Signs of the times

An excerpt from a letter that I ran across from a Hiring Manager at a large aerospace company:

I am the hiring manager for the XXX positions in X-----. I had over 700 applicants to fill 2 positions. I appreciate your dedication and follow up but I have filled all of the open positions at this time. Thank you.

Our observations:
This is a ratio of 350:1. For each job offered, if we look on the whole as being averaged, 350 resumes were received. This is actually higher than many positions we used to hear about, which averaged 300:1.

OK, so what does this mean? Well, one interpretation of this data is that you can hide your head and do nothing because you’re so frozen with despair and go into permanent shock and withdrawal.

Another interpretation (and more healthy, I believe) is that you can do everything to stand out in a very crowded field; which means having absolutely the best possible resume and cover letter to enable you to stand head and shoulders above all the others who apply for that opening. Still a third interpretation is you can get out of that field and go into another (possibly your own business, which you may have some control over but which will have its own very engaging problems). A fourth interpretation is that you can start networking, really networking as if it is a serious full-time, difficult enterprise, to find those jobs before they pop out into the light of day; very few people, as I’ve said time and again, actually do this. Except for the first one, these aren’t exclusive choices.

I’d welcome any e-mails and discussion about any additional choices you, as a reader, may know of.