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Original poster

Failure to make shortlist of job with my name on it!!

23 replies

SAHMlikeitHOT · 29/07/2011 16:14

Can anyone advise if/how I can challenge this? Was certain the job was MINE (and I'm very modest) as all my experience etc directly relevant - just can't believe they don't even want to interview me .... what can I do?

OP posts:

didldidi · 29/07/2011 16:16

you could ring and ask I suppose but the chances are they will probably just give you the usual "we had so many applicants blah blah blah". Is all your relevant experience recent?

Original poster

SAHMlikeitHOT · 29/07/2011 23:05

Was thinking may be had to make reference to some form of discrimination eg age????

OP posts:

Original poster

SAHMlikeitHOT · 29/07/2011 23:05

Was thinking may be had to make reference to some form of discrimination eg age????

OP posts:

flowery · 30/07/2011 10:08

Do you have any reason to believe there was some kind if discrimination? Have you asked the employer for feedback?

potplant · 30/07/2011 10:31

What makes you think that they have discriminated against on grounds of your age? Do you have any concrete facts about this?

Asking for feedback is a good idea, it might be that your CV doesn't bring out your skills well enough. You probably wont get much response but its worth asking.

but I don't think you stand much of a chance challenging their decision not to interview, just because you think you're perfect for the job, without coming across as a complete loon tbh.

MovingAndScared · 30/07/2011 10:32

it would be worth ring up and getting but I would say in this enviroment its very competative -and me and some fellow job seekers have applied for loads of jobs which we were quite capable of doing - had all the essentials - and didn't get shortlisted simply because of the number of applicants
Re age - the only thing you can is make sure you DOB isnt on your application, and its not imediataly obvious - although of course anyone who can add can normally make a good guess

SeverusandLilysLoveChild · 30/07/2011 10:35

Email them and ask why

ivykaty44 · 30/07/2011 10:35

telephone and ask for advice on application form as you thought you would have been interviewed and would like to have constructive ideas of where you could improve.

cjbartlett · 30/07/2011 10:37

It is a fact universally acknowledged that most jobs go to people the employer already knows

woodpeckers · 30/07/2011 10:47

I had the same thing happen - there was absolutely no reason I shouldn't even have got as far as any interview, but didn't. Since heard that it was already decided who was having it, they were just going through the motion.

I would say do like I did, hold your head up high, and think if that's how they behave would you want to work for them anyway? Hopefully something better is just around the corner :)

magicmummy1 · 30/07/2011 13:47

Maybe you didn't put the application together properly? There is definitely a technique to this, but so few people seem to realise this. Shortlisting is essentially a box-ticking exercise, and if you don't make it easy for them to tick all the boxes, you won't get shortlisted. Simple!

A lot of people seem to expect employers to read between the lines but the ones who get shortlisted are those who are really explicit about how they meet the criteria set out in the person spec, and don't leave anything to chance. If you're sifting through a couple of hundred applications, you haven't got a lot of time for each one, so the ones who make it really easy are a godsend!

I've probably rejected tons of people who were perfect for the job but if they don't do justice to themselves on the application, they won't get invited to interview.

Thumbwitch · 30/07/2011 14:22

agree with cjbartlett. Chances are they already had someone in mind for the job but had to be seen to go through the motions of doing it the proper way.

Hope you have better luck next time. :)

motherinferior · 30/07/2011 14:29

I agree more with magicmummy1. I spell out exactly why and how I meet each criterion, with examples from my past experience.

zipzap · 30/07/2011 15:21

Maybe they decided they would do 10 interviews, went through the 1st 100 or so applicants and discovered they alreadyhad 30 applicants that would be great for the post so they shortlisted the best 10 of those and didn't even bother to open the other 900 applications regardless of whether or not theremightbe othe fab candidates.

It is worth ringing them to ask why you didn't get shortlisted. I know someone who thought they were perfect for a job but didn't get an interview. Scenario above had happened but as he had taken the initiative they added him onto the list as he talked well and convinced them. He ended up getting the job!

What's the worst that could happen? Somebody you don't know will think you are a bit forward for asking them a question when they are busy. Best case you get an interview and then the job. In the middle you get some feedback about why others were even more perfect for the job and how youcould improve your own application for next time.

magicmummy1 · 30/07/2011 16:11

CJ and thumbwitch, I am involved in recruitment and often have someone in mind for the role, but it's never a done deal and if someone better comes along, they get the job - I can think of several situations in which I have chosen an unknown candidate over and above someone who I'd previously had in mind for the job.

It happened to me, too - after starting my current job, I discovered that everyone - including the interview panel - had assumed it would go to an internal candidate who had been acting up in the role for a year already. However, I did much better at interview and they didn't feel that they could justify giving it to her over me so they didn't. Bad luck for her because she had assumed she had it in the bag, but evidence, at least, of an open-minded recruitment policy.

I often encourage internal applicants to apply for vacancies for which I think they'd be suitable, but if I'd already made up my mind, I wouldn't waste time and money on going through the motions of an external recruitment exercise - it isn't required by law so what would be the point?

Thumbwitch · 30/07/2011 23:19

When I worked in the NHS, it was required to go through the motions, even if there was an internal candidate expected to get the role. My lab boss even told us that they had to do it, even though they were going to give the job to someone internally. So that's just my experience - it's probably different out in the commercial world, I have no experience of that - but I've seen it happen.

TheFarSide · 30/07/2011 23:32

I've applied for several jobs recently for which I'm sure I would have got an interview 15 years ago - all the criteria ticked, and I know how to fill out application forms. I have wondered about ageism, but I have a friend of a similar age (in a different sector) who has had several interviews. I do actually believe there are a lot of people in the job market at the moment and employers have so many applicants to choose from they can go for perfect matches - people who not only match the criteria, but who also were doing a very similar job in a very similar company. I would ask for feedback but I don't think you'd get very far accusing them of ageism.

Original poster

SAHMlikeitHOT · 31/07/2011 19:30

Thanks to all for these replies - I appreciate I may come across like a complete loon !

OP posts:

flowery · 31/07/2011 19:54

Any chance of an answer to the questions SAHM? Do you have reason to believe there was some kind of discrimination?

Original poster

SAHMlikeitHOT · 02/08/2011 17:04

Well, I am old!!! (And super-qualified with lots of experience)

OP posts:

flowery · 02/08/2011 21:35

Well that's not an awful lot to base a claim on...

Have you asked for feedback yet?

acatcalledfelix · 02/08/2011 21:44

I'm in the NHS too, and here if someone meets everything in the job spec in their application form then we have to interview them. You omit something from the "essential" criteria list (even by mistake) then you won't get looked at.
They also usually specify that if they've got an "adequate" number of applications then they'll close before the deadline.
So, here, it's pretty easy to find out why you haven't been shortlisted for an interview.

northerngirl41 · 04/08/2011 16:12

Well for my old boss any application/CV with a spelling mistake in it got automatically discarded. Get someone to check your application/CV for typos.

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