"Your work doesn’t fall into their brand atmosphere"
Greetings from the abyss that is the COVID job market. This is my third post, and hopefully the last. This one is a little different as I am asking for some help / advice / insults / compliments / deep thoughts.
It’s short storytime. Two weeks ago, I found the perfect job for me through an external recruiter. We both agreed it was a great match and I updated my resume to tailor it a bit to that position. She sent it right off to them. 14 days after having my info submitted, I received the following e-mail:
"I received feedback from Company X this morning and unfortunately they are not interested in pursuing an interview at this time. The hiring manager said that you have a very good portfolio, but your work doesn’t fall into their brand atmosphere."
Throughout my life, I’ve been called short, strange, awesome, outside the box, proactive, handsome, etc. but I can’t say I have ever been accused of not fitting a brand atmosphere. This position was at a financial services company so I get that maybe my background in media, technology, television, video production, real estate, UX design, radio, marketing or sports don’t quite fit into that but with such a diverse list of experience, one would think my hypothetical brand atmosphere is that I can adapt my creativity to any industry. #RunOnSentence But to not even have a conversation when my resume checked every single box just doesn’t make much sense to me.
I just went back and calculated the number of jobs I have applied to since February. Let's just say I am quickly approaching the number of years my Grandparents were married. I have advanced Al Gore internet analytics that allow me to track when people visit my website and very few companies bother to look at my work before ignoring/rejecting me. So my question is, does anyone have any advice for me? My imposter syndrome is through the roof right now. Maybe my portfolio stinks like the Eagles did against the Washington Football Team? Is my resume a hot mess? Are people turned off by my size 10.5 shoes? Maybe my COVID haircut is too weird? Just because I haven't dealt with specific industries before, how do I break through and get them to speak to me anyway?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and met with many thanks and possibly gift cards to a store or website with a great brand atmosphere. Hope you are all safe and healthy and life is getting back to normal.
Technology & Lifestyle Contributor at Dr. Phil McGraw Merit Street Media Network | Making tech easier for all of us with the #60SecondTechBreak | Author | Professional Speaker at ‘Til Death Do You Tweet | TEDx Speaker
4 年Hey Cantz, I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t had much luck in your job search. For this type of scenario where you’re previous experience is outside the ‘brand atmosphere’ (what even IS that?), would it make sense to send an original sample of your work tailored to that specific industry along with your resume? Of course I don’t mean do a full on spec video or anything like that, but maybe take a look at some of their current marketing materials and include a suggestion for a logo refresh, etc. You risk your IP & I know that it’s not a trivial ask because your labor has value, but sometimes you have to hold folks’ hands to get them to think outside the box. Just a thought... ????♀?