Grand-Diamond-4696's journey

Applied at European cybersecurity company for Technical Account Manager

I need to vent about my recent job search experience with a European cybersecurity company I used to work for. I joined them back in 2017 during their initial U.S. expansion as one of the first employees in a hybrid pre-sales and technical role. We had a successful run, but the company eventually decided to pause U.S. investments and focus on Europe, so I left on good terms in 2019. Fast forward to now, the company has grown significantly and is reinvesting in the U.S. market. Many former employees, including myself, have returned to the company over the years, which made me feel confident about applying again. I have connections with around 50 employees there, including the CTO, which I thought would give me an edge. When I saw an opening for a Technical Account Manager role, I applied and reached out internally. I tailored my resume specifically for the position, even though their version of the role is more technically focused than my recent experience. We had multiple discussions about my technical expertise, especially my previous work with the company. However, after about 10 days of silence, I received an automated rejection on LinkedIn without any personal feedback. I reached out to the recruiter for clarification, but it took another follow-up email to finally get a response. The recruiter mentioned that the hiring manager was looking for someone with a background more closely aligned with the technical requirements. This is where my frustration lies. I had already handled those technical responsibilities when I worked there, and I have a deep understanding of their environment and products. It feels like I'm being gatekept by someone who doesn't fully grasp my history with the company. In today's hiring process, it seems like candidates are filtered out based on keywords rather than actual experience, which is incredibly discouraging.