"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Alert Einstein

All companies look for a bundle of skills attached to a set of experiences embedded in a specific sector or market vertical. They will make exceptions during good times when talent is hard to lure away from other companies.

But with so many people out looking and unemployed they want the perfect fit. This means that the :

skill/talents+experience/credentials+sector/market vertical fit = perfect candidate.

What is depressing is that so many people with talent and ability go begging for jobs because they don't have sector experience. I have seen people continue to try to break through that barrier with little success.

One solution is to do pro-bono work in a new sector and put it on your resume to move you across the sector chasm.


 

Last year my client conducted a very successful job search. He moved up from Director to Vice President and into a company that was a much better fit for him.

I have to laugh at his complaining about the efforts his search entailed. Given he took less than 4 months to land a new position while the average executive search is at least six months.

Here are some of his experiences that I can pass on to you.

• He spent $1000 on sites because they.all want 3 month subscriptions so each cost $250 a piece.
• He used the following with no success: Ivy Executive, Execu-net, The Ladders, Netshare, Doostang
  
• His resume and profile went into database oblivion...after one month, 
• The recruiters conduct all keyword thus the jobs are there but the match-up process doesn't work. The software analyzes the resume and gives a score to the recruiters. They only take the top scores.
• The sites make money on resume review, therefore, they must rematch each requisition with the resume for keywords
• His lesson learned is to network with recruiters in advance. And to start networking with contacts, connections, and recruiters...his whole network...from day one on the new job

Ironically, I have said pretty much the same thing to him and other clients even prior to social media and all the job sites online. Companies hire the people they know, get to know and like. A search is about growing your network and building your brand.

Because we built a great website for him, because he blogged religiously, because he was well-branded and visible online, he was well-received in advance of an interview by hiring decision-makers.