to think that people have no idea how to apply for jobs?!

[myteenytinyteapot]

Just that really. Hiring for a senior admin person at the moment and have had hundreds of applications but honestly only about four shortlistable ones. I have had:

• CVs which include full-length glamour model style photographs of applicants
• CVs without cover letters when the advert clearly asks for a cover letter
• CVs and cover letters riddled with spelling and grammatical errors
• CVs which are 20 pages long and go into loads of detail about the hobbies and interests of the applicant. Also hardly anyone uses page numbers!
• Cover letters which are obviously just generic copied and pasted mass send out jobs - "I am writing to apply for the position advertised". Couldn't even be arsed to put in the job title!
• People applying who don't have any of the essential requirements listed

AIBU that I'm not surprised people can't get jobs if this is the general standard considered acceptable?!

I'm quite happy to consider candidates with career gaps. Just make sure you've explained the gap on your cv.

I don't really deal with resourcing, but my favourites are the ones when people send the wrong document instead of their CV

To be honest, it might not even burn your chances entirely, depends.

I read an application once which in used the phrase" I am death". Wtf?

Yeah, I think if the job title is "Admin" then you get a lot of those.

We were hiring an admin person, 90 applied, 12 invited to interview, 3 turned up, none of them were right for the role. Going to go back out to advert with a different job title this time.

The most dishearteningnthing is putting your heart and soul into an application, getting shortlisted, interviewed and then rejectd. this has happened to me four time recently. I can only conclude that my work experience and cover letters are fabulous but interview technique awful - I very rarely feel as though I have done myself justice because I get so nervous - but I wish so much weight wasn't given to the inteview and not the decades of the work experience before it. Also I am middle aged and fat . It's so much harder now.

Normally at interview you have to bring ID so doubt that people are paying others to go for the interview.

Since there is bunch of recruiters here, can I ask why so many ads do not specify the wage offered? Even if it were xx-xx range? I see it as dodgy and generally never bothered to apply because if someone hid the wage than I assume it's because it's laughably low.
Like a 2:1 minimum with 3 years experience in similar position and 2 languages -17500.🤷

TakemedowntoPotatoCity

Honestly don't be too down if you are rejected at interview stage. You never know what is going on behind the scenes. When I used to work in Higher Education the rule was we had to advertise externally even if there was an internal person who was basically a shoe in for the rule. The advertising and interview process was basically a formality because unless it threw up a phenomenally brilliant candidate then the internal person was pretty much guaranteed to get the job. Such a waste of time for everyone involved.

Im a work coach in a jobcenter in a different country. I have only public sector workers on my caseload.
By far the most annoying thing is male social educators. They have a penis so daycare institutions are falling over themselves to hire them despite:

• no photo on cv (80% of employers want that here)
• link to his facebook profile
• spelling mistakes/typos throughout
• hadnt even written the correct name of the university
• no information about uni placements

Meanwhile Ive got plenty of wonderful conscientious good women who are unemployed for months.

For those of you looking for tips heres mine. When you think you have tailored your cv and cover letter print them off along with the job description. Underline each criteria in a different colour. Then read your cv and underline in the corresponding colour. If youve got the whole rainbow then youve tailored it well.

Since there is bunch of recruiters here, can I ask why so many ads do not specify the wage offered?

To see if they can get away with paying a shitty wage.

We always advertise our salaries.

I've seen lots of wholly inappropriate references, including mums, friends, and one person who just gave herself as all three references.

Also, for a relatively senior position:
"What draws you to our company?"
"I've heard the sick pay is very good."

@myteenytinyteapot I thought so.

Also. Who do people who used to run their own business put as reference?😂
This just reminded me of that question and one person who just gave herself as all three references.

My favourite e-mail address was [email protected]

I suspect those that are spending ages on thier applications (I am one of you - last one took me 8 hours at least) are probably applying for super popular jobs. There are 2 types - those that you get over 150 applications for and you can discard people for the most minor of details and those that your lucky to get a handful of people and only a couple of ones worth seeing.

TakemedowntoPotatoCity

could simply be bad luck and another candidate was just ever so slightly better, got on better with the recruiter and so on. It really doesn't take much.

practice with a friend and/or ask agency for feedback.

I have been on both sides of the table as it were.

When I was made redundant, my approach was simple in getting a new job.

Take the time, effort to do what the job advert states, tweak CV to match the job description, tweak the covering letter and apply for any job that I reckoned I could do.

If I did not get the job, so be it, onto the next interview. It is a numbers game.

Job I have now, is not related to what I was trained to do but used the many interviews to gain interview practice.

Works both ways in my eyes. When I got my present job, I was offered the job at the end of the interview. Result in my eyes.

Then again, the job I do, youngsters don’t seem to want to do it as it is too difficult 😳

Spend most of my time drinking tea and problem solving 😎😎😎😎

@myteenytinyteapot

the advert said please send your application to Ms Jane Jones at [email protected], I'd have expected the applicant to address it to Ms Jane Jones.

Out of interest, what would you think of someone who started the letter “Dear Jane” rather than “Dear Ms Jones”?

I ask because in my line of work it’s considered perfectly polite to use someone’s first name if you have it, even if you are writing to them for the first time and have never met them. However for some people it’s the height of rudeness. Just curious.

can I ask why so many ads do not specify the wage offered?

because wages are confidential in some companies
because there's a fairly big range depending on the candidate who joins in
because some companies prefer to go for a low starting salary and increase it when probation is completed, good way to motivate people.

What do you put in your covering letter if the person spec/JD is 8 pages long - do you still try to address every point?

How on earth are people spending 5+ hours on a single application?!

Anybody writing to me with "Dear Sirs" gets their letter or email binned.

Although my favourite answer to this question was when my co-interviewer asked ‘So what don’t you excel at?’ and the candidate replied ‘Sport’ grin

I said that in my last interview. Got the job too 😂

because some companies prefer to go for a low starting salary and increase it when probation is completed, good way to motivate people. good way to put off good candidates 🤣

I had a job interview yesterday and was told by the interviewers that my CV was very well laid out and they liked it a lot. I was amazed! Made me really happy.

I've proof read my friends CVs though and some of them are woeful. Still, it makes it easier to weed out those that aren't suitable!

I put a lot of effort into my job applications. As everyone should!

StripeySocks29
well, it works. It doesn't mean the starting salary is low, just that it gets higher after probation.

Some companies want motivated candidates, and are very good at rewarding those who are.

Some companies are shit.

It's true that some MN posters think of work as a war between "them" and "us", but in the real world things are not that bad.

I am finding this thread very depressing since due to a combination of people leaving and a team expansion I need to recruit 7 new people in the next two months...not sure I’ve got it in me!

I very rarely get offered interviews based on my applications, and I'm not sure why.
Are you over 40?
I got an interview for every job I applied for under 32. Over 40...sometimes got an interview, NEVER got the job (and thats with way more experience, professional confidence and knowledge of my field.)
Apparently when you turn 40 you are no longer relevant. Who knew?