Getting a Job !!!!!!!!!!

[Jeff]

WTF is it with companies these days ... I go into shops etc and try to hand in a Resume and they tell me they dont accept them ! You have to "Apply Online" What ever happened to meeting and talking to people ?
Seems to me that a lot of companies are missing out ..... you can have some smart arse send in a Resume and Word it up and bullsh!t and they will get a look in ,,, yet the guy that would probably be better for the job ,, who doesnt bullsh!t wont even get a look in !!
I go to a Hardware shop and ask for something ,, yet the guy has NO Idea ,, how the f$%^k did he get the job ? And yet I applied for the same job 3 months earlier and know what I am talking about , yet got rejected ! Load of sh!t if ya ask me !
This Online application thing stinks IMO ! At least if they talked to me they would get an idea that I can do the job , instead they hire some pimply teenager with a surly look on his face all day and NO people skills , who doesnt want to be there ! No wonder service in Australia has gone down the drain !

Yeah ,, I am getting sick of trying to look for work ! Between the Internet email thing and Immigrants taking our jobs by working for $5 an hour,, I am over it !
Might go back to being a Drug Lord ,, at least the pay was good
Bitch over , please resume normal viewing

[Eberbachl]

Sorry to hear it Jeff - I feel for you.

My guess is that the pimply teenager is cheaper to hire than you are.

It's sad...I can remember when you could get good advice from the guys at the local hardware store!

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Eberbachl

Sorry to hear it Jeff - I feel for you.

My guess is that the pimply teenager is cheaper to hire than you are.

It's sad...I can remember when you could get good advice from the guys at the local hardware store!

Thanx Luke , and yes it is probably because they are cheaper to hire ,, but that wont do the business any good when the customer cant get what they want due to inept service by the teenager and then the customer leaves the store and spends NOTHING !
The Hardware job was just an example .
I went for a Job in a Camping World store not long ago ,, it involved selling Archery Equipment and fishing equipment ,, these two sports are my passion ,, yet they hired someone who knew nothing about both of them .
So , me being me went in and asked for stuff that this person knew nothing about . Hell , he didnt even know how to measure Draw Length or what arrow spine I should be using ,, actually , he didnt know what a Spine was or Draw length
I explained to the owner what it was all about and didnt even get a thankyou .
So , phark 'em all !

[shannonhearse]

Sorry to say this Jeff, but you need to keep up with the times.

Being able to apply online is one of the selection criteria now days. It’s not hard; in fact it allows you to be able to apply for many jobs in one day from the comfort of your own living room. It also enables them to easily evaluate many candidates on paper and only interview / spend time on the ones (and often few) that fit the selection criteria.

It’s kind of like getting angry because they require you to have a car, but you prefer horse and cart.

Don’t get me wrong, I completely agree with you about the quality of service now days, but that is perhaps another issue.

[Jeff]

Keeping up with the times is not an issue with me ,, what is an issue is , the incompetent idiots that get hired to do a job they know nothing about through an emailed Resume
I think next time I will lie my arse off and tell the employer that I know everything !
Geez , my brother got a job at the Hardware store ,, and his skills are that he was a 3rd year apprentice BAKER ! Maybe it would be better if I said I know nothing about the job !
Stuffed if I know,, it is so hard now

[Clare Barnes]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Keeping up with the times is not an issue with me ,, what is an issue is , the incompetent idiots that get hired to do a job they know nothing about through an emailed Resume
I think next time I will lie my arse off and tell the employer that I know everything !
Geez , my brother got a job at the Hardware store ,, and his skills are that he was a 3rd year apprentice BAKER ! Maybe it would be better if I said I know nothing about the job !
Stuffed if I know,, it is so hard now

There's an art to writing a successful resume/job application, even on email. You have to really sell yourself which doesn't come naturally to many people. The Australian Resume Guide by Paul Stevens is a good starting place.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Clare Barnes

There's an art to writing a successful resume/job application, even on email. You have to really sell yourself which doesn't come naturally to many people. The Australian Resume Guide by Paul Stevens is a good starting place.

You say you have to SELL yourself ,, that equates to LYING to me and you know I dont do that . No wonder it " doesn't come naturally to many people"
I will check your reference though , thankyou Clare .

[shannonhearse]

Originally Posted by Jeff

You say you have to SELL yourself ,, that equates to LYING to me and you know I dont do that . No wonder it " doesn't come naturally to many people"
I will check your reference though , thankyou Clare .

It’s not about that Jeff.

The job will have a series of selection criteria.
You need to address each of the criteria and why you meet them (hopefully with actual examples of past jobs).

Then, once you meet the selection criteria, you will have a much better chance of getting your foot in the door.

[Scott P]

I can see that some jobs would be in the the sort of environment that PC skills would be a must - for these, it would make sense to have at least the inital applications done online, if only just to gauge the candidate's ability to complete the process and communicate effectively in an electronic environment.

floor staff for Camping World doesn't exactly fit that definition, though....

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by shannonhearse

It’s not about that Jeff.

The job will have a series of selection criteria.
You need to address each of the criteria and why you meet them (hopefully with actual examples of past jobs).

Then, once you meet the selection criteria, you will have a much better chance of getting your foot in the door.

You say

(hopefully with actual examples of past jobs).

There are people that have those "past jobs" and still cant do them properly .
Just because one has not DONE that past job , doesnt mean he cant do it ,, and maybe better than the one that had the past experience .
The whole Internet thing is so impersonal ,, thats my point .

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by caspian

floor staff for Camping World doesn't exactly fit that definition, though....

No it doesnt ,, and to think I have handed over so much advice to this store and helped them in the past , silly me !

[shannonhearse]

Originally Posted by Jeff

You say There are people that have those "past jobs" and still cant do them properly .
Just because one has not DONE that past job , doesnt mean he cant do it ,, and maybe better than the one that had the past experience .
The whole Internet thing is so impersonal ,, thats my point .

I agree with you.

And your right, it is impersonal, but you need to get past that and make an impression on paper.

[Clare Barnes]

You need to grab their attention/approval with your covering letter. I know many CVs are not even looked at if the covering letter has spelling/grammar errors or simply doesn't encourage the reader to open the attachment/read the next bit.

I have a friend who works in HR at a hospital ... they really do discard/fail to pursue applicants simply on the covering letter. I have no idea of the criterion in other fields though....

Yes, it's a blatent plug for grammar and spelling but the theory is if a prospective employee can't be bothered checking that, it may be that they are likely to not be thorough with their job either.

[Jeff]

Hey Clare ,,,, I made sure my grammar and spelling was correct .

[Brocky]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Bitch over , please resume normal viewing

I thought you where going to state "Bitch over, now back to preparing my CV for internet applications.

[BowFreak]

The thing about applying online is sometimes they never even bother to acknowledge you sent in a resume or filled out an application...
Bill

[markjam51]

Originally Posted by Clare Barnes

You need to grab their attention/approval with your covering letter. I know many CVs are not even looked at if the covering letter has spelling/grammar errors or simply doesn't encourage the reader to open the attachment/read the next bit.

I have a friend who works in HR at a hospital ... they really do discard/fail to pursue applicants simply on the covering letter. I have no idea of the criterion in other fields though....

Yes, it's a blatent plug for grammar and spelling but the theory is if a prospective employee can't be bothered checking that, it may be that they are likely to not be thorough with their job either.

So true - that how our firm does it.

I had to try to hire a newly admitted solicitor last year. You would think that after getting the HSC and doing a law degree that all graduates could at least speak and write in the English language - but you would be very, very wrong. We were not looking for the writing skills of Shakespeare or a Keneally - just someone who could write plain English, spell it correctly and get some fairly basic concepts across in a very limited area of law. Someone who knew the difference between "stationery" and "stationary" and "principal" and "principle" and that a licence is not spelt "license" and that "to many mistakes" is spelt "too many mistakes". I could go on forever.

I only interviewed one person out of 40 applicants - it was clear on the covering letters that I would condemn myself to be a grammar and typing nazi for the rest of my legal career if I hired them. The one I hired wrote a very short and succinct covering letter - a dot point resume and it was all easily understood - quick to read (very important) - and "no typos". She is not too bad - but I doubt if she would have been hired back at the time when I started in the business. I still spend more time asking "I don't understand what are you trying to say here" than saying "what you are saying here is right or wrong".

[Scott P]

Originally Posted by Clare Barnes

You need to grab their attention/approval with your covering letter. I know many CVs are not even looked at if the covering letter has spelling/grammar errors or simply doesn't encourage the reader to open the attachment/read the next bit.

unfortunately true. I saw a 3-up manager at work reject outright an application for a highly regarded candidate for a senior operations manager position because she didn't like the cover letter. didn't even look at the resume itself.

I don't think this was a good business decision, but the applicant didn't even get a look in at an interview.

I must write a pretty fair sort of application as I got the job I applied for a few months ago!

[Progen]

Maybe the pimply teenager has pretty girlfriends dropping by every now and then. Eyecandy always helps.

[frommy]

Originally Posted by markjam51

I had to try to hire a newly admitted solicitor last year. You would think that after getting the HSC and doing a law degree that all graduates could at least speak and write in the English language - but you would be very, very wrong. We were not looking for the writing skills of Shakespeare or a Keneally - just someone who could write plain English, spell it correctly and get some fairly basic concepts across in a very limited area of law. Someone who knew the difference between "stationery" and "stationary" and "principal" and "principle" and that a licence is not spelt "license" and that "to many mistakes" is spelt "too many mistakes". I could go on forever.

If I were to be placed in the same position I would probably have also reacted similarly, Mark. However, considering that the vast majority of correspondence that we do is dictated, and that most of us have little time to proof read the work of others ..................

I inherited a file once which had a classic error in it. Where a critical letter would normally have been dictated along the lines of "The worker has suffered extreme pain, suffering and anxiety ........" the letter was typed "The writer has ........."