Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The only skills most hiring managers and others in HR have are their outgoing, brown nosing, and critical personality, so no real skills, which is why they went into this field. They behave like a lot of teenage girls: cliquish, conceited (some of them via the thank you note), snobby, and superficial. The general vibe is something like this (warning extremely cheesy and might get stuck in your head):
They have one huge responsibility and they cannot even do it...80% of people hate their job and 70% of people aren't engaged in their work. I think it is time to re-think the entire process...instead of ridiculous requirements and or making it a dog and pony show composed of stupid questions to find the one you "like". If it wasn't a popularity contest maybe more people would like their jobs and be engaged in their work.
The OP mentioned learning skills in school isn't the same as work experience....what is the deal with the personality tests? How long have you been a personality psychologist, because if the only experience you have is a weekend course at the Holiday Inn you are a hypocrite. How about asking questions...have you been a professional interrogator, if so, which branch of the military, government agency, and or police department did you get your experience (it is redundant...it is obvious based on some of the stupid questions they ask)?
The Cynical View on Interviews...based on the stats above.
1. The only reason to be nervous is because they more than likely have no clue what they are doing (remember the stats above) and will pass you up because they liked the person with no spine and a constant smile, so don't show a strong will or tough mindedness. As metaphorical slave buyers they need obedient workers for their metaphorical plantation (human resources i.e. treating humans as resources...). They will not hire people that can stand up for themselves regardless of the skills and or passion for the work they would bring to the workplace.
2. Take your enthusiasm and energy to the next level. This is more important than any other thing. My suggestion is intake a lot of stimulants beforehand so you are very perky and energetic for the dog and pony show. Smiles and making them feel warm and fuzzy i.e. likability>skills or passion to learn/do the work. It isn't what you can do, but how likable you are. You have to be besties forever material.
3. Don't be afraid to be pretentious. You have to make a mountain out of a mole hill, but don't over do it and remember to continue to smile regardless of how stupid and or creepy you look. Serious/willful people make them sad. Submissive people make them happy, especially if they are smiling.
4. Apparently going to school is a waste of time because they just want experience, so get a fake resume with fake references. Make sure you read up on the industry and position so you don't blow your charade.
5. Some times the interview is bull**** because they are going to fall back on nepotism or an internal candidate after wasting a lot of your time (an usually not notifying you, but they deserve a thank you note...), so pretend to be the friend of a family member or of a current or former co-worker. Just say you partied with whomever so the lack of not remembering you can be explained by drugs and or alcohol impairing their memory.
In general don't stop smiling and make them feel like the special snowflake that they are. It doesn't matter what you say, but how you say it and you make it clear that you are submissive and passive.
This is the first sound advice I've seen on this topic and it's taken me over an hour to find it! (Page 14) If I were a hiring manager I would definitely hire you. I'm currently seeking employment and have been through hell trying to get a career started! I was a stay at home mom who co-owned a business with my husband for 15 years, home schooled my son and ran a household. I should qualify for CEO but I don't have a degree even though I did manage to keep up my skills as co-owner of a music event company and even worked part time when the economy took a downturn! I can totally relate to the 'jumping through hoops' and having the 'perfect resume/perfect interview' for a company that refuses to pay a living wage! (Not to mention personality tests, drug tests, background and credit checks!) All I can say is to stay positive and it will happen. I've never given up hope that I will eventually find a human being in 'human resources!' I was out of the corporate workforce for a very long time and given a chance by an employer who underpaid me and lied about the hours and yet I never felt ungrateful for the opportunity to get back into the workforce. They let me go because of the 'points system'...never get sick or REALLY sick because they will have no mercy and never have your car break down or get stuck in a blizzard because you'll get points for that too! I got another job that I was feeling very good about (it took me 9 months to get it) and it paid just a tad better than the previous one and they had so many rules it would take several pages to list them (mostly relating to acceptable clothing styles/shoes/tattoos etc.) and of course the 'points system'....I was early for work and the last to leave and only missed one day in 4 months and laid off because they were 'going in a different direction'! I have no idea what happened there and I never will find out. All I can say is THIS TIME I'm being careful about not only researching a corporation's website but also looking for comments and ratings from previous employees...the internet is a wonderful thing...Good luck to all of you and remember to stay positive and keep smiling! The best thing about hitting bottom is that you can only go in one direction after that...UP!
The only skills most hiring managers and others in HR have are their outgoing, brown nosing, and critical personality, so no real skills, which is why they went into this field. They behave like a lot of teenage girls: cliquish, conceited (some of them via the thank you note), snobby, and superficial. The general vibe is something like this (warning extremely cheesy and might get stuck in your head):
They have one huge responsibility and they cannot even do it...80% of people hate their job and 70% of people aren't engaged in their work. I think it is time to re-think the entire process...instead of ridiculous requirements and or making it a dog and pony show composed of stupid questions to find the one you "like". If it wasn't a popularity contest maybe more people would like their jobs and be engaged in their work.
The OP mentioned learning skills in school isn't the same as work experience....what is the deal with the personality tests? How long have you been a personality psychologist, because if the only experience you have is a weekend course at the Holiday Inn you are a hypocrite. How about asking questions...have you been a professional interrogator, if so, which branch of the military, government agency, and or police department did you get your experience (it is redundant...it is obvious based on some of the stupid questions they ask)?
The Cynical View on Interviews...based on the stats above.
1. The only reason to be nervous is because they more than likely have no clue what they are doing (remember the stats above) and will pass you up because they liked the person with no spine and a constant smile, so don't show a strong will or tough mindedness. As metaphorical slave buyers they need obedient workers for their metaphorical plantation (human resources i.e. treating humans as resources...). They will not hire people that can stand up for themselves regardless of the skills and or passion for the work they would bring to the workplace.
2. Take your enthusiasm and energy to the next level. This is more important than any other thing. My suggestion is intake a lot of stimulants beforehand so you are very perky and energetic for the dog and pony show. Smiles and making them feel warm and fuzzy i.e. likability>skills or passion to learn/do the work. It isn't what you can do, but how likable you are. You have to be besties forever material.
3. Don't be afraid to be pretentious. You have to make a mountain out of a mole hill, but don't over do it and remember to continue to smile regardless of how stupid and or creepy you look. Serious/willful people make them sad. Submissive people make them happy, especially if they are smiling.
4. Apparently going to school is a waste of time because they just want experience, so get a fake resume with fake references. Make sure you read up on the industry and position so you don't blow your charade.
5. Some times the interview is bull**** because they are going to fall back on nepotism or an internal candidate after wasting a lot of your time (an usually not notifying you, but they deserve a thank you note...), so pretend to be the friend of a family member or of a current or former co-worker. Just say you partied with whomever so the lack of not remembering you can be explained by drugs and or alcohol impairing their memory.
In general don't stop smiling and make them feel like the special snowflake that they are. It doesn't matter what you say, but how you say it and you make it clear that you are submissive and passive.
I never hated any of my jobs because I read the job description very carefully
You can be "sick of this crap" and mad as hell at the cruelty of employers, but how is that going to change things for you?
I hope and pray to god that you never find yourself unemployed. You probably won't have the courage to continue forth as the other unemployed folks have. You got some big plans and ignorant assumptions about how all of us can get hired. I can tell by your posts at the heart of it you love the power you get from being able to control other people's futures. You think you're doing everyone a service by 'telling them the truth', yet you really offer no real solutions. You just repeat the same old BS that we've heard from 10 different sources - what are you, LinkedIn's poster child? You think we think everyone just applies with terrible, hard-to-read resumes and poorly written job descriptives underneath each position? You think we think people are chattin' you up like you're a baller and their bestest best HS friend who should totes give them the job? Lol.
All I read from your posts was a certain degree of hubris, self worth and the most offending sense of narcissism that you think your recruiter/HR manager position allows you. It's a bit sickening, really. Which part of HR are you? The part that uses Taleo or another HRIS technology to do your job while you sit back and twiddle your thumbs?
Karma may hit you hard one day, my friend. Bet on that. In the meantime, you might want to take a hard look at how you value people, while looking at yourself in the mirror. Or wait. Don't. Because you value the unemployed the way you value yourself - as nothing.
I hope and pray to god that you never find yourself unemployed. You will probably not have the courage to continue forth as the other unemployed folks have. I can tell by your posts at the heart of it you love the power you get from being able to control other people's futures. You think you're doing everyone a service by 'telling them the truth', yet you really offer no real solutions. You think we think everyone just applies with terrible resumes and poorly written job descriptives? You think we think people are chattin' you up like you're a baller and their HS friend?
All I read from your posts was a certain degree of hubris, self worth and the most offending sense of narcissism that you think your recruiter/HR manager position allows you.
Karma may hit you hard one day, my friend. Bet on that. In the meantime, you might want to take a hard look at how you value people, while looking at yourself in the mirror. Or wait. Don't. Because you value the unemployed the way you value yourself - as nothing.
Good day.
I swear, some people here are so arrogant.
Wouldn't it be perfect if the person who turned someone down ended up having to do an interview with the person they turned down as the hiring manager? Ah, I hope they'd make it painful and slow.
Actually whats depressing is finding out that i dont qualify for any financial aid for college because my spouse makes around $35k a year. I guess they all think that money goes to our pockets instead of rent, utilities, insurance, car payments, etc.
In respect to thank you letters/emails do you ever reply back to them?
I'm skeptical given how the OP was saying they get flooded with resumes and cover letters. I heard from one career fair speaker how she gets a lot of word from local companies that they don't want to bother with CL anymore. They have their hands full with resumes and the applications as is. Many don't bother mentioning this because their application tracking system doesn't allow them to block CL (or they haven't tried).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemlock140
No, me either, in fact the decision is always made before we would even get the thank you. We do all interviews the same day one after another, and discuss/make the decision before even checking email.
I've had one phone interview (2nd one) where I spent an hour after it ended to decompress and take post-interview notes. I was going to write out a thank you note when I got a call telling me they'd like to proceed with an in-person interview. Instead, I wrote a response of my schedule, but sneaking in a thank you for their time for the phone interview. This and the other phone interview... I was sort of addressing "panel" of 3 to 5 people. To wrap up, I asked about communications (IOW, a way to get their email addresses so I could send a thank you email to each person), and they mentioned to just go through my POC. Helped immensely, as I didn't have to write out individual emails. I could just have the POC send my appreciation instead.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
), so pretend to be the friend of a family member or of a current or former co-worker. Just say you partied with whomever so the lack of not remembering you can be explained by drugs and or alcohol impairing their memory.
