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

It's so difficult to get through the application process for permanent jobs, have you considered temping for bit? I've found that is a good route into a company and both you and the employer have an opportunity to see if it's a good fit for you (culture, workload, etc) - Im my experience temping Work is much easier to get (although not recent experience as been in my current role for 8 years- 8 months of which as a temp initially to cover some sick leave) - I was asked to join as permanent staff.

The "why do people big up / exaggerate what they've done" thing annoys me. Because the list of requirements for a entry level job on a paltry wage are increasingly ridiculous! 'We're going to want you to work 45 hours a week for 19k, but you need to have 5 years of experience, have led your own team, and be able to covert coal into diamonds by shoving them up your arse.'

^*To Hundredmiles and others who use social media as a filter for recruiting purposes, you're putting your employer at massive risk under GDPR. You only need to have one escalation from a candidate who decides to take their case further with the ICO and your company would be subjected to an intense audit of your recruitment practices with eye-watering fines.

Using the excuse that it's "only a discrete search" into their online presence that influences recruitment decisions based on their Project Management role in 2006 not matching their CV won't cut the mustard with the ICO. It's a data breach pure and simple.*^

Totally agree.

It's one thing to peruse someone's online presence; Facebook, LinkedIn etc and make a decision based on what you see but it's entirely another when you start contacting mutual connections and asking about that person.
Way, way out of line and a total breach of confidentiality.

You are also at risk of mucking up the candidates current career by basically tipping off his/her colleagues to their job search.

I have LinkedIn but keep my contacts private, visible to myself only.

Always take advice from a solicitor in cases of doubt. In relaton to pubilc linkedin profile most candidates would expect those to be checked and anything else professional they have chosen to put out there eg i have some work videos and publications (and university lecturers will expect their research papers etc to be looked at that those kind of work things if not their naked weekend frolics at their local wife swapping club) I would imagine people look at before deciding whether to use my services and that kind of thing.

If any of you people wanting to get back into work following children and are excellent at reception, admin and customer service and live in Cambridgeshire...I would LOVE to talk to you.

I'm a recruiter in a very much male dominated industry and work internally recruiting for our sites. When I put out an advert for a driver for example, I get around 70 CV's in the space of a day or two - the amount of people looking for work is staggering, as is the amount of people who apply to positions they have no experience in! I always email every suitable candidate inviting them to get back in touch to discuss further and anyone who isn't suitable gets an auto email.

Best advice I can give is never to trust recruitment agencies - especially the big high street ones. They take kids from Uni, target them into oblivion and none of these young adults have any knowledge of the sector they are working within. Its the company they are working for not the candidate which is why so many are dropped at the drop of a hat.