To be fed up with the hoopla of jobhunting?

[BrightYellowDaffodil]

I am sick of it all. Spending hours writing cover letters or supporting statements (which basically just summarise my CV), for applications which only get an automated response along the lines of "Thanks for applying, if you don't hear from us you weren't successful".

Schlepping to interviews and having to perform like an over-eager seal for interviewers who subscribe to the crappy competency based questionning model, only for them not to bother letting me know the outcome of the interview for weeks, if at all. Even then it's often another generic email.

And that's before I get to recruiters who are all over me and ringing at all hours when they think there's some commission in it for them, offering me the job equivalent of the moon on a stick, before disappearing back into the ether and never to be heard of again.

Please, recruiters and employers, there's an actual human you're dealing with in this process. One who's trying really hard and would just occasionally like to have the effort they've made acknowledged.

Oh, and a job would be nice too.

Despondent of the South East

You need a break. Can you afford to stop looking for a couple of weeks?
If you have a break, you’ll be much fresher and less demotivated when you start again.
Also, ring around all those recruiters you spoke to between Nov and March. Something like one in 7 appointments doesn’t work out so it’s always worth leaving it a while and then following up with a courtesy call.

I got my job because the lady originally recruited didn’t show on the first day and then sent a text saying she couldn’t cope with the 7 mile commute. I applied the following day.
And now, I always make my applicants get an email keeping them informed because you’re right, being ignored is horrible. Good luck

I don’t suppose you are a project manager in the reading area are you. Just checking.

It's insane I sympathise totally I lost my job a couple of weeks ago had an interview yesterday I can do the role in my sleep less than an hour later they apparently decided to promote a candidate internally they advertised three jobs all same role so did they promote three or are they just not interested in a competent person (I have good reason to sound cocky about it btw but it's too outing )

Job hunting is really depressing so I sympathise with you. Especially irritating recruitment practice, in my experience, seems to be education sector jobs where you have to write huge essays explaining why you are suitable for that particular job as part of their application form (no CVs allowed), so no chance of recycling. I have wasted entire weekends, and then, as you say, there isn't any acknowledgement at all.
And that was for very poorly paid jobs.
A teacher friend says it is so bad for teachers that many now are unwilling to move.
I have been there OP, and I wish you good luck.
What seemed to work best for me was setting up business with DH myself-no nasty recruitment process!
I am very lucky, but is that a possibility?

Agreed. YAdefinitelyNBU.

Agreed, I'm job hunting and at the beginning one of the only responses I got was a telling off by a company as I'd already applied and they'd decided I wasn't suitable but they hadn't actually bothered to tell me!! I'm unfortunately job hunting in a very saturated market so it can be soul destroying being ignored.

I think companies have to advertise jobs and not just recruit internally without proper process.

I'm also job hunting and just bombed an interview and I'm heartbroken. It was a third interview as well! I had pictured my life if I had of been successful and I pictured handing my notice in to my low paid, high expectation job. I'm absolutely gutted so having a glass of wine already!

Agree OP. I applied for one recently. Pages and pages: a CV and a letter and an "ethnic diversity monitoring form" and a short online test - then weeks later the generic e-mail. Soul destroying.

Recruitment seems less about getting the right person - or even a good person - for the job but about NOT being done for sexism/racism/nepotism etc and being able to prove that if Ms Bloggs was a shit candidate that wasn't your fault because she scored highest on the test and compentency based interview.

Thanks, in some ways it's nice to know I'm not the only one but for anyone going through the same process.

I also agree with @PaintedHorizons about it seeming to be about ticking a box than finding the right person for the job. When I interviewed I only needed a bit of a chat and a few role-relevant questions to work out whether the person a] knew what they were talking about and b] was someone I could work with without wanting to strangle them by lunchtime. I didn't need competency based STAR scenarios to tell me all that!

I've been applying for jobs and interviewing for about 10 months now and it's absolutely soul destroying. I've been a stay at home mum for 8 years who is trying and failing to get back into the workplace. I had a good career before children and I was a highly regarded employee but all that means nothing now. I just got another knock back today 😓 At last they took the time to tell me unlike most companies who don't respond. Feeling destroyed :(

It's so disheartenin, isn't it? I've got a job but am desperate to find something that doesn't bore me senseless. I've used 3 days of annual leave on interviews in the last 6 months. Every time I've been told I was appointable and interviewed well but that there was someone with a little more experience or who gave a slightly better answer to a question. Nice feedback but I need the job and can't waste much more leave!

YANBU OP. Simply terrible, it's a minefield. Everyone tells me people need good employees yet the reality is a minefield. I just want a job !

I feel bad for you OP as it's such a miserable experience. Last time I changed jobs, I swore I'd never put myself through this misery again (but I realise that for many, it's not necessarily their choice).

I don't know if this gives you hope or nor but where I work, we don't make people write covering letters or supporting statements and we don't put people through a million interviews with the same old competency questions. Yet somehow we have great people working for us so we must be doing something right. So not everywhere is as bad as you're experiencing now so please hang in there.

I'm actually hiring at the moment and was a bit surprised when a recruiter sent me through a supporting statement for a candidate along with his c.v. We didn't ask for a supporting statement so it must the recruiter's own policy/enthusiasm to add 'value'. My reaction was 'what meaningless bullshit' and I ignored the supporting statement. I felt sorry for the candidate really. And it's laziness by the recruiter. I expect the recruiter to tell me why this is the right candidate for me rather than expect the candidate to do the work for them. I just want the c.v. I'm more than capable of figuring out from a c.v. if I want to interview someone or not.

This may depend on your industry/job but please make sure you're on Linked In and ensure your profile is consistent with your c.v. I always check Linked In when I'm reviewing c.v.'s, partly to look for discepancies but mainly to see if we have any connections. If we do have connections, I will always discreetly check the person's performance before deciding to interview or not, and it may influence some of my more innocuous sounding questions at interview. I know a lot of people in my industry (I'm old!) and I will usually know someone who knows the specific team/area the candidate has worked in and how successful the work was. Some people have great c.v.s but are rubbish at the job whereas some people are rubbish at writing c.v.s but are great at the jobs. So I try to sort out the wheat from the chaff before first interview if possible. So many people lie/big themselves up these days and think they can get away with it. In my experience, they often never know that we've found them out but that's why they don't get any further in the process (I'm not saying this is the case for you at all OP!)

I had one guy who attended a interview evening (so 3 interviews back to back for multiple candidates with multiple interviewers) at very large company I was working for. The guy used to work on a project that I'd managed at a previous employer. I didn't know he'd applied, I wasn't one of his interviewers and the first I heard was at the interview panel meeting at the end of the evening....when we discussed him and his feedback. You can imagine my surprise when I found out that he'd told his interviewers that HE was the one managing the project!! Bad luck for him that I was on the panel. He was rejected. So silly of him to exaggerate his role as he probably would have been offered a job with us if he hadn't lied. He was never told why he was rejected other than the usual 'we went with a stronger candidate etc'.

Interesting post Hundred

I think people big themsleves up because everyone is doing it and the recruitment agencies push for it.

Recruiting is very depressing, too, I can tell you. For the first time in my life, I'm recruiting for my team and I cannot tell you how many people apply 1) without a cover letter 2) with a CV that isn't tailored to the role 3) a CV full of spelling and grammar mistakes 4) applying for a role that seems to be a complete misfit for the CV.

Keep going - if you're doing all the above right, you will find a good role. Just, for the love of god, don't send a 4 page CV that is totally irrelevant to the role you're applying for.

I agree Op i am looking for a new job now. Not a min wage type but a proper job. I have a humanities degree and want to work in humanities field but my god the jobs are few and far between and when and if i do get a reply it basically says i am inexperienced for the role but the roles dont do work experience so the only experience you can get is via the job! I was lucky to get 6 months experience in my chosen field and thats not enough they want minimum of 3 years!

@HundredMilesAnHour how on earth can you 'discreetly' check on an applicants performance?

I find that utterly unprofessional and quite frankly a breach of confidence.

All applications should be treated with strict confidence so I find the fact you say you investigate them on LinkedIn and contact mutual connections about them absolutely ridiculous.

I'm assuming of course you don't work for MI6.

That is what references are for surely.

I was unemployed for 3 months after graduating ... one rejection in that time and about 60 none replies. Frustrating is an understatement.

I totally agree with Failingat40

What Hundred describes is appalling practice. I've recruited at all levels and I would never break the confidentiality that applicants quite rightly expect.
Ask for as many references as you want but to gossip about candidates and take as read anything your 'contacts' happen to say to you, is an utter disgrace.

MarthaArthur

I agree Op i am looking for a new job now. Not a min wage type but a proper job. I have a humanities degree and want to work in humanities field but my god the jobs are few and far between and when and if i do get a reply it basically says i am inexperienced for the role but the roles dont do work experience so the only experience you can get is via the job! I was lucky to get 6 months experience in my chosen field and thats not enough they want minimum of 3 years!

While I sympathise with your situation, the first line is quite out of order tbh. A min wage type job is a proper job. Without people on min wage the country would stop for a start. Secondly I can't imagine it being any less soul destroying to be constantly ignored and knocked back for a min wage position, just because it's min wage. Yes, the recruitment stages may not need to be as in detail, but I've had to do statements, pages of questions and ' scenarios' for min wage jobs and it's still soul destroying.

One agency that I applied to did not bother to reply to my application (which for many is standard so not upset about that) but the CF's had the cheek to add me to their mailing list without my permission and emailed me trying to flog tickets at £22 each to a careers fair

Being on the other end is just as frustrating. The hoopla of recruitment. Hundreds of cvs from people who haven't bothered to read to job description properly and aren't remotely suitable. Candidates who haven't bothered to even change the name of the company and what we do in their cover letter.

I do sympathise with you OP. Just saying it's a hideous process on both sides.

A large part of the problem is the whole box-ticking/ complaining/ arse-covering/ be seen to be doing approach.

People on JSA who have to prove they have applied for jobs so as not to be sanctioned - so they apply for anything and everything, Some of the applications may be genuine but many have to be made just for the sake of it. That might explain some of the CVs that sarcasm receives for example.

Companies have to prove that they have advertised widely and given everyone a chance - even if they know that Fred from Accounts who has practically been doing the job for two years is the perfect fit.

Companies have to defend themselves against charges of discrimination - which can come from anywhere at any time so they have to show that the process is fair. It is actually very difficult to prove this but it is certainly easier if the job has been advertised for 4 weeks in a range of media and 300 people were "tested" and 20 were interviewed and the interviewers asked identical questions - and we still picked Fred from Accounts!

Jobs are advertised on Indeed etc and so the whole world can apply - not just someone who bought the local paper on that day. Hence hundreds of applications. Impossible to reply to them all.

And no, I don't have a solution but I very much share the frustration with the system

It is soul destroying! I’ve been out of work since August, bar a P/t min wage job in retail over Christmas. I get put off by the ridiculous recruitment process for many jobs (‘give an example of xxx’ questions on the form, needing to recall exact start/finish dates of jobs from 10+ years ago, then some also ask for your CV as well as a form!) even min wage jobs that will carry zero responsibility, apart perhaps for some cash handling.

I’ve personally found LinkedIn a total waste of time as well. I have quite a specific industry skill set, so while some of my skills are transferable, other industries don’t see it that way (or so it seems, maybe it’s me). I posted on another, similar thread that I wish companies would end the practice of external advertising and going through assessments and interviews when they have no intention of employing anyone external. Years ago I was down to the last four (all external) candidates, I’d scored ‘A’ on all the assessments (interviewer left them in front of me when he momentarily left the room) and had a (I thought) good interview. I didn’t get the job and was told when I answered questions I “didn’t say enough about how the situation left me feeling” - how is that constructive, relevant feedback? That was the only reason they gave btw. I had occasion to use the place I would have been based fairly often, none of the final four from the day (that was the only selection day) were there.

I recently went for another job at a local university, there were three posts; one f/t, two p/t, I went for a p/t role. I had a good interview and in my feedback was told I was ‘very close’ but the people they appointed just edged it. I suspect there were a lot of applications for p/t as the f/t position involved working every Saturday from 1000-1800, which I can’t/don’t want to.

For those who say min wage jobs are ‘proper jobs’, why are they so low paid then? Usually there is no chance of progression or training as most employers stipulate training has to be ‘relevant to your job’, which if you’re an admin assistant nothing ever is (I’ve been there) a guy a worked with wanted to do a computer programming (or similar) degree and was told it wasn’t relevant to his current job, he argued that he didn’t want to stay in that job forever and it would benefit both him (from a promotion perspective) and the organisation (from having skilled staff), told no, paid for it himself and left for a better-paid job as soon as he qualified. Employers don’t give pay rises, instead just raising it by the amount that the government stipulates. These type of jobs also don’t allow you to be financially independent, if you are single with no dependents, you haven’t a hope in hell of getting a mortgage/renting and being able to pay bills.

I have been applying for min wage jobs but as soon as they see my previous roles, responsibilities and salary, it’s a no as (I assume) they think I’ll be off as soon as I get a job in line with those. Unfortunately, they are few and far between where I now live.

A bright spot though! I’ve been provisionally accepted for a career related to my previous roles and should be starting training in the next few months. Good luck OP, I feel for you.

I am also applying and a bit miffed that you just never hear back from a lot of the companies. You pour your heart into each application, and then nothing - it must be like online dating.
What does annoy me though, is when you apply online, there is obviously a back-end website that sorts all the cvs etc, surely there is a 'not-selected' tick box that could be selected and an email sent out to us.