “your qualifications were not a fit for this position”.
Naturally, your immediate reaction is disappointment; which is quickly overtaken by frustration at the unfairness of a dismissive decision before you even had a chance to show your stuff. “If I could have a one-on-one interview with a hiring manager, they would know I’m the right person for that job” is the universal wish.
Whether fair or unfair, the fact is that hiring companies prefer to eschew process transparency, and consequently career seekers have no choice but to play the numbers game: blast out as many job applications as one can in the hopes that some company will bite down on your hook.
The only way that the balance of power can shift from the employer to the candidate is through a broadening of the applicant assessment process; specifically, for companies to assign higher value to obtaining more data about an applicant and his/her likelihood to be a significant contributor to the company in both the short and long term. This is one of the core objectives of CareerMap, to bring relevant and powerful new data to the application and hiring process. Our vision is a win-win situation where individuals can maximize their career potential and companies can improve financial performance via strong talent management practice.
Disruptive visions always have a long gestation period. Now is the right time to take the first steps.