Must remain professional (light-hearted)

[4teensandababy]

Oh wise mumsnetters. Please help me to remain calm, and not let my sarcastic self take over....

Background: I’m recruiting for a role within my company. It’s a Junior Admin Role. Basic stuff, filing, answering phones etc.

I posted a job advert on our local town page on Facebook (yes I know) - but it will get good visibility, and the role would be great for a local person.

Anyhow. Relatively simple post, and it included the following points:

Must have excellent verbal & written English
Good attention to detail
Monday to Friday 9 - 5pm
To apply, please email me at [email protected] WITH your CV AND a covering letter (this was a little test)

In the past 24 hours, I have received (and not limited to) the following:

Of 21 people who emailed me, only 2 included a covering letter.
One applicant messaged me on Facebook to ask me what the hours are.....
One applicant messaged me on Facebook to ask if the role can be done remotely.
One applicant messaged me on Facebook: “I wuld like to aply for this roll”
One applicant messaged me on Facebook: “Plz can u give me more info” (their profile picture was them smoking a joint)
One applicant emailed me (yay) with their CV, but stated not to bother inviting her for interview if the role paid less than £29k?!

There are plenty more examples!

I know I may have invited a little of this by using Facebook, but the recruitment company were being useless and doing their own thing!

So my AIBU. Would it be entirely unreasonable to respond to some of these with sarcastic responses, or should I remain professional at all times and bite my tongue?!

Would love to say I'm surprised. I ran an ad once and specified that applications were by email with a specific reference in the subject line. I'd set up an automated rule that acknowledge application emails and told them the date they could expect a response. I expected a large number, so I didn't want to have to do that first bit manually.

Turned out to be a straightforward way to sift out more than half the candidates who couldn't follow a straightforward instruction....

How about "Please refer to stated guidelines if you wish to re-apply"?

In the olden days, when I did HR for my department as well as my actual role, I got 76 applications for a job I had advertised. I think we were the Job Centre advert of the week - I had lorry drivers, hairdressers, all sorts, applying for a job in an academic library. I wrote 76 individual replies advising them on how to improve their job application technique (some hadn't included a covering letter, most had not connected their relevant experience to the role) - I was up until midnight (pre-children, obviously) and I did actually get a few replies thanking me for my feedback and telling me that no-one had ever bothered before.

ThisIsAStory What a fantastic idea. I think I might steal that!

I advertised for a candidate recently on a paid advertisement with well known recruitment agency. It was ridiculous and such a waste of time I don’t think 1 applicant read the job spec and out of the very short shortlist only 2 turned up for interviews. Such fun!

Hippee What a nice gesture. Time permitting, I’d love to do something similar with a few of them.

Glad to help 4teens just hope it doesn't raise your expectations.... The job I was advertising wasn't entry level either.

It's utterly mind boggling.

Maybe try LinkedIn? Or too much of a long shot for a junior role I guess.

Have you a friend of a friend of a friend who might be interested?

The last time I had to plough through applications, I think I whittled over 70 down to just 3 who were even remotely worth interviewing.
We tried contacting one of them by email, text and voicemail to invite them for an interview - they never replied. The second arranged a day and time and didn't turn up. We offered the third one the job (despite a few misgivings about her but we needed someone quickly and she was the only one left), and several days later she turned it down.

Whenever I’ve been involved in recruiting I feel a bit better that if I lose my job I’d stand a good chance of getting another one - people writing a sentence covering why they are the right candidate, no spell check, don’t bother showing up for interview etc

That will be a 'I applied for a job' for 200 JSA applicants then.

LifeBeginsAtGin Totally didn’t think of that.........what have I done?!

HA! just wait until you manage to find decent applications and invite them to interview. We had four people called to interview at the charity where I work, so two members of staff allocated to interview, two rooms booked, one for interview and one for the skills test. One applicant turned up, not a dickybird from the others. as others have said, some people seem only interested in keeping up their application rate for jobseekers.

I'd blocked off a day the other week to interview apprentices. The first three didn't show up and didn't bother to contact us to say they weren't coming (all had confirmed by email that the time was convenient and that they would attend), so that was the morning wasted. Fortunately the three we interviewed in the afternoon were excellent and we took them all.

I've also had someone apply for a job and follow up with an email when it became obvious that she wasn't getting an interview, with the following: "Hello? I don't appear to have been invited for interview. Which bit of "double first from Cambridge" do you not understand?" We'd had 100 applicants and it wasn't an entry level job. I took great pleasure in emailing back and telling her that the successful applicant also had a double first from Cambridge, a PhD from LSE and had published books in her area of expertise.

Where are you OP? My son desperately wants a new job, although he is probably over qualified, but he would think it infinitely better than the job he is doing at the moment.

Which bit of "double first from Cambridge" do you not understand?"

Sorry but

at 'which bit of double first from Cambridge do you not understand?'

MrsSchadenfreude Loving the Cambridge comment!

Ellie56 South East - can be more specific if needed.

4teensandababy Shame - too far away as we're in the Midlands. But I hope you find someone soon.

What a world. I’m applying for jobs like a mad thing, ones where I meet all the essential criteria and am struggling to get a thanks but no thanks. I even have a great cover letter (because I’ve had it checked by anyone that stands still long enough). I have made it into a second heat for a job if the first 20 they interview to meet the standard (not holding my breath).
It never occurred to me to look on Facebook though, do you just search local jobs?

Which bit of "double first from Cambridge" do you not understand?"

But MrsSchadenfreude what a rude email from a potential employee. You dodged a bullet there!

What a world. I’m applying for jobs like a mad thing, ones where I meet all the essential criteria and am struggling to get a thanks but no thanks. I even have a great cover letter (because I’ve had it checked by anyone that stands still long enough).

me too, though I've been really targeting my applications. i'm beginning to feel a bit more confident about broadening my search though after this lot. Hooray?

This is a(n anonymised) actual job ad and response I saw this morning:

Advert:
Bar Work!
The crew at the Jolly Anchor are expanding - we need full time bar staff and a manager.

Experience preferred but not essential. We pay well and the shifts are flexible. Call in or phone 12345678 for more details

Response:
Hi Jolly Anchor! I live just round the corner on xx road and would love to work with you! I have bar experience and I can start immediately. Please phone me on 23456789

Seriously? She could walk round there faster than it took to write her reply. And expecting them to be at her beck and (literal) call?

I have started adding screening questions on my job adverts, ( small recruitment agency) but still get people apply when they don't have any of the ESSENTIAL experience for the role.

I try really hard to send a decline response to all applicants, it's a simple copy and paste, but occasionally I do what to send a response that just says.....really!!!!

I have received applications from school leavers for senior management positions, from Baristas for legal roles 😏, what is really telling is that in my decline emails I always say that I will keep their details on file for future opportunities if they respond with a few pieces of information, the response rate is about 2%.

If you can bear it, as you will get tons of responses, you can advertise a job FOC on indeed. It may give you a slightly better quality applicant as they are actively looking for a role.

I also feel your pain on those attending interviews, I had 4 people lined up for interview on Monday, 2 changed their mind on the Friday, one didn't turn up, didn't tell anyone, the 4th turned up, interviewed well and was offered the position, it's so frustrating.

I understand your frustration and the mind does boggle on most of your points.

However, can I just point out to those of you saying you get applications from people patently unsuited to the role - this may well be because they're on jsa or UC and they are told not only to apply for X no. Of jobs per week/month but even specifically told to apply for jobs they've no chance of even being shortlisted for or they are sanctioned. A ridiculous situation that wastes their time and of course that of employers.

I've also seen from the other side when dd was applying for jobs last year. Many adverts, emails and letters containing SPaG errors, poor information even outright illegal and discriminatory.

However, all that said I remember going for job interviews over 20 years ago and peers of mine turning up for them (for professional roles) in ripped jeans, trainers and on one occasion a t-shirt containing the words "fuck you" - needless to say didn't get the jobs.

I did ask one (yea I was probably rude, but still) had they seriously no smarter clothes? She said she was just back from her gap year on the hippy trail in Asia and no didn't own smart clothes but as the conversation went on it became clear she was living at home with parents and a sister, both mum and sister roughly same size in professional jobs so why she didn't borrow from them I don't know.