I have been working on a project for an LA startup for the last three years. On the technical side (my responsibility), I was able to deliver more than what I thought possible to date, so everything looked good. The problem? Well, it was linked with 3D for the home and that market has not yet materialized. So basically this is over and I have to find something new fast.

Here’s the problem: I have worked most of my life in the “big broadcast” industry and that sector is shrinking. I have always found jobs through networking… people I know or people they know and referrals. However, what I see now everywhere is those contacts having to find jobs themselves. Companies are laying off not hiring… getting fewer and smaller not bigger. So the traditional way that I have always found jobs is basically no longer there.

The alternative is to switch industries. However, if you have significant experience but no contacts, it becomes nearly impossible to find a job that matches my level of expertise. Within my Big TV experience, I have done significant work in software development for the media. I’ve functioned as a project manager, software architect, designer and also as product manager. But with a title such as “Director of Software Development”, CTO or “Chief Scientist” it’s hard to get responses when sending a resume in response to job offers. People immediately assume that you are overqualified and not right for the position. I say people but more and more it’s actually software bots that simply reject your application without honest analysis… most likely just a bad keyword match.

I think that this is a petty. Organizations that have a harder and harder time competing in the marketplace are dismissing that way candidates can be great assets to their market position. And in my case, I have created products for organizations that have actually changed their market outlook completely, enabling them to do things like launch IPOs and become market leaders. I have redefined corporate strategies and delivered critical projects in period of time that people thought insane. These days organizations are dismissing candidates (like yours truly) without knowing it because they are deemed “overqualified”.

Does that really make good business sense?

What do you think?