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HR departments are the worst hurdles. I applied twice at the last company I worked for and was rejected by the HR people both times. Then a friend who worked at that company got me bypassed over HR with a direct interview with a supervisor who was interviewing the candidates HR was sending to her.
The supervisor and I hit it off immediately. She said I was perfect for the job. She told HR she wanted me and voila! I was hired. So what made me perfect for the job the third time and not qualified the first two times I applied? I think it was that most HR departments really have no clue about the jobs for which they are hiring people. Their criteria seems to be something other those needed for the actual job.
With ads, I only aswered the ones where I had all or at least 90% of what they asked for.
What we are looking for is described in the job postings as the desired qualifications; it is not the absolute requirements. If you have 100% of the qualifications you’re in the running until those with 101+% of the requirements comes forward. Let’s be honest, would you be so accepting of the absolute qualifications if your seeking work and find out a company hired someone with fewer qualifications than you have?
If you’re applying with only 90% of the qualifications, you wasted your time and my time as you DO NOT meet the qualifications. That’s a clear sign of a person who can’t read and understand what is being asked so why should I hire a person who clearly is unqualified by education/experience and common sense?
Referral = Letter of recommendation from somebody already trusted
Companies hire based on a personal referral because resumes lie. I don't know about other industries, but in my line of work you are putting your own neck on the line when you personally recommend somebody to be hired into your company. And the reverse is true -- before I recommend a friend apply, I give the full unvarnished truth about what it's like to work here.
Finding applicants by letting HR write job ads and then filter the random resumes of respondents for keywords never seems to actually bring in qualified candidates; When I worked for a Fortune 500 firm, I submitted a list of the real requirements to HR, who felt obliged to truncate my list so they could prepend "strong keyboarding skills, familiarity with Microsoft office and Excel". Then wondered why I rejected every candidate they forwarded.
Aside from just after college, nearly every consulting gig and job I've had was found through somebody I had previously worked with, who was willing to tell the boss "I worked with this dude before and he does good work". No resume or HR officer or background check can make that same guarantee.
I have no sympathy for companies that can't find qualified and competent employees. It all boils down to one of these things:
1. They are not willing to pay a decent rate to attract and retain the quality, intelligent, and pre-trained employees that they claim they need. How long do you think an engineer or scientist is going to work for a temp agency for less than $20 per hour before realizing they have better options and either leave your company or leave the field entirely?
2. Purple Squirrel-ism. Everyone is responsible for training the workforce except your company. The Universe should just magically pop out epoxy formulations chemists with 10 years of the exact experience you are looking for.
3. Dysfuntional Hiring system. Stop letting a stupid computer pick who is qualified for an interview based on which acronym and synonyms are present in which field, how many yes answers there are to your ridiculously over specific questions. [Have you used an Agilent 1290 with a API 3000 MS/MS to measure the concentration of Inosine monophosphate on a Thursday before Yes/No). Stop jerking around candidates for 90 minutes with your terrible application system. It doesn't select for better candidates only more desperate ones.
It took me a few years but I finally found a job in a big health care organization. They don't pay dirt, they are willing to train and a talent acquisition person found me and encouraged me to apply. (I had no connections to this place whatsoever.) Interestingly enough, they're able to employ tens of thousands of people (and they're always hiring), continue to expand and when they take over places that are in debt, they seem to be able to flip it into a profit. As a result, people stay for years. Because they do the right thing, I find myself really enjoying my job and the thought of even looking for another job hasn't crossed my mind.
Companies could do the right thing. It ends up benefiting everyone.
BTW-In conjunction with your purple squirrel-ism, I'd throw in the "you lack experience" crap in the garbage. I'm the newest person in my department and my supervisor has complimented me twice thus far on noticing things that all of these other people with 20+ years of experience seemed to miss. But hey they have experience and that's what matters right?
When I had no luck at 90%, why would 50% be any better? Then they really could ask me why I was wasting their time. Not an issue now anyway. I went back to construction work and have stayed employed or self employed the last 18 years. This field has many issues too but construction firms don't generally post jobs they do not have open. They don't play that kind of games.
Because you're expanding your candidate pool. Just basic math.
There is a flip side to this, and yes, some employers ARE trying to find good people, but some people just don't want to work. My one Son manages a large condominium and they can't keep maintenance men. They all come in promising the world but end up not showing up, not doing their job, and generally being lousy employees. The pay is very good, the condos start at $1 million, so it isn't a ghetto situation, and the work really isn't all that hard, compared to some other maintenance jobs. But people are just lazy any more and undependable.
There is a flip side to this, and yes, some employers ARE trying to find good people, but some people just don't want to work. My one Son manages a large condominium and they can't keep maintenance men. They all come in promising the world but end up not showing up, not doing their job, and generally being lousy employees. The pay is very good, the condos start at $1 million, so it isn't a ghetto situation, and the work really isn't all that hard, compared to some other maintenance jobs. But people are just lazy any more and undependable.
So it isn't always the fault of the employers.
Don
It has more to do with the average rate of pay. Low paying occupation will attract less desirable candidates as a whole. Your son is trying to find a needle in a haystack type of worker. Paying more helps, but it can still take awhile.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabrrita
What we are looking for is described in the job postings as the desired qualifications; it is not the absolute requirements. If you have 100% of the qualifications you’re in the running until those with 101+% of the requirements comes forward. Let’s be honest, would you be so accepting of the absolute qualifications if your seeking work and find out a company hired someone with fewer qualifications than you have?
If you’re applying with only 90% of the qualifications, you wasted your time and my time as you DO NOT meet the qualifications. That’s a clear sign of a person who can’t read and understand what is being asked so why should I hire a person who clearly is unqualified by education/experience and common sense?
Right. We won't even interview someone with less than 100% of the qualifications. If we get a lot of applicants, we might only interview those with 100% plus the "desired" in addition to required and still interview 15-20 people for one opening.
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Referral = Letter of recommendation from somebody already trusted
