to be [shock] by this?

[wineoclocktimeyet]

I?ve been temping in a company and helping open/sort out applications for a full-time administrative post for someone with at least 2 years experience.

I?m job hunting myself at the moment and so I know how hard and totally soul destroying it is, but AIBU to be totally at the following:

Today I opened about 120 applications, of which

• 23 spelt the name of the company incorrectly (OK it?s a bit of an unusual name but still)

• 8 spelt the name of the person they were writing to incorrectly

• 4 spelt both wrong!

They had been asked to enclose handwritten covering letters

• at least 20 were totally illegible (in fact I?m convinced one wasn?t written in English)

• 5 were written in green pen and 2 in red

• and one was written on a scrappy price of paper with a shopping list on the back

15 had forgotten to enclose a CV or application form (one of which had an excellent covering letter)

5 came with no stamps on the envelope

and my personal favourite was the envelope that had a heart and SWALK written over the seal at the back!

Yanbu!
Hmmmm.................shopping list, eh?

Sounds about right for this day and age. The green ink brigade probably didn't see the irony in their green ink.

Ha ha ha ha ha YADNBU!

Ooh, what did the shopping list have on it? nosy cow

But I know what you mean. I administered a typing test for 8 applicants for an admin role (shortlisted from 80 applications), and the sample letter they had to type up were all so bad I would not have sent ONE out! None of them got the job though, we re-shortlisted!

I find it incredible that people applying for an administrative position seem to be so good on paper, and yet have no skills needed for the job!

Blast lisaro - my first possible MN shopping list and I didnt copy it for here

YADNBU!

And I wasn't kidding, I actually really want to know what was on the shopping list

YANBU. I worked in recruitment for a few years and some of the applications were appalling.

And then these people wonder why they don't even get interview for jobs....

Argh x-post!!

YANBU.

Look on the bright side - at least the candidate list has been reduced by two thirds already without you having to even read through them in great depth.

My BIL is a vet and any applicants that can't spell veterinary go in the bin without being opened.

Worrying!

Once you had binned the unsuitable ones, how many were you left with? A small number I imagine.

Its almost as if some people want to stay on benefits «whistles»

if the list had 'nice ham' on it then yabvu if you don't include it

YABVU cos you never copied the shopping list

Still, as someone else said - it helped to narrow down the ones you actually might consider, to about 1/4 of the number received.

Do you think the coloured pen users did it to try and stand out? Maybe out of desperation

When DP was unemployed I printed his covering letters onto creamy paper rather than white, in a bid to stand out from the other 100's of applicants.

Was that okay? He never got an interview :(

I wouldn't dream of using red or green pen though.

do you think maybe some of them don't really want the job so are deliberately trying to fuck up!

Once read a job application where the covering letter began, "Look no further". Some people have no idea, but at least he was keen....

"Look no further" - priceless !

My mum is a deputy headteacher and so deals with applications for teaching jobs. The amount of applications she gets that she just throws in the bin is just appalling - the spelling/grammar/layout/general sense of the application is just so bad she can't even consider interviewing them. I know it's tough applying for jobs, but surely at the very least you get the basics right. I have got every single job I've ever applied for, which always astounded me until I heard about the shocking applications and about how badly some people do in interviews (which is a harder thing to control, admittedly). CV writing and interview skills should definitely be taught in schools.

Rose, sounds like someone had been watching The Apprentice rather too much!

Its almost as if some people want to stay on benefits

Yes, there will always be a few like that.

But the rest, that's just shocking.

Then they'll all be moaning about hard it is to find a job these days.

Yes, it could be, we're this recently, but it was about 20 years ago. Maybe they are on the production team.

Were. Bloody auto correct.