I have too many friends who are unemployed, or otherwise occupied by occupations beneath them. The thing is, they’re all awesome. These are talented, brilliant people whose paper CVs fail to properly convey the whole of their skills.
We recognize that there is a vastness to one’s expertise that easily exceeds the bounds of an 8.5×11 page, which is why I suppose interviews are conducted. But the market is so flooded that even qualified candidates are being phased out before the interview stage. The window in which to impress has gotten smaller, which is why the resume/cover letter combo have an unrealistic amount of weight placed upon them.
The only recourse is to redefine the new candidate experience. Deliver more info in less time. The key to all of this is your online identity. It’s what happens when an employer sticks your name in Google, and I’m calling it the Real-Time Resume.