Caught in between, could use some knee mail

[Dr. Evil]

And maybe some assistance from the TBH brotherhood.

As some of you remember, I sold my business in SA, my wife left the pharma sales industry, we sold our SA home and moved to our new home in Pagosa. Sounds like a dream, right? After 3 months living there, my wife concludes she "can't live here permanently, no way, no how". All her family live in Texas and she is a city girl. I would do anything for her, not to mention the business I started in Pagosa fell on its face. We also learned that even though that town is totally dependent on Texan money to survive, they weren't very receptive to us moving there and were not helpful at all with my wife in her new real estate career. Needless to say, we have moved back to Austin, where we lived from 1992-2007. My wife got her Texas real estate license and has joined a very successful team with Keller-Williams.

My search for employment hasn't gone as well as hers. I have 15+ years experience in Quality Control, manufacturing medical devices, and have applied for several positions that I appear to totally qualify for, but I cannot seem to get an interview. And anyone who has applied for a job recently realize how impersonal the process is. You cannot speak with anyone anymore, everything has to be done on line, with zero feedback on why you didn't get an interview. I feel I am caught in between having too much experience for lower level positions, even though I would take it, and not having a college degree for higher level positions. I don't know what to do and I am getting very frustrated. I am not a sales person, nor could I ever be, so that type of job is not an option.

If anyone has any advice, I would love to hear it. I will also accept any prayers or job leads any one of you may have.

Thank you for reading.

[Landrover]

Get and READ the simple book about getting a job in his VERY impersonal environment called, "KNOCK'em DEAD........2015 Edition!" This is not a joke of a book, you have to work thru the chapters to understand HOW to compete. I have bought and recommended this book sooo many times I should be getting paid by them at this point. Oh, EVERYONE is a salesperson and to get a job you better be able to sell your attributes! Good luck as you move forward.

[Dr. Evil]

Get and READ the simple book about getting a job in his VERY impersonal environment called, "KNOCK'em DEAD........2015 Edition!" This is not a joke of a book, you have to work thru the chapters to understand HOW to compete. I have bought and recommended this book sooo many times I should be getting paid by them at this point. Oh, EVERYONE is a salesperson and to get a job you better be able to sell your attributes! Good luck as you move forward.

Thanks. I am very good at selling myself, but if you can't get an interview, how do you do it? All companies are so impersonal now, everything must be done online. I've even driven to several companies that have openings I feel totally qualified for, only to be stopped by the "gate-keeper" at the door. They won't even accept a hard copy of my resume, let alone let you physically speak to HR or anyone else. So frustrating. I would gladly polish up my resume, if I only knew what was preventing me from an interview.

[kch73]

You need to try to network with folks in your industry for starters, I would encourage your wife to get back into pharma sales, re is a tough nut and very competitive and full commission and it sounds like maybe you've spent a lot of money in the last while...

Don't ever limit yourself to one box, you might be surprised what is available when you expand your horIzons...I will pray for you this week...God bless

[Landrover]

Thanks. I am very good at selling myself, but if you can't get an interview, how do you do it? All companies are so impersonal now, everything must be done online. I've even driven to several companies that have openings I feel totally qualified for, only to be stopped by the "gate-keeper" at the door. They won't even accept a hard copy of my resume, let alone let you physically speak to HR or anyone else. So frustrating. I would gladly polish up my resume, if I only knew what was preventing me from an interview.

Again.........tweaking your resume is the minimum this book will teach u. Stop complaining/whining about impersonal as it has been that way for 10 years minimum. Time for you to re-train your mindset and get after it. Here's a deal for you........if the book is not what I am telling you I will buy it from you no questions asked.

[100%TtId]

X2 on Knock em Dead. Very valuable info.

If you want to get hired, you will have to reach the hiring manager NOT HR. HR is almost completely useless to you. Use linkedin and the hiring companies websites to find the hiring managers who are applicable to your job and contact them directly. Ask them what business issues they are trying to solve and explain how you can help solve them.

[WCB]

All I have is a prayer for you brother.

Get and READ the simple book about getting a job in his VERY impersonal environment called, "KNOCK'em DEAD........2015 Edition!" This is not a joke of a book, you have to work thru the chapters to understand HOW to compete. I have bought and recommended this book sooo many times I should be getting paid by them at this point. Oh, EVERYONE is a salesperson and to get a job you better be able to sell your attributes! Good luck as you move forward.

Thanks for that info Oscar. The wife is job hunting and is downloading this book to her Kindle.

[Dr. Evil]

I just downloaded it to my Kindle as well. Will begin reading tonight. Thanks!!

[Landrover]

X2 on Knock em Dead. Very valuable info.

If you want to get hired, you will have to reach the hiring manager NOT HR. HR is almost completely useless to you. Use linkedin and the hiring companies websites to find the hiring managers who are applicable to your job and contact them directly. Ask them what business issues they are trying to solve and explain how you can help solve them.

Dingdingding!!!! Someone read the book. It is totally different mindset in the 21st century. We got 10,000 resumes per month in my pharmaceutical recruiting days.........the computer program in HR knocked out 9,000 within hours of receipt. The other 1,000 or LESS were split between about 75 hiring managers across the US/Puerto Rico/Canada.........those numbers dropped pretty quick to the 60 or so slots that were needed every 6-8 months.

[Landrover]

Mike and Rodeo, Kindles are great but hopefully u can take notes on those pages. It is truly a working document/book.

[Dr. Evil]

I have a notebook for that!!

[WCB]

Mike and Rodeo, Kindles are great but hopefully u can take notes on those pages. It is truly a working document/book.

Just told this to my wife. Thanks again Oscar.

Sorry to hijack...

[helibow]

If you havent gotten a LinkedIn profile, I suggest you do so and start building your network vigorously. You are your own brand! It is a tough time to be looking for a job and you are going to be competing with folks who have a college education. My suggestion would be to at least enroll in some online classes from one of the local colleges so you can put on your resume that you are currently enrolled in a bachelors program.

I second the "figure out who the hiring manager is" and work to get them a copy of your resume. Find a way to fax them or email them. I've typically used a very low key approach to get my resume over without having to tell HR why I need the hiring managers name.

"Hi judy, this is josh... I've got some documents i'm supposed to fax over to ______________ and cant figure out what I did with her number, Do you by chance have her fax number handy?"

If you take that low key approach and talk to "Judy" like you know her, then she may be helpful despite her trying to figure out how/why/if she knows you. Lol... it's a little sly, but I consider it creative!

Lastly, i'd get a professional to write your resume and cover letter.... or get a copy of someone you know who has had it professionally done and try to replicate that approach. You have to sell yourself in under 10 seconds with the cover letter and/or resume that you send. Theladders.com has a writing service, it's not cheap but worth it... i've used them in the past.

[helibow]

As an after thought... There are a lot of hiring managers here on TBH, you might put your resume in front of them and ask them to critique it for you, give you some pointers on what they see as good aspects and opportunities for improvement.