Calling in to see why you were rejected & what you should have done better (job hunting, employment)

[angrymillionaire]

After a rejection, do you guys leave that as the end of things or do you follow up to ask why you were rejected, what you could improve on, why you were not a fit etc?

For those that follow up after a rejection, do you follow up after your application has been tossed to the shredder and you get that initial letter that says they will not be considering you further. Do you have the balls to ask an employer to check again or do you play it up as you are really interested & you discuss what seems to be your weaknesses hoping you will be invited to an interview?

Or do you only follow up after you have gone on an interview & wonder why you did not the job?

I know someone about 40 graduated a good 12 years ago with Economics & only got two interviews, never got hired. They then settled into a marriage & became a housewife, now the marriage is crumbling she needs a job.

No work experience in the field, cant get an internship way too old I guess. Cant get an entry level job either. I then suggested they make their resume current by taking a course. She then took a CMA & failed thrice. I have no clue what else to tell her? Thoughts? I don't think she can take an MBA due to lousy grades and lack of work experience.

She is not even getting interviews after she applies. My advice for her was to ask why when she gets rejected. She did but there was no clear answer other than she was not a good fit.

Any advice would be appreciated

[NARFALICIOUS]

I could see why employers wouldn't care to talk about the whys.
I've never asked though. Maybe I should in the future, but I'm currently happy where I am.

[angrymillionaire]

Originally Posted by NARFALICIOUS

I could see why employers wouldn't care to talk about the whys.
I've never asked though. Maybe I should in the future, but I'm currently happy where I am.

What would you then advice her to do. It seems like without an enternship you cant get an entry level job & at 40 you cant get an internship, so its a catch 22.

She was hoping its never too late to start, if she starts now she will have a good job by the time she retires at 65.

[groar]

It's rare to get that kind of feedback from an employer, even rarer when you don't even get an interview.

If she wants to keep trying, I'd just advise that she be super polite, acknowledge that this is a lot to ask, and make sure the request doesn't come off even the slightest bit defensive. She still won't get an answer most of the time, though. And they're certainly not going to tell her it's her age!

She could also try running her application materials past friends - preferably people with hiring experience, preferably in her field.

[groar]

Also, this.
http://www.askamanager.org/2012/12/i...read-this.html

[angrymillionaire]

Groar, what did you win 500 bucks for? I could do with 5 more stacks lol.

Anyone know any 40year old pluses that got into the workforce, that is a job where a degree is needed as a first job or is she doomed to a lifetime of mopping floors?

[STT Resident]

Large employers get hundreds of applications for open positions and even a small business owner rarely has the time or the inclination to explain to an applicant why he or she wasn't singled out. Even if they do the response is going to be exactly what she's getting now. Your friend may find it a good investment to meet with a job guidance counselor (many state agencies provide this service free) to seek help with her resumé and her approach. Most large jurisdictions also offer free remedial training to those returning to the workforce and she should look into this.

[angrymillionaire]

Originally Posted by groar

Also, this.
if you’re not getting interviews, read this

Kikikiki

I just checked out their resume & everything looks fine except, this is what they have been skipping. IMO they are cursed because fine its bad to not include this but two interviews in a decade? Come on son!

This here:

Not explaining why you'd excel at the job. If you're simply submitting a résumé that runs down where you've worked and what your job duties were, it's no wonder if you're not getting interviews. Hiring managers aren't nearly as concerned about what jobs you've held as they are about what you accomplished in those jobs. Your résumé needs to list specific accomplishments (like "increased Web traffic by 25 percent over 12 months" or "regularly recognized for highest number of customer compliments"), and your cover letter needs to explicitly address how your track record shows that you'd excel if hired.

Their resume was just a list of jobs no accomplishments. Granted thats bad but is it so bad it warrants only two interviews in a decade? Or is this a curse of sorts?

[move4ward]

Here is a thread with a guy that had a bad resume. Jaypee did a fantastic job and created a new version on the 2nd page. It explains what the original posted did, which went far beyond a job description.

//www.city-data.com/forum/work-...me-thanks.html

Many people are so clueless about resumes. If you have 10 guys all with the same job description as their resume, it tells an employer nothing. All they did was copy and paste their previous job posting.

She spent all that time taking classes for economics, but how much time did she spend in classes for job hunting and career development?

It's time to go to a job club, job seekers meetup, job seekers ministry, career development/job hunting classes. Doing the same thing for the next decade and expecting different results is insanity.

[DCmum]

I have done it but only at jobs where I did get an interview, not just applied. Most of them did provide constructive criticism and others just said they really liked me but found someone else who was exactly what they were looking for. Oh and I never called, just emailed.