Sidestepping the E-Brush-Off

It's the era of the "e-brush-off." Companies streamlining their customer service have barricaded themselves behind voicemail hell. You know, those horrible robot-driven menus where you punch in a series of hundreds of numbers, and find that whoever set this wretched system up had no clue about the actual problems of customers, because nothing applies.

If you've been there, then you may know about GetHuman, which lists numbers that actually get a live, non-robotic human being who might have the power to solve what's bugging you.

There's a similar phenomenon known to job-seekers: the ATS e-brush-off. Companies overwhelmed by hungry job-seekers have barricaded themselves behind electronic systems. You look through the robotized job boards, and submit application after application to an Applicant Tracking System, which promptly dumps 80% of applications into the garbage. 

Here's a solution: Stop following job boards. Talk with people. Find and cultivate a real, living connection. @Careersherpa tells how! It will take some work, and it's not a one-step fix, but it can be done. Read http://careersherpa.net/fix-friday-no-one-said-easy/