You can receive messages back from the resume black hole!!

Events of this past week have proven two of my key learnings for conducting an effective job search; one, the importance of creating a list of target companies to work for to help narrow a search and two, submitting a resume even if a job is not the 100% right fit or not posted at all.

Last month I submitted a resume for a junior position at a company that just recently launched a smart phone designed to compete with the RIM Blackberry and the Apple iPhone. I received the automated "thanks for applying" email, but had not received any further communication from the resume black hole....until last Friday.

I had just got back from my 9:00am Friday morning run when my iPhone rang. The voice at the other end was the VP of Marketing for this re-energized smart phone company that, rightfully so, has sweaty palms. The VP had received my resume from HR who had filed it away for future use. Interesting...these online submission portal black holes have another side to them! The marketing team is in need of someone to lead their relationship marketing strategy and implementation and the VP found my experience very relevant. Cool.

This morning I met with the VP amongst all the media buzz of the new device. The conversation was very rich and a lot of fun. "What would you do to help us build relationships with our customers" type questions flowed. Fun. "It's all about engaging and winning the gadget enthusiasts...who, if they love it, will effectively sell the product for the company...and will engage others in the conversation. "

So where did this all net out? I'm not really sure. The job req has been approved, but no job description has been created. My meeting was more of a "meet and greet...and let hear how you think" session...or said another way, "a VP level initial screening." Hopefully I'm on the VP's short list of potential candidates when the interview process officially begins.

My biggest concern is will I need to publicly denounce my iPhone should I become employed by this private equity funded company who is looking to reclaim it's place in the hand held space? But...I love my iPhone.