Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Job Search When Times Are Tough

Chapter 21. Get Past the Gatekeepers

If the very thought of picking up the phone and trying to sweet-talk your way past a gatekeeper makes you think about maybe starting that nap now, take some comfort in knowing that you’re normal. In fact, the fear of the gatekeeper probably resides on a cellular level, connecting our modern DNA with those ancestors who faced down drawbridges and looked up just in time to see a vat of burning oil tipped just so right over their heads. (All they wanted was a job interview.)

Only now, what we worry about is the dreaded question, “May I tell him what this is in reference to?”

If you started your career in the 1970s or 1980s, you entered the work world when the gatekeeper was the administrative assistant (AA) ...