As a recruiter and someone who has posted hundreds if not over a thousand positions on job boards, reviewed thousands of resumes, interviewed thousands of people on the phone and in person from a wide variety of career paths, waited for candidate follow up of really any kind, and then add what I would call, The Multiplier- 10% UNEMPLOYMENT there are just some things you do and don't do to land a job.
My recent hiring experience was mind blowing and I thought I would share it with you as validation that you and your company are not alone. People please, read this.
I posted a position for a part-time work from home Administrative Assistant with the intent to find someone who at one time had a professional career and was trying to balance family and career or someone who wanted to re-enter the workforce. I may have caused my own problems here with this posting and I take full responsibility- but here is what happened.
1. 1,240 resumes received
2. 9 of the responses were actual administrative outsourcing companies- which I thought was a pretty cool idea.
3. 211 of the resumes were from out of state- my posting said they need to physically come to the office one day per week.
4. Over 700 of the resumes (too many to count actually) were absolutely terrible- now if you would have seen my face as I was reviewing resumes I was reminding myself "this person is responding to an administrative position" are you kidding me?
5. I am not sure how many- but most were responding to just satisfy the total applications they need to turn in for unemployment purposes, and some even told me this!
6. Of the 16 I e-mailed asking their availability only 9 responded. Seriously?
7. The 9 I called and actually had a conversation with, I set up interviews with 6 of them.
8. Of the 6 I set up interviews with- 2 of them no-showed. I guess a job is easy to come by these days?
9. The 4 I met with, there were 3 that were very talented, had great experience, and were possible hires.
10. So you thought it was over- here comes the fun part.
So lets call them candidate A, B, C, and D- so you can follow me.
Candidate A- she arrived on time, dressed professionally, seemed eager to work, asked great questions, pulled her chair up closer to my desk as I was showing her projects, again asked great questions and then......we went down a personal path of discussion and I guess she felt comfortable talking to me about her pregnancy, her bed ridden orders from her doctor, her bleeding, the birth of her child, and on and on and on....
Candidate B- she arrived on time, dressed professionally, and engaged immediately- I thought we might have a finalist here and then she started talking about some real estate company and how she also has a mortgage company and a real estate firm and has another part time administrative position for a real estate investor where she deals with tenant related issues for only about 10 hours per week. I was a little surprised because the way her resume read it did not say all those things I learned in the interview. I guess the moral to her story is-- GREAT JOB ON HER RESUME!
Candidate C- she dressed professionally, was quiet and seemed to have a bitterness to her and besides continually adjusting her top (pulling it up) as if her shirt was too small and I think either it was a new shirt and maybe a little small but from the one glance I did take I think her body may have been enhanced since the last time she wore that shirt- I was more uncomfortable in the interview than you can imagine. She proceeded to tell me she was going through a divorce and her husband and his new girlfriend moved into the Big House and she and the kids are in the small house and that a part time 20 hour a week job is all she needed to support her kids. Oh, and she told me her husband- soon to be ex was being investigated or indicted for fraud and she worked for him for the past 8 years.
Candidate D- She had the least amount of experience, was finishing college and needed a part time job, she wanted something that can work into full time when she graduates in 6 months, was getting married in 8 months- stability, she liked marketing and being creative, had good technical abilities, and seemed to be what I would call normal.
Candidate Selected- take a guess?
Contacting all candidates and informing them the position has been filled:
In this job market the one thing that I hear time and time again is the fact that job seekers never do hear back from the employer once they respond to a position so I decided I was going to send every single candidate a message to them directly that the position was filled, thanking them for their application, and wishing them success in their search.
So most responded favorably and were very thankful I sent out the note there were a few that I had to tell you about- here are their responses to my e-mail:
"Thank you anyways, but if it is OK with you, I will list you as one of my 5 contacts for the week I need to do, to keep up for my unemployment purposes. I will just list you as one of my contacts for this week!! Thank you again, and the best of luck to you and the more qualified candidate you selected!! And have a wonderful upcoming weekend, as well as a Happy Holidays to you all!!" - JAMES
"Oh, you missed out on a great employee and the most efficient administrative assistant around, best of luck to you" - MARCIA
"In other words, I'm too old. Don't be concerned. I'm not going to pursue it. It didn't sound like a good fit anyway" - LINDA
I will tell you that there was more drama, more work, and more people who just do not understand what it takes to land a job in this market today. Please people, help yourself to the information out there that will dramatically help your chances of landing a position in this market.
