With an average of six job seekers now competing for every opening, employers have the luxury of putting candidates through the wringer, said Diane Stafford in The Kansas City Star. “And, boy, is that frustrating the applicants,” who at every turn are subjected to blood tests, drug tests, and personality tests—often in vain. Gordon Bonnes, who works in the apparel industry, recently endured a drawn-out job search only to narrowly miss getting the position. He says you can’t blame a company for trying to find the right fit. “But 13 interviews may have been overboard.”
The best way to get past those barriers may be to find a back door, said Phyllis Korkki in The New York Times. “A lot of people don’t like to hear it, but it comes down to networking.” If you don’t have any connection to the company, there’s a good chance that you’ll jump through a lot of hoops for nothing. If you know someone on the inside, however, hiring managers may be willing to cut you a little slack—provided, of course, you can convey “what a witty, personable, flexible, cooperative, and hardworking employee you will be.”
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