More Job Hunting Crap

[jackfaire]

The worst they can do is turn you down.

Definitly I applied for a sales job that had a long list of requirements. Only two of the requirements I didn't meet know SQL and have a bachelor's degree.

I knew SQL by the time I met with the person at the company looking to fill the position and I would have had it but her boss was being hardnosed about the degree.

I once spoke to an HR guy that said if he gets a resume from multiple people and one went to an Ivy League school and the other went to a state school he will never even meet the people that went to a state school.

This strikes me as incredibly stupid.

[Boozy]

I once spoke to an HR guy that said if he gets a resume from multiple people and one went to an Ivy League school and the other went to a state school he will never even meet the people that went to a state school.

You have to trim the candidates list somewhere.

I immediately dump the following resumes into the round file:

- If it's dropped off by anyone other than the candidate (especially a parent)
- If the candidate is dressed inappropriately
- If the candidate seemed excessively shy and nervous (these are sales positions)
- If the resume has more than one typo
- If the resume lacks a cover letter

Maybe I've miss a few diamonds-in-the-rough over the years, but when you get over 100 resumes for one job, you have to be ruthless. There isn't time to interview them all.

My advice to anyone looking for work is to make sure your resume and appearance are beyond reproach. You don't know how many people have applied for that job and how busy the hiring manager is.

[Dreamstalker]

I once spoke to an HR guy that said if he gets a resume from multiple people and one went to an Ivy League school and the other went to a state school he will never even meet the people that went to a state school.

This strikes me as incredibly stupid.

Yes. The last application I filled out online, they had a dropdown list for colleges with the direction to select "Other" (there was a space to write-in) if your school wasn't on the list. Mine wasn't (only school on that list in New Mexico was UNM). I'm now wondering if there's something in the coding that throws out any resumes with "Other" selected...

[jackfaire]

You have to trim the candidates list somewhere.
.

Your right you do. What school they went to is a bad indicator.

I have met people who have gone to "great" Schools that clearly didn't really know anything and memorized and regurgitated their way through school.

You can sniff those people out pretty quickly. What school the person went to in my experience isn't an indicator of intelligence, ability, or knowledge.

If you cut someone soley based on what accredited school they went to and not on anything else your shooting yourself in the foot.

[Rageaholic]

Okay, I don't dress badly, but I'm not gonna go out of my way just to pick up a fucking application. I'll be polite, I'll try to look decent, and I'll show interest, but I'm only picking up the application.

*sigh*

I hate this job market. The employers have all the advantages.

[protege]

If you cut someone soley based on what accredited school they went to and not on anything else your shooting yourself in the foot.

Where I work, what school you went to does carry some weight. So does what type of degree you have. I work for a financial services company, BTW. We tend to place more emphasis on a degree, rather than where it comes from. However, people from the community college (CCAC, which I've talked about before), don't last very long. For whatever reason, they simply can't handle the work, and usually quit in less than a month. I don't know if it's because the work they'd be doing involves poring over financial statements and data entry all day, or what...but they don't last. As such, my boss doesn't even bother posting internships on their bulletin boards.

[Rageaholic]

On a side note, WTF is it with applications wanting you to write your last name first when printing your name? I almost always catch my mistake after I wrote it the right way (First, Middle, Last). Then I see underneath where they want me to write it Last, First, Middle. WTF? Is this another one of those dirty tricks they pull on applications?

[Boozy]

If you cut someone soley based on what accredited school they went to and not on anything else your shooting yourself in the foot.

What I'm saying is that your shoot yourself in the foot if you DON'T draw the line somewhere.

If I'm staring at a pile of 100 resumes, I simply do not have the time to have a good look at them all. I need criteria to start cutting them down.

I don't look at education much when I'm hiring (it's sales; personality is more important), but if a post-secondary degree was an important qualification to the job I was looking to fill, I can tell you right now there are a few schools that would get dismissed and a few that would get looked at more closely.

WTF? Is this another one of those dirty tricks they pull on applications?

Possibly. They're looking for attention to detail and ability to follow directions. It's good that you catch your mistake before handing it in.

[Dreamstalker]

What school the person went to in my experience isn't an indicator of intelligence, ability, or knowledge.

Agreed. My school's computer science major was a bit of a joke, and I wound up having to design my own final project from the ground up.

You have two candidates with the exact same qualifications. One went to a "known" college but didn't really go out of their way to do stuff (followed the track they were given and no more). The other went to a smaller school, but designed their own major (shows initiative). Which will you hire and why?

[Rantsylvania 6-5000]

You have to trim the candidates list somewhere.

I immediately dump the following resumes into the round file:

- If it's dropped off by anyone other than the candidate (especially a parent)
- If the candidate is dressed inappropriately
- If the candidate seemed excessively shy and nervous (these are sales positions)
- If the resume has more than one typo
- If the resume lacks a cover letter

Maybe I've miss a few diamonds-in-the-rough over the years, but when you get over 100 resumes for one job, you have to be ruthless. There isn't time to interview them all.

My advice to anyone looking for work is to make sure your resume and appearance are beyond reproach. You don't know how many people have applied for that job and how busy the hiring manager is.

I understand that businesses are overwhelmed by the number of applications they receive now, but some of these hiring managers will disqualify someone for some really stupid reasons.

The reasons listed above make sense, but I worry about the one regarding typos. I've worked for a few managers who have lousy spelling and grammar skills, while mine are excellent (yes, I'm bragging). Somebody like that is going to judge me? Terrific! So if a hiring manager disagrees with how I spelled a word, even though it's correct, I'm SOL?

[Boozy]

If your manager doesn't know when a word is spelled correctly, then that's another issue. It has nothing to do with what I just said, which is that a typo on a resume is a deal-breaker. I do know when words are spelled incorrectly.

If you refuse to take a few minutes to run spell-check, read through your resume, and perhaps have someone else look it over, you're lazy. If you have read it over and still missed a typo, you have crappy attention to detail. I don't want those traits in my employees.

[protege]

Possibly. They're looking for attention to detail and ability to follow directions. It's good that you catch your mistake before handing it in.

That...and because many HR departments file things by last name.

[AdminAssistant]

Yeah, pretty much every form I fill out follows the Last, First, Middle format - I didn't think that was unusual.

[Rantsylvania 6-5000]

Oh lovely, something else to worry about. I read an article the other day that said that certain companies are refusing to hire anyone who doesn't already have a job. They actually say in their job ads that the unemployed will not even be considered, don't bother to apply. They want people who are still working and are happy where they are! WTF?! They believe that people without a job now were let go because they were inferior performers. They wouldn't give names of specific companies, and I want to find out which ones they are so I can boycott them!

[jackfaire]

If your manager doesn't know when a word is spelled correctly, then that's another issue. It has nothing to do with what I just said, which is that a typo on a resume is a deal-breaker. I do know when words are spelled incorrectly.

Actually it has everything to do with what you said if the hiring manager is convinced that the word you spelled correctly is spelled incorrectly then your having run spell check didn't do you a lick of good if he decides to toss out your resume for a "typo"