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How not to get called in for a job interview

eric strt6

eric strt6

Resident Curmudgeon
Sep 8, 2001
23,308
13,597
directly above the center of the earth
Send in a 3 page resume plus cover page with a paragraph on it, when you have only had two jobs in your life.

First page had all the needed info, Education, Job History, Certifications

then...

Second page was wrapped in Boy Scout activities, Church activities and other ramblings

third page:eek: single spaced 7pt with no paragraphs or margins Bio on their upbringing and why this profession is what they want to dedicate as their life's work. oh yeah at age 23....

ummmn no, even though I do have a morbid curiosity as to what this person is like in person:think:. I don't have the time to mess around and I have 10 way more qualified candidates

one page folks, you can tell me everything else at the interview
 
Emerett

Emerett

Chimp
Dec 5, 2010
24
0
I thought it was pretty well known that employers rarely read past the first sentence of Objectives.
 
Ithnu

Ithnu

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
961
0
Denver
My dad (retired) used to be a computer programmer manger, and he always said "you have 15 seconds to impress me on your resume".
 
Straya

Straya

Monkey
Jul 11, 2008
863
3
Straya
I'd be excited to be getting applicants that can type or write semi-coherent sentences.
 
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BadDNA

BadDNA

hophead
Mar 31, 2006
4,257
231
Living the dream.
I had one candidate that I interviewed at my last job, only to meet him in person. His resume looked as if it had been written by a third grader...multiple type faces, varied font sizes, inconsistent bullet styles under one heading and so much more. Then I met the guy and I got it...he was almost certainly a manic depressive and it seemed like he wasn't on any meds. We were chatting and his mood swings over the half hour or so that we met honestly frightened me. His social skills were nonexistent and his suit looked like it had been put together by a blind person with the fashion sense of a toddler. I half expected him to pull a gun on me. He didn't get the job.
 
denjen

denjen

Certified Lift Whore
Sep 16, 2001
1,691
36
Richmond VA
My wife owns an HR consulting firm and helps a bunch of companies with their hiring. She has some very simple but strict rules with new applicants. One of which is don't contact me I will call you. She just sits back for a couple days and 75% of the people eliminate themselves.
 
splat

splat

Nam I am
Apr 27, 2002
14,751
318
Well Maybe Windows is Bearable ! Unix Rules !
BadDNA said:
I had one candidate that I interviewed at my last job, only to meet him in person. His resume looked as if it had been written by a third grader...multiple type faces, varied font sizes, inconsistent bullet styles under one heading and so much more. Then I met the guy and I got it...he was almost certainly a manic depressive and it seemed like he wasn't on any meds. We were chatting and his mood swings over the half hour or so that we met honestly frightened me. His social skills were nonexistent and his suit looked like it had been put together by a blind person with the fashion sense of a toddler. I half expected him to pull a gun on me. He didn't get the job.
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Hey!! You told me , you couldn't get the funding , thats why you turned me down!
 
FlyinPolack

FlyinPolack

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
371
0
I will call you. She just sits back for a couple days and 75% of the people eliminate themselves.
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Wait.. The 75% that she is eliminating are the 75% that want the job the most... I always called the day before they said they would call me & I usually got the job (2 weeks is the longest that I've ever looked for a job in my life).
Having kickass job history sure doesn't hurt either..
 
Kanye West

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,741
473
FlyinPolack said:
Wait.. The 75% that she is eliminating are the 75% that want the job the most... I always called the day before they said they would call me & I usually got the job (2 weeks is the longest that I've ever looked for a job in my life).
Having kickass job history sure doesn't hurt either..
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I agree. That knocks out the most hungry and the most motivated candidates. Really stupid rule.
 
chicodude

chicodude

The Spooninator
Mar 28, 2004
1,054
2
Paradise
eric strt6 said:
Send in a 3 page resume plus cover page with a paragraph on it, when you have only had two jobs in your life.

First page had all the needed info, Education, Job History, Certifications

then...

Second page was wrapped in Boy Scout activities, Church activities and other ramblings

third page:eek: single spaced 7pt with no paragraphs or margins Bio on their upbringing and why this profession is what they want to dedicate as their life's work. oh yeah at age 23....

ummmn no, even though I do have a morbid curiosity as to what this person is like in person:think:. I don't have the time to mess around and I have 10 way more qualified candidates

one page folks, you can tell me everything else at the interview
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You are hiring? if so I will be down first thing sunday morning with my app and a big box of ice cream...lol
 
Serial Midget

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
Is there anything, other than having vacancies to fill, that makes you a "better" prospective employer? Its seems like working for you may not be all that rewarding and somewhat humiliating.

eric strt6 said:
I need 3 EMT's asap to work BLS Ambulances, Gurney and wheelchair rigs, and also drive little old ladies to Dr Appointments in company sedans [driving miss Daisy duty:rofl:]
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eric strt6

eric strt6

Resident Curmudgeon
Sep 8, 2001
23,308
13,597
directly above the center of the earth
Serial Midget said:
Is there anything, other than having vacancies to fill, that makes you a "better" prospective employer? Its seems like working for you may not be all that rewarding and somewhat humiliating.
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Flexible schedules, better starting pay than any of the competition, less BS paperwork. I need more people because we expanded the number of vehicles in the fleet. We have was less turnover than most non 911 ambulance companies in the area.
 
BikeMike

BikeMike

Monkey
Feb 24, 2006
784
0
denjen said:
My wife owns an HR consulting firm and helps a bunch of companies with their hiring. She has some very simple but strict rules with new applicants. One of which is don't contact me I will call you. She just sits back for a couple days and 75% of the people eliminate themselves.
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If the directions say "absolutely do not call for any reason," and you get a call within a three days, OK.

Otherwise, it's another arbitrary way of cutting down applicants (and will deplete the pool of people who are especially interested in the job.)

Also, Eric, if you can take the time to ramble on internet forums about how some young person's resume is too long, you could do the person the favor of shooting them a message that says, "thanks for applying, but your resume is too long. you're better off making it one page next time. kthanksbi." The guy is clearly inexperienced. Or is helping people passé these days?

Ed: [awkwardly gets off high horse] Merry Christmas monkeys!
 
denjen

denjen

Certified Lift Whore
Sep 16, 2001
1,691
36
Richmond VA
AngryMetalsmith said:
No, she's eliminating the 75% that can't follow directions.
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Exactly. Like I said she has several things like this and it eliminates a bunch every time. Her thing is if you can't follow very simple written directions then how are you going to be on the job. Maybe it gets rid of some good people too maybe not. All I know is every time she helps out with new hires the companies are always pleased with her selections
 
gemini2k

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
denjen said:
My wife owns an HR consulting firm and helps a bunch of companies with their hiring. She has some very simple but strict rules with new applicants. One of which is don't contact me I will call you. She just sits back for a couple days and 75% of the people eliminate themselves.
Click to expand...
That has the be the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I don't know any competent talented people who just sit around all day waiting for lazy HR people to call them back.
 
Serial Midget

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
I agree with you 100% - I've never disqualified an applicant based solely on their resume- no resume ever substitutes for a quality face to face interview. In my experience a resume only tells me what the candidate wants me to know and is helpful for determining what questions I will pose in the actual interview. In the end a resume is just a piece of paper a hiring manager can use as basis for seeking contrary information. Dismissing a candidate based on a resume format you don't like says more about the hiring manager than it does about the applicant.

IMHO - for young people short on job experience - community involvement, scouting/4H/church activities and extracurricular school activities are valid examples of team participation or leadership.




BikeMike said:
If the directions say "absolutely do not call for any reason," and you get a call within a three days, OK.

Otherwise, it's another arbitrary way of cutting down applicants (and will deplete the pool of people who are especially interested in the job.)

Also, Eric, if you can take the time to ramble on internet forums about how some young person's resume is too long, you could do the person the favor of shooting them a message that says, "thanks for applying, but your resume is too long. you're better off making it one page next time. kthanksbi." The guy is clearly inexperienced. Or is helping people passé these days?

Ed: [awkwardly gets off high horse] Merry Christmas monkeys!
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TN

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
i think people just toss mine & look at the portfolio & reel only. that is all they need to see anyway. :D
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,369
1,605
Warsaw :/
denjen said:
I will be sure to let her know of your disapproval.
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I think it depends on HOW she tries to convey that she will call them. In my (very short) job experiance I've often found that " I will call you " means - I may call you If I won't forget and am in a good mood. Worked recently on a project and the only person that called back was the person I wasn't really interested in talking to. Life has thought me to bug people if I want something as often they just forget/are to busy. Yes it also works for jobs. Helped my friend won a graphics design contest just by reminding the jury of his work.


So unless your wife is very clear that they are not to call the only thing she does is invent an easy filter to cut the number of applicants. If that's true it's not really productive but only a way to have less work.

No pun intended of course. I don't know the details of how your wife hires people. I'm just trying to show it how it would look from a young applicants point of view (ie. me). Also other people are right - the ones who call back may be the ones the most motivated and in many cases they may get the most things done as employees.
 
kickstand

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
Hacktastic said:
I agree. That knocks out the most hungry and the most motivated candidates. Really stupid rule.
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Not really all that stupid. DEPENDING.....as a recruiter, I have job openings, and it is my job to find people who fit those openings, if every applicant called me I would never find anyone who actually fit the opening. NOW if I interview you , and determine you are not a fit for the opening I have, I dont have a problem with you calling to keep in touch for future openings.

AngryMetalsmith said:
No, she's eliminating the 75% that can't follow directions.
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This, and the 75% who are just annoying as **** and are not qualified.
 
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