So I live in Delaware. Small Wonder, 1st State, Diamond State, whatever. It’s all the same, boring, 2nd smallest state in the union. While living in said East-Coast locale, I’m trying to get a job in the Bay Area of San Francisco. This being on the opposite coast where there’s no guarantee the earth will stay still for much longer. But that’s the price you pay and the risk you take to work with the best and brightest, to be surrounded by hot, new technology, and to work at Apple.

No, Apple hasn’t returned any of my calls lately. But that doesn’t stop me from applying.

Initially, I couldn’t think of any place else I’d like to work at. After being given the cold shoulder more times than I can count, however, I have discovered Craigslist. Yes, Craigslist. The same site you can find a “no-strings attached” kind of guy or gal in an instant, and enough penis photos to give Kinsey the willies, is also an incredible site for job searching. There must be a good 20 jobs that are posted daily in the Tech Support section I’m monitoring. This is clearly where those in-the-know go to find jobs and find employees. And through it, I’ve found several amazing, interesting companies that I had never heard of before and that I would love to work for. I have applications pending with several of them.

The interface is dead-simple. Actually, ugly simple. You could code the design by hand without even knowing HTML–it’s that boring looking. But that’s the secret: it’s fast, viewable on any computer or device in the universe, and quick to find that information you need. I’ve always been one to espouse form above function, but I set my predilections aside for Craigslist, because I find at least 3 jobs every night I’m perfectly qualified for and quickly fire off resumes. I’m essentially carpet-bombing the Bay Area job market every night and getting nothing back. Why? There’s two issues: a crazy-saturated applicant pool, and state discrimination. I think the 1st goes without saying, which is why I titled this post for the 2nd.

After talking with several Californian friends and logically thinking through things, I have decided that when most CA companies see my DE address, they literally throw away my resume. Never mind that I know exactly who each Apple product is designed for. Also disregard the fact that I work on PCs every single day and consistently provide top-notch service and support. You may also not like to know that I live and breathe technology and communication. I’m a valuable and profitable mix of communication skills (English Major) and technical ability (Senior Technician) that so many candidates don’t have. But all that ends up in the rubbish bin. I’m not even given the chance of a phone interview. It hurts. A lot.

So what do you do? Do what everyone else does: game the system. The most interesting idea I got was to remove my address from my resume, which I’ve nearly done. I’ve either removed it or subordinated it, depending on what information you look at. I’ve replaced it with my name and email in a large font, encouraging companies to give me the decency of a response. I know how many applications you get, but I’m special, I promise. I’ve left intact the area code of my Delaware cellphone number, the city of my Newark, DE University, and various other facts. I’m not here to lie, and I absolutely do not; all I want is to level the playing field. To do that at Apple, for example, I had to get some of my friends who are internal to get me emails for recruiters whom I contacted directly, immediately launching myself to the top of the applicant pool and even garnering a phone interview for my efforts. But like I said, I still don’t have a job there. But at least I had a great conversation with a recruiter.

Is it about relocation, guys? Cause if it is, I will be happy to move out there on my own dime if that’s what it takes. But I’d really like to have a job first. I don’t need your money to move, but I do kinda want your money to work. Can we make some sort of deal on this?