Dear J.T. & Dale: The job search process is excruciating. It seems like the recruiting process is not geared toward fitting the best employees to the right jobs, but geared so human resources can reduce skilled, industrious people to mere keystrokes on a tidy little template. – DJ J.T.: I know it’s frustrating. The one thing that seems to get the best results is to focus on human resource staffers as human beings. Try to connect on a personal level. Ask them about themselves: “How did you get your job?” or “What do you like most about working here?”

Dale: OK, but if you’re going to see the human beneath the bureaucrat, you need to understand why that person is trying to reduce you to a “tidy little template.” Human resource staffers have a box on an organizational chart that comes with a list of job requirements: That’s the template. They hold a mental picture of the right applicant and reject those who don’t look right.

J.T.: And that’s why you, as an applicant, should work to humanize the process. When applying for a job, why not bring a typed piece of paper with your career summary? I know there is never enough room on the application to share the whole story, but nothing says you can’t bring the story with you. I actually had a client with a history of job-hopping write a summary of his experience and how it had prepared him for his next move. He attached it to every application and took it to interviews.

Dale: That’s because he added to the application process, managing to move himself outside the bureaucratic routine without seeming like a rebel, and thus alarming the bureaucracy. He managed to stand out in a way that showed that he fit in.