uncomfortable...
I HATE all this ‘marketing’ and ‘branding’ that job seekers are being advised to do - I HATE all the ‘resume polishing’ and ‘interview techniques’ - I long for the days when I could uncrate a server, install the OS and database, and put it on the network. I have pulled a lot of all-nighters in data centers, with management and users screaming for statuses every five minutes, I’ve worked nights, weekends and every holiday, I’ve been through outsourcing and had to train the outsourcer’s people, and several data center moves with lots of long hours. I’ve even gotten awards for customer service and my end users knew that I would support them at any time of day or night.
I’ve had to teach myself technologies that I wasn’t sent to formal training on (‘Dummies’ books, YouTube and Google are your friends) - I went from IBM mainframes (CICS/COBOL) to servers (Oracle/Unix) - if I need to learn RPA, Python, Hadoop or what have you - I will
Yet now, I have to ‘market’ and ‘brand’ ; I have to posture just to asymptotically be considered - it makes me uncomfortable and I HATE it. Why not just let me do the very best job I can???
Kimberley Ferretti Hammett
Reach your goals through positive connections
1.99k
07/17/20 at 8:13PM UTC
"Back in the day" when things were simpler and companies weren't global.. branding wasn't necessary because if you lived in a town, you only had so many farms or mechanics to choose from. Travel and technology has made the world "smaller". When an industry is global, wide-reaching or has a lot of competition, branding is vital to their survival and so they have learned to recruit for brand fit. Having said that, there are some companies whose "brand" is that they focus on doing the job well. Or, depending on the industry, companies who have a captive market that chooses them for quality/convenience and not personality or brand awareness. You may have better success if you focus your efforts on seeking out these companies over putting an exhausting amount of energy into trying to be something you are not. Or, market your "no fluff, just quality" brand. There is a place out there for you!
Best of luck!
Susan Heidi WolmanBusiness Transformation UX CX Strategy
640
07/12/20 at 3:30AM UTC
I so agree. The worst part of this is whatever way I slant my resume it is inappropriate for the position... even positions that I have done!
Laura LachmanLeader of Experiential Marketing Campaigns
15
07/09/20 at 4:39PM UTC
I ended up creating a website which showcased my capabilities. Yes, it took time to develop but I've received so many compliments on it and it really brings your experience to life.
Akansha ChaudhariEmployed!
107
07/09/20 at 3:19PM UTC
I agree with you! We are so much more than our 1 or 2 page resumes. I too worked in a 24x7 network operations center that required being proactive all the time, updating statuses every few minutes, getting resolutions within hours, working overtime while keeping up to date with new technologies. And now I have to prove to recruiters that I'm "Agile" even though I never used JIRA or never worked under a "Scrum Master".
I'm not sure if 'branding' has helped anyone but I'm sure there are some amazing recruiters who have the ability to see through your experience and skills and determine the best fit for you.
