By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
EP 3152 Big companies use automated walls to turn talented people into numbers, but small firms are starving for the high-level systems and AI expertise you already possess. This episode shows you how to pivot your strategy to a field where you aren’t just an applicant—you’re the expert they’ve been waiting for.
Timestamps
00:00 – The Reality of the Modern Job Search
00:37 – Section 1: The Big Company Wall
01:10 – Why Large Firms Filter You Out (It’s Not Personal)
01:33 – Section 2: Shifting Your Target to a New Playing Field
02:04 – Section 3: Identifying Your Untapped Value
02:34 – Converting Corporate Skills into Small Business Superpowers
03:01 – Section 4: Finding the Welcome You Actually Deserve
03:30 – The One Question That Changes Your Career Path
Okay, let’s talk about the job search. If you’re feeling stuck, just sending resumes out into the void and hearing nothing back from the big companies, then this is for you. We’re about to flip the script on that whole strategy and show you how to go from just another applicant to an absolute game changer.
I mean, does this question even need to be asked? It probably hits pretty close to home for a lot of you. It’s so common. You pour all this time and energy into landing that dream job at some huge well-known corporation and all you get back is silence.
It’s so frustrating. But listen, what if the problem isn’t you? What if you’re just playing on the wrong field? Let’s just name it. We’ll call it the big company wall because that’s what it feels like, right? A massive impossible barrier.
And you know, understanding what that wall is made of is the first step to finding a way around it. You know the drill. You find a job posting, you spent hours, maybe days tweaking your resume and writing that perfect cover letter.
You hit submit, you feel a little spark of hope and then nothing. Or maybe you get that cold automated rejection email weeks later. It’s an exhausting cycle that honestly says very little about your actual talent.
So why is this happening? Well, at these huge firms, the competition is just fierce. You’re not up against a handful of people, you’re up against thousands. So they build these walls, right? Automated systems, super rigid requirements, things that filter you out because you didn’t use the exact right keyword.
It’s not personal, but that’s the problem. You end up feeling like just a number, another resume in the pile. But here’s the really good news.
There’s another game you can play, a totally different field where the rules are actually stacked in your favor. So it’s time. Let’s stop running headfirst into that wall and start looking for the wide open gate.
So you have two choices. There’s the common path, that laser focus on the big guys where you’re one of thousands. And then there’s the strategic pivot.
This is where you deliberately turn your attention to small and mid-sized companies. Now, this is not about lowering your standards at all. It’s about raising your impact and your odds.
And this is where it gets really interesting. The key to this whole thing is understanding your own value in this new context. It’s all about recognizing something we’ll call your untapped value.
So what is this untapped value? Well, it’s all the skills and experience you have that might feel kind of normal, even basic in a big corporate setting. But guess what? In a smaller company, those same skills can be incredibly rare and super valuable. You’re bringing them a way of thinking that they desperately need, but probably don’t have.
Seriously, just think about it. Those structured processes you learned at a big company, that’s like a superpower to a scrappy growing team. You could introduce a simple project management tool that completely changes how they work.
Your experience with systems that are built to scale could save them from making huge, costly mistakes later on. And your exposure at AI, you could be the one to bring in a tool that literally doubles what their tiny marketing team can do. See, you’re not just another candidate.
You’re the expert they’ve been waiting for. And this isn’t just some cold, calculated career move. It’s also about finding a place where you’re actually appreciated.
It’s about getting the welcome you truly deserve. I really love this quote, because it gets to the heart of it. It’s not just that a smaller company will hire you.
They will love you for what you bring. Instead of being employee number 47,832, you become a key player. Your ideas are heard, your contributions are seen, and you can feel the impact you’re making every single day.
So let’s leave it with this thought. The next time you sit down to look for jobs, I want you to ask yourself a different question. Stop asking, which big company might hire me? Instead, ask yourself this, where could my skills make the biggest impact? The answer to that question might just change everything.
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ careers
easier. Those things can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, career transition, as well as advice about resolving workplace issues. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 3100 episodes.
You will find great info to help with your job search at my new site, JobSearch.Community Besides the video courses, books and guides, I answer questions from members daily about their job search. Leave job search questions and I will respond daily. Become an Insider+ member and you get everything you’d get as an Insider PLUS you can get me on Zoom calls to get questions answered. Become an Insider Premium member and we do individual and group coaching.
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