“Is there an email contact?” I asked.
“Yep, there is an email of the program coordinator,” my husband said.
“Excellent. Email her and ask if the position is still open.” I said. My husband was in the midst of a job search. Seemed like there were not too many options for someone with a Masters degree in forestry in the DC area, and this one was a good find. And there was an email of a person! Not just an invitation to apply online.
“Well… the position IS open. That’s what is written here on the website. It would not be listed if it wasn’t open.” my husband said, reluctant to bother the coordinator with an email.
“Regardless. You want to start the conversation.” I was insistent.
He wrote an email and she responded a day later and asked for his resume.
“Great! That is what you want: a person to read your resume. Send it.” I was thrilled. Nowadays, you have to do everything in your power to ensure that the human being, rather than the applicant tracking software gets to your resume.
A couple of weeks later, he was invited for an interview. It went well, however, the other person ended hired for the position. He thanked them and stayed in touch.
About a month later, the coordinator emailed him with an update that a new position has opened and that he would be a good fit for it. He sent his resume to the email she provided, interviewed and got the job.
We moved to the DC area and started apartment hunting. We went to apartments.com, made a long list of apartments in the area we were interested in within our budget, scheduled several appointments and started looking. In-unit washer and dryer were high on our priority list, yet most of the apartments did not have it but instead offered some other perks we were not interested in. During our lengthy walk, we saw an apartment complex that was not advertised online and that wasn’t on our list. There was a large advertisement specifying in-unit washers and dryers. We decided to stop by and ask. The manager was not there but her phone number was displayed at the door. I called several times and finally left her a voice mail. She got back to me later that afternoon. We scheduled an appointment, loved the apartment, and ended up renting it. As this apartment complex was not advertised online, we could have easily missed it out.
Before we were able to move in, we were staying in Airbnb and had to extend our stay for another week before our apartment was ready. However, based on the Airbnb website, the apartment in which we stayed was available for only two more days and it seemed as if we had to reserve another place. I sent a message to Airbnb host and explained the situation. She told me that the room in which we stayed will be available for the whole week (not shown online) and that she can send me the invitation to reserve. And that is what we did. It meant a lot not to have to move again in the middle of moving.
These three stories all speak to mundane situations: job search, apartment hunting, Airbnb arrangements. Nothing fancy. There is an interesting common thread, though. That is the power of asking questions in the age of Google. Let me explain.
Different online tools, Google, in particular, made our day-to-day lives immeasurably easier. We can go through life and never ask anyone anything. If we want to know where to park, where is the bus stop, where to go for a hair cut, all we need is a few clicks. Google has the answers already. The same goes for job search, all jobs are posted online, you apply online, no interactions, no questions asked. The job search becomes shoving resumes to online portals and it seems like all you have to do is shove more.
While powerful, these online tools are not omnipotent and all-knowing. Yet, we are outsourcing more to them, while relying less on human interaction to get the answers we need. Haven’t we all found ourselves in front of a closed restaurant, staring at our phone shocked? “Google told me that you should be open! What the hell is happening here?!” we almost start yelling. Google is great and powerful, yet it does not know everything and life often goes by without Google noticing it.
We have moved job search online for greater efficiency. Yet, it is not uncommon to hear from people that they have uploaded hundreds of resumes and never heard back. In fact, more than 80% of resumes never go through the software funnel. You can have outstanding skills and experience, but the software’s algorithm can consistently undermine it. Networking, talking to people, and ultimately getting a human being to read your resume, these are more labor intensive strategies than resume uploading, but more efficient in helping you land an interview. The case of my husband clearly demonstrates it. Many times I saw a job posting online and later found out from the employees of the company that they gave up on the opening for various reasons. Sometimes they re-prioritize, change the strategy, or reallocate the budget. The job posting is still on Google and LinkedIn, but if you do not know the insider, you are not aware that the job does not exist. Whatever you see online is some representation of reality, but imperfect. It is easy to forget that there are living people behind it and that plans change. Often. That’s why you need to ask.
There is no doubt about the online tools’ usefulness and efficiency. But online tools have spoiled us. We became anxious when we need to make a phone call, have a small talk with the person at the counter, schedule, reschedule, organize, reorganize, and yes, ask.
But here is the thing.
More and more people are relying on online tools only, more and more people are becoming reluctant to having a conversation. Hence, if you are willing to take a small emotional risk to talk to someone, to contact, to ask, you may be able to stand out quickly and reap good benefits faster than ever before. This is your chance. You may be able to get great recommendations for whatever interests you, you will be able to learn about the hidden job market, get your foot in the door, get news, ideas, and updates that those relying solely on online tools are not aware of. That is a huge competitive advantage. You will be able to stand out easily because fewer people are willing to ask.
In her famous TED talk, Amanda Palmer said:
“Now the online tools to make the exchange [between the artist and the community] as easy and as instinctive as in the street, they are getting there. But the perfect tools aren’t going to help us if we can’t face each other and give and receive fearlessly, but more important- to ask without shame.”
This TED talk was recorded in 2013, but this quote is only becoming more and more relevant. In the age of Google, the art of asking will become rarer and more powerful. Start practicing today.
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