[CAN-BC] Small startup HR generalist in Vancouver stuck in the worst catch-22 — need brutal honest feedback
I've been job searching for months and I keep making it to final rounds and losing. Every. Single. Time. I'm currently employed so it's not desperate but it's genuinely demoralizing and I can't figure out if I'm doing something wrong or if the market just hates me.
Background: HR generalist at small startups (under 50 people) for the past few years. Full cycle recruitment, onboarding, benefits, policy, BambooHR. Solo HR person so I do a bit of everything — which sounds good until you're in an interview and they ask how many people you've supported.
The feedback I keep getting:
- One place said I was too "employee focused" and not enough business/leader partnering. I genuinely didn't know that was a thing I was getting wrong.
- Another said they went with someone who had more total rewards and systems experience at a similar sized company. I made the final round for that one which stings.
- Another wanted payroll experience at a larger org.
- Larger orgs won't even get past the "so tell me about your company" stage once they find out I've only worked at small startups.
I'm only targeting mid-size companies — not trying to jump straight into a 5000 person org. Still getting the same response.
The catch-22 is killing me. I can't get big org experience without already having it. My current role can't give it to me because we're in a hiring freeze and I'm doing HR + ops + admin + whatever else needs doing that day.
Has anyone actually broken out of the small startup HR bubble? What did you do? And for anyone who hires for these roles — what would actually change your mind about a candidate like me?