Smiley face on a job application.

[RunBackwards]

Please, just don't

Probably don't mention twice how good your "banter" is either, it distracts from the fact that actually, your experience could be just what we need.

@Butterer

We used to make sure we tried to get candidates to pop in pre-interview. We had a wardrobe full of business attire for anyone who had thought jeans/casual was appropriate, whatever level they were going for.

How did that work on a day to day basis when they got the job - did the strict dress code requirement continue - how could they afford to buy enough clothes to work? We are very much a tie in the top drawer for emergencies outfit - some clients still insist that someone can't have an reasonably intelligent opinion unless they are wearing a tie - they seems less bothered about the women though - thankfully it's an increasingly outdated attitude.

@iklboogeymum

Well no - excelling in horse-riding wouldn't really apply much to our industry. But no need to be bitter I am clearly in the wrong - so you'll have loads of offers from elsewhere.

Aw, surely having a jousting final round for the interview process would be a lot of fun 😄.

I thought Kleanex didn't say they never want to hear / talk about interests ever. Just that candidates don't need to put it on a CV for an interview as it won't be taken into consideration for the shortlisting - but will be happy to discuss it if it cropped up during the interview?

She originally said it was outdated to put hobbies on your CV. It's really not.

Her sneering at this implies she turns people down or at least judges them harshly because they list hobbies on their CV, which is really weird. At the very least it shows that she is more interested in whether people are up to date with her view of what is current CV fashion than their actual skills.

She originally said it was outdated to put hobbies on your CV. It's really not.

Her sneering at this implies she turns people down or at least judges them harshly because they list hobbies on their CV, which is really weird. At the very least it shows that she is more interested in whether people are up to date with her view of what is current CV fashion than their actual skills.

In the latest round I think they all included their hobbies - It made no difference to my decision to interview on not - it was a waste of space on their CVs. It’s a controversial area apparently - some think it very important others do not - you have become very personally invested in what is a decision that people make freely - to add a price of information or not to add why so angry? I want to know kore about skills and experience on a CV - it’s not a crime - is it? Did I miss a new price of legislation?

Simplify the application process. A cover letter, CV and interview used to be enough, why is it not good enough now? There's no need for an online form asking me to write an essay on my experience when you can easily see that from my CV. It takes days just to fill in these forms, on top of my existing full time job, only to get a generic "thanks but no thanks" response.

Lots of larger companies use an online recruitment tool. So you have to fill in an application form so the people sifting cannot see personal details about you. I did both and had a login for admin and a login for sifting. In admin I could see details such as a candidate asking for reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process that the people shortlisting could not to try and prevent bias. Also some applicants are way off in what they think should go on a CV, like date of birth. That can open a company to claims of discrimination, an online tool can help stop that.

So if you are interviewing for a job would you not be interested in my CV that my hobby is horseriding and that I previously won a silver medal in the Olympics. Does that not show I have tenacity, am hard working, don't mind unsocial hours and have drive, and commitment. I think interviewing is a skill that many of the interviewers on here are devoid of. 🙄

To be fair that would not be a 'hobby' in my eyes. I'd expect that information to be in your personal statement and referenced on your CV in work history.

@SinkGirl

My favourite interview experience was the woman who, when asked what her weakness was, said “shoes”.

I actually thought it was quite brilliant but I was overruled 😬

I would want to hire her on the spot

@VanGoghsDog

Yeah, I don't want to work where *@kleanex* works!

Me neither

Iam a Board member for a quite large UK organisation. We struggle with diversity on the Board and actively look at this. Certain areas are harder to fill than others. We dont use recruitment agents/headhunters - which you are quite clearly. I have been horrified by your posts on this thread. You are the sort of person who 30 years ago would have thought nothing about asking women what their plans were for a family. But your stereotypical posts regarding disability are just ignorant. You sound very out of date and not in tune with what organisations need. You are the type of "recruitment" agent I have had dealings with numerous times where you are veto-ing without the organisation having any idea

It’s very difficult to get true diversity. We have had to chase our recruitment approach and avoid the recruitment process being driven entirely be people with the @kleanex mindset

Part of hiring a diverse and capable workforce means being open minded about what form your skills evidence takes. Hobbies and extra curricular activities can demonstrate many relevant strengths if you're clever about it and willing to look. That could help build a team that originate beyond the narrow career routes that you've always hired from before. Think how that could enhance your organisation.

When I'm the hiring manager, I'm not particularly fussed about whether someone does or doesn't have hobbies on their CV.

Sometimes it can be quite generic and tells me little about the candidate if they say for example, "reading, going to the cinema and seeing friends", I wouldn't view their CV in a negative light, i would see that as pretty standard interests and think neutrally about it.

If someone said that they were completing a course in something completely unrelated to the field we work in, I'd be interested to know more about their motivations for that and depending on the course it could be an advantage.

CV's can be quite hard for some people. Interviews can be a horrible experience for candidates. And I don't care about eye contact and at the minute, I don't care about what they are wearing, as long as it isn't their pyjamas. I care about whether they can demonstrate an ability to do the job and whether they can have a true understanding of our industry.

When an interviewer asks “in your last job, if you could go back and do something differently what would it be?”

Is it ever ok to answer “when I go back in time I try not to change anything in case it messes with the space-time continuum, butterfly effect and all that”

In the latest round I think they all included their hobbies - It made no difference to my decision to interview on not - it was a waste of space on their CVs

You can miss good candidates this way. We've been known to shortlist people in part because their hobbies suggested skills and attributes that were of interest to us, e.g. bellringing (shows application, tenacity, concentration etc), volunteering in a local museum, etc.

One company that I was in used an online recruitment tool. We struggled with that because it placed a lot of emphasis on things like degree class, whereas for our particular department what we needed was experience in related work, which wasn't really catered for.

RE. Butterer: "My dad studied architecture at university, then changed to civil engineering after the first year - so into design/structure etc. My nan was an ardent knitter, and had a machine as well as hand knitting and crocheting, and she taught him both when he was younger."

Sounds very close to the family members I'm thinking about. Mum is the knitter, Dad's the abstract professor, but a great designer. He's made machines for pattern from MDF and meccano before, if there isn't one already that would do the job. Their best friends are artists in metal and textiles, now in their 70s, and jet engineers. The collaborations are off the wall, and I envy them that little circle.

If I take the time to give detailed feedback that was trying to be helpful please don't call me telling me I am wrong and demanding I reconsider my opinion.

Especially when the feedback was that you had come across as defensive and a bit inflexible.

This was to an MBA grad.

Don’t arrive for a corporate PA role interview 5 minutes late, carrying bags of shopping, wearing crocs with crusty feet visible and smelling strongly of dog.

Don't apply for an instrumental teaching job where the requirements are that you have a music degree or instrumental diploma but you have Grade 5 piano & singing and a Level 3 btec in drama

If you ask for feedback because you are not offered an interview and you are told that you do not meet the essential requirements/qualifications don't ask what you need to do in order to meet the requirements when the answer is obvious - Do a music degree preferably using the instrument you are aiming to teach or get to Grade 8 and do a professional or teaching diploma in your instrument.

@LittleOverwhelmed to be fair maybe he lived in a house share and his bedroom is the only room he can work from with some privacy, not neccessarily the case, but you'd hope at the moment in less than ideal circumstances in relation to doing interviews virtually when not everyone has a nice desk space, the content of the interview is more important.

Don't apply for a job as a dance teacher and state that you have a particular qualification from a well known performing arts college when the interviewer's husband/colleague taught you at that college and knows that you only completed the first year of study and didn't do the full qualification. (and were a nightmare to teach).

Also don't slag off the previous dance college you went to on the internet under your real name as your interviewer probably know the people who run that course too.

[quote Daisymaze]@LittleOverwhelmed to be fair maybe he lived in a house share and his bedroom is the only room he can work from with some privacy, not neccessarily the case, but you'd hope at the moment in less than ideal circumstances in relation to doing interviews virtually when not everyone has a nice desk space, the content of the interview is more important.[/quote]
My daughter has done interviews/workshops sitting on her bed in order to get privacy but she made sure to be appropriately dressed and hair tidy etc.

@MarkRuffaloCrumble

When an interviewer asks “in your last job, if you could go back and do something differently what would it be?”

Is it ever ok to answer “when I go back in time I try not to change anything in case it messes with the space-time continuum, butterfly effect and all that”

Yes - if you're Doc Brown from Back to the Future!

Personally I'd be more interested in the content of the interview rather than if they'd brushed their hair personally, and to then come onto a messageboard and have a lol about it. Each to their own.

@Daisymaze

Personally I'd be more interested in the content of the interview rather than if they'd brushed their hair personally, and to then come onto a messageboard and have a lol about it. Each to their own.

Quite. Our PM can't be bothered to brush his hair before he addresses the nation and yet vast swathes of the nation still felt the Tories were electable with him as the leader. Can't blame the chap for believing that he might be successful with an unkempt appearance

@MarkRuffaloCrumble

When an interviewer asks “in your last job, if you could go back and do something differently what would it be?”

Is it ever ok to answer “when I go back in time I try not to change anything in case it messes with the space-time continuum, butterfly effect and all that”

I'd hire you. It would be good to know of we accidentally invent a time machine, you won't screw it up.