Human Resources?

Human Resources is a dirty word to recruiters. They are generally difficult to deal with and change frequently. Trying to establish a relationship depends on the day, the weather and the stock market plus whatever they had for breakfast. Today's rant is advice - if you are actively seeking a new job then let's build on the thought "pick your top 10 companies where you'd like to work" and go a level up - never deal with 'em.
If you've been lucky enough to be called by an HR person who says "we'd like to discuss your resume", do whatever it takes to talk to the Hiring Manager first, even if it means calling the company and asking or crawling the internet to find out.

I read alot of blogs, I read alot of boards where job hunters whine and cry and pat each other on the back. That's ok for about 5 minutes but it's not going to take you to the next level.

Most job hunters make the job hunt their job. They email their resume out to everything that's out there - that's like shooting a gun in the air hoping you'll hit a duck. If you're a real job hunter, you've hunkered down to do exactly what I'm suggesting - focusing and honing in on that JOB.

Have you ever had a look at what Human Resources studies before they got their certification? Check it out sometime. See if what they study to do their job has anything to do with what you've studied and what you do - and they're in charge of hiring?

Another problem - the "I'm God" confusion that HR types tend to take on. Oooh the power of it all! They hold all the cards, so they think. They think wrong. The hiring manager is looking to find someone to make their headaches go away, that is YOU. Your job is to connect with the hiring manager and convince them that you are the magician who knows exactly what to do - not with lying or over embellishing or being obnoxious. HR knows zip to nil and doesn't have the smarts to question what you know about doing the job, so they're going to zip you through what they DO know - personality tests, behavior tests, tricky questions, watching your body language blahblahblah. That's crap. We all have worked with someone who squeaked through the interview, landed a job (probably at the desk beside you and made your life complete hell...I know mine did) and can do jack squat at the job.
Bypass the 3 ring circus and constant rejection. Focus on the job you want and figure out who to talk to. You need HR after you get hired for training or benefits information or maybe just signing that new contract!
Have you made that list yet? Have you researched that company's chain of command to see who to approach? You have control over it all, you really do.