Trials of Finding New Job
Discussion
SteBrown91 said:
Advised me the hiring manager wants people to complete a test that the recruiter emails to you and expects an email back in 40-45 minutes or so (assume to stop you just googling all the answers).
A recruitment agency would try to give you as much advantage as possible and seeing as they control when you get the "test", i'm calling nonsense on this. I don't know what the test was for, but i'm guessing it was more about pumping you for information. Algarve said:
If you're actively applying for jobs you need to answer unknown numbers for the time being, its pretty stupid not to surely?
Sure, but there could be a legitimate reason not to answer the phone at a specific moment, such as driving, and then you can't return the call because it came from a private number and there's no voicemail left. If the attitude of the prospective employer is to start flexing their muscles and say that was your one chance when you might have had a good reason for not picking up then you've probably dodged a bullet.I was informed just before Christmas that I was being made redundant, I sent my first job application on the 7th of December and since then I've completed 290 job applications, had 99 rejections and 10 interviews.
Today I accepted an offer and I can't tell you how relieved I am!
If you're job hunting & finding it a struggle, stick at it & good luck.
Today I accepted an offer and I can't tell you how relieved I am!
If you're job hunting & finding it a struggle, stick at it & good luck.
I applied for a job heard nothing for a few weeks. Then got a call, but no signal at work so only got it in the evening. It was an interview for the next day. I left a message, couldn't attend, and then a few times ( lunch break off site) the next day. Never heard anything else back.
If they can't be arsed to reply not really a company I want to work for, it goes both ways.
It is frustrating in the end I took my current job, unskilled manual work but thought a year at it and then try it again. It really a different world looking for jobs nowadays
If they can't be arsed to reply not really a company I want to work for, it goes both ways.
It is frustrating in the end I took my current job, unskilled manual work but thought a year at it and then try it again. It really a different world looking for jobs nowadays
DJFish said:
I was informed just before Christmas that I was being made redundant, I sent my first job application on the 7th of December and since then I've completed 290 job applications, had 99 rejections and 10 interviews.
Today I accepted an offer and I can't tell you how relieved I am!
If you're job hunting & finding it a struggle, stick at it & good luck.
Good job! Persistence and optimism are essential in today's market. It can be brutal and only the strong (or privileged) survive.Today I accepted an offer and I can't tell you how relieved I am!
If you're job hunting & finding it a struggle, stick at it & good luck.
Further to my post a couple of pages back about Royal Mail Casual Christmas roles, I looked again last week and I realised that at different locations there were sometimes different pay rates for the same shift patterns.
One of the locations is about 20 minutes away and was paying more than most of the others so I applied last Thursday. Got an email Friday morning giving me 72 hours to confirm an appointment for today (Tuesday). They require a load of information on the application and you need to take along certain items (e.g. passport, driving licence, bank statement, NI number proof) plus copies for them to keep.
So this morning I went down there, walked in, confirmed my details and that I had certain documents, then went through 3 stages, confirming everything, double checking, shifts available / required etc. and half an hour later I'm back in the car with a provisional offer letter, final confirmation to come via email.
The location I choose is a temporary location due to the sheer volumes and it doesn't open till next month. Most roles finish at Christmas.
It gets me out of the house and gives me some money so better than a kick in the teeth.
Right now they have 92 locations still listed on https://christmasrecruitment.royalmailgroup.com/.
One of the locations is about 20 minutes away and was paying more than most of the others so I applied last Thursday. Got an email Friday morning giving me 72 hours to confirm an appointment for today (Tuesday). They require a load of information on the application and you need to take along certain items (e.g. passport, driving licence, bank statement, NI number proof) plus copies for them to keep.
So this morning I went down there, walked in, confirmed my details and that I had certain documents, then went through 3 stages, confirming everything, double checking, shifts available / required etc. and half an hour later I'm back in the car with a provisional offer letter, final confirmation to come via email.
The location I choose is a temporary location due to the sheer volumes and it doesn't open till next month. Most roles finish at Christmas.
It gets me out of the house and gives me some money so better than a kick in the teeth.
Right now they have 92 locations still listed on https://christmasrecruitment.royalmailgroup.com/.
Well done. Hope it goes ok. 
I've just had to fill out an application form online just for some basic retail work. The way the form was built meant that I had to pretty much cut and paste bits out of my CV to fill it in. Took a while. I then had to write answers to questions you would expect to get in an interview. It's taken my nigh on an hour just to apply for a job working in a store.
They don't even ask for a copy of your CV.
I've just had to fill out an application form online just for some basic retail work. The way the form was built meant that I had to pretty much cut and paste bits out of my CV to fill it in. Took a while. I then had to write answers to questions you would expect to get in an interview. It's taken my nigh on an hour just to apply for a job working in a store.
They don't even ask for a copy of your CV.
I think quite a few employers do that these days, once you've filled in the application form it pretty much is a CV, but in their format and makes it a lot easier to compare people than looking at wildly different CV formats I guess.
My current job had a pretty comprehensive online form, but then I was also able to attach a CV.
One bit of advice I got from the company providing support when I was made redundant years ago, was to put together a CV without any limit on length (mine ran to about 5 or 6 pages) and then use that for your own reference when creating CVs tailored to specific jobs, or filling in online applications.
My current job had a pretty comprehensive online form, but then I was also able to attach a CV.
One bit of advice I got from the company providing support when I was made redundant years ago, was to put together a CV without any limit on length (mine ran to about 5 or 6 pages) and then use that for your own reference when creating CVs tailored to specific jobs, or filling in online applications.
The standards of quality and response from both internal and external recruiters is shocking
I will share my experience and my response to the situation I was in, attached is my correspondence - in reality its the same bulls
t time and time again. At least a computer or robot would give you an answer in a timely manner.
"To be honest - i would only consider a role at XXX in the future only with full disclosure with relation to any internal candidates. If there are internal candidates then i would not even consider applying.
My observations :
1. The internal candidate preference is a killer for any external candidate in my opinion and therefore not worth pursuing any roles at XXX
2. This is the 2nd time this has happened to me with XXX - 1st time 10 years ago - where a internal candidate has been selected
3. You could say its coincidence but to me seems like a defined behavioral pattern
4. Taking nearly 7 weeks to get this point is unacceptable - its not what I offer candidates who i interview for roles
5. Real ambiguity and no real structure to the process "
The response
"I have to admit, I agree with your feedback. This interview process has not been to the standard that we expect and it is something that we are following up on. The fact you had to wait 7 weeks is not acceptable and something that isn’t a regular occurrence. The lack of structure and follow up alone can only have given you a negative experience. I have raised this particular interview process to my manager so we can sit with all relevant parties to ensure this does not happen again.
Regarding the situation with the internal candidate, as I mentioned we were close to progressing with yourself but we decided to go another avenue. You will find the majority of roles (in most companies) will have internal applicants in a process. As a rule in XXX, if we have an internal applicant who we believe will get the job, we don’t even advertise the job externally. There is no point in adding extra costs and resources if we already know who is going to get the job. If we advertise a job externally and an internal applicant applies, they are considered to be equal to external applicants.
If there is a role that comes up again, I will of course let you know and give you full visibility on whether there are any internal applicants."
My response
"A couple of points and we'll leave it at that.
1. The same sequence events has occurred for me personally twice over a 10 year period. Once can be understood and twice is only explainable in that it is systematic behavior.
2. The same elongated process has occurred for me twice, to state the above seems inaccurate.
3. Internal candidates have been favored twice - straight from the company's own words - we favor internal promotion
I stand by my statement that i will not interview with XXXX where an internal candidate is NOT applying for a role."
I will share my experience and my response to the situation I was in, attached is my correspondence - in reality its the same bulls
t time and time again. At least a computer or robot would give you an answer in a timely manner."To be honest - i would only consider a role at XXX in the future only with full disclosure with relation to any internal candidates. If there are internal candidates then i would not even consider applying.
My observations :
1. The internal candidate preference is a killer for any external candidate in my opinion and therefore not worth pursuing any roles at XXX
2. This is the 2nd time this has happened to me with XXX - 1st time 10 years ago - where a internal candidate has been selected
3. You could say its coincidence but to me seems like a defined behavioral pattern
4. Taking nearly 7 weeks to get this point is unacceptable - its not what I offer candidates who i interview for roles
5. Real ambiguity and no real structure to the process "
The response
"I have to admit, I agree with your feedback. This interview process has not been to the standard that we expect and it is something that we are following up on. The fact you had to wait 7 weeks is not acceptable and something that isn’t a regular occurrence. The lack of structure and follow up alone can only have given you a negative experience. I have raised this particular interview process to my manager so we can sit with all relevant parties to ensure this does not happen again.
Regarding the situation with the internal candidate, as I mentioned we were close to progressing with yourself but we decided to go another avenue. You will find the majority of roles (in most companies) will have internal applicants in a process. As a rule in XXX, if we have an internal applicant who we believe will get the job, we don’t even advertise the job externally. There is no point in adding extra costs and resources if we already know who is going to get the job. If we advertise a job externally and an internal applicant applies, they are considered to be equal to external applicants.
If there is a role that comes up again, I will of course let you know and give you full visibility on whether there are any internal applicants."
My response
"A couple of points and we'll leave it at that.
1. The same sequence events has occurred for me personally twice over a 10 year period. Once can be understood and twice is only explainable in that it is systematic behavior.
2. The same elongated process has occurred for me twice, to state the above seems inaccurate.
3. Internal candidates have been favored twice - straight from the company's own words - we favor internal promotion
I stand by my statement that i will not interview with XXXX where an internal candidate is NOT applying for a role."
DJFish said:
I was informed just before Christmas that I was being made redundant, I sent my first job application on the 7th of December and since then I've completed 290 job applications, had 99 rejections and 10 interviews.
Today I accepted an offer and I can't tell you how relieved I am!
If you're job hunting & finding it a struggle, stick at it & good luck.
Blimey, that must have been getting soul destroying after a while!Today I accepted an offer and I can't tell you how relieved I am!
If you're job hunting & finding it a struggle, stick at it & good luck.
I'm lucky in that since my starting my previous role in April 2014, I applied for 2 jobs late 2017/early 2018, got interviews for both and got an offer for one, which where I currently am. I'm now starting to keep an eye out, not 'actively looking' but anything that fits my experience and needs perfectly I'll send my CV across. It definitely is easier to find a new job when you already have one and aren't really looking!
had an email back today from a firm where i know one of the managers from working with her "way back in the day so I thought thats a good foot in the door.
she emailed me back to say she has passed my CV on to the hiring manager - fine.
hiring manager (bear in mind my source said this firm was struggling to find any staff!) emailed me to day to thank me for my cv but ......
"looking at where you live I dont think the commute to us would be sustainable. it looks as if its 2 trains plus the walk from the station and experience has shown that staff struggle to commit to this length of commute for very long."
and that it. bear in mind also that the 2 trains - 15 mins on one , short wait then 20 mins on the other plus say 15 mins walk at the other end to the office. at this end I live right next to the station. so thats no more than say an hour.
Incredible - and thats even with an ex colleagues recommendation so now I am beginning to see why companies are not finding staff - too bloody picky and making peoples decisions for them. remind me - when I applied did i know how long the commute was? absolute joke these days finding work.
I have drafted up a reply and will sit on that until I do find a new job. dont want to scupper it through word of mouth but I know people who daily commute 2.5 hours each way so an hour is nothing not to mention the lower costs.
seething TBH.
she emailed me back to say she has passed my CV on to the hiring manager - fine.
hiring manager (bear in mind my source said this firm was struggling to find any staff!) emailed me to day to thank me for my cv but ......
"looking at where you live I dont think the commute to us would be sustainable. it looks as if its 2 trains plus the walk from the station and experience has shown that staff struggle to commit to this length of commute for very long."
and that it. bear in mind also that the 2 trains - 15 mins on one , short wait then 20 mins on the other plus say 15 mins walk at the other end to the office. at this end I live right next to the station. so thats no more than say an hour.
Incredible - and thats even with an ex colleagues recommendation so now I am beginning to see why companies are not finding staff - too bloody picky and making peoples decisions for them. remind me - when I applied did i know how long the commute was? absolute joke these days finding work.
I have drafted up a reply and will sit on that until I do find a new job. dont want to scupper it through word of mouth but I know people who daily commute 2.5 hours each way so an hour is nothing not to mention the lower costs.
seething TBH.
Edited by ToothbrushMan on Wednesday 17th October 17:49
Indeed. Any excuse. If you lived closer they'd probably say staff soon dislike living so close to work.
I've done 5 applications today. Various range of jobs. Just looking for something to get started with for now and will find the keeper later. Need to scour the local town as a lot of shops are taking on seasonal staff now.
I've done 5 applications today. Various range of jobs. Just looking for something to get started with for now and will find the keeper later. Need to scour the local town as a lot of shops are taking on seasonal staff now.
Thesprucegoose said:
How you get to work is your problem, tell them whatever they want to hear, move,car,rent a flat,hovercraft. Counter back but it sounds like a brushoff unfortunately.
i was thinking of sending a notty reply.my biggest rub is that my ex manager who referred me - she lives no closer! maybe she has a flying carpet - that would explain why she manages every day but I couldnt possibly.
My reply was going to be short and sweet "driving is an option - is there no staff parking available?"
ToothbrushMan said:
Thesprucegoose said:
How you get to work is your problem, tell them whatever they want to hear, move,car,rent a flat,hovercraft. Counter back but it sounds like a brushoff unfortunately.
i was thinking of sending a notty reply.my biggest rub is that my ex manager who referred me - she lives no closer! maybe she has a flying carpet - that would explain why she manages every day but I couldnt possibly.
My reply was going to be short and sweet "driving is an option - is there no staff parking available?"
Ej74 said:
The standards of quality and response from both internal and external recruiters is shocking
I will share my experience and my response to the situation I was in, attached is my correspondence - in reality its the same bullst time and time again. At least a computer or robot would give you an answer in a timely manner.
"To be honest - i would only consider a role at XXX in the future only with full disclosure with relation to any internal candidates. If there are internal candidates then i would not even consider applying.
My observations :
1. The internal candidate preference is a killer for any external candidate in my opinion and therefore not worth pursuing any roles at XXX
2. This is the 2nd time this has happened to me with XXX - 1st time 10 years ago - where a internal candidate has been selected
3. You could say its coincidence but to me seems like a defined behavioral pattern
4. Taking nearly 7 weeks to get this point is unacceptable - its not what I offer candidates who i interview for roles
5. Real ambiguity and no real structure to the process "
The response
"I have to admit, I agree with your feedback. This interview process has not been to the standard that we expect and it is something that we are following up on. The fact you had to wait 7 weeks is not acceptable and something that isn’t a regular occurrence. The lack of structure and follow up alone can only have given you a negative experience. I have raised this particular interview process to my manager so we can sit with all relevant parties to ensure this does not happen again.
Regarding the situation with the internal candidate, as I mentioned we were close to progressing with yourself but we decided to go another avenue. You will find the majority of roles (in most companies) will have internal applicants in a process. As a rule in XXX, if we have an internal applicant who we believe will get the job, we don’t even advertise the job externally. There is no point in adding extra costs and resources if we already know who is going to get the job. If we advertise a job externally and an internal applicant applies, they are considered to be equal to external applicants.
If there is a role that comes up again, I will of course let you know and give you full visibility on whether there are any internal applicants."
My response
"A couple of points and we'll leave it at that.
1. The same sequence events has occurred for me personally twice over a 10 year period. Once can be understood and twice is only explainable in that it is systematic behavior.
2. The same elongated process has occurred for me twice, to state the above seems inaccurate.
3. Internal candidates have been favored twice - straight from the company's own words - we favor internal promotion
I stand by my statement that i will not interview with XXXX where an internal candidate is NOT applying for a role."
I think it's great to provide feedback and on a generally sI will share my experience and my response to the situation I was in, attached is my correspondence - in reality its the same bulls
t time and time again. At least a computer or robot would give you an answer in a timely manner."To be honest - i would only consider a role at XXX in the future only with full disclosure with relation to any internal candidates. If there are internal candidates then i would not even consider applying.
My observations :
1. The internal candidate preference is a killer for any external candidate in my opinion and therefore not worth pursuing any roles at XXX
2. This is the 2nd time this has happened to me with XXX - 1st time 10 years ago - where a internal candidate has been selected
3. You could say its coincidence but to me seems like a defined behavioral pattern
4. Taking nearly 7 weeks to get this point is unacceptable - its not what I offer candidates who i interview for roles
5. Real ambiguity and no real structure to the process "
The response
"I have to admit, I agree with your feedback. This interview process has not been to the standard that we expect and it is something that we are following up on. The fact you had to wait 7 weeks is not acceptable and something that isn’t a regular occurrence. The lack of structure and follow up alone can only have given you a negative experience. I have raised this particular interview process to my manager so we can sit with all relevant parties to ensure this does not happen again.
Regarding the situation with the internal candidate, as I mentioned we were close to progressing with yourself but we decided to go another avenue. You will find the majority of roles (in most companies) will have internal applicants in a process. As a rule in XXX, if we have an internal applicant who we believe will get the job, we don’t even advertise the job externally. There is no point in adding extra costs and resources if we already know who is going to get the job. If we advertise a job externally and an internal applicant applies, they are considered to be equal to external applicants.
If there is a role that comes up again, I will of course let you know and give you full visibility on whether there are any internal applicants."
My response
"A couple of points and we'll leave it at that.
1. The same sequence events has occurred for me personally twice over a 10 year period. Once can be understood and twice is only explainable in that it is systematic behavior.
2. The same elongated process has occurred for me twice, to state the above seems inaccurate.
3. Internal candidates have been favored twice - straight from the company's own words - we favor internal promotion
I stand by my statement that i will not interview with XXXX where an internal candidate is NOT applying for a role."
tty recruitment process. However, do you not think you're slightly overreacting on the internal candidate point? I would not make absolute statements like "I will never consider role at XXX if internal candidates apply..." You will come across as someone argumentative. It's not diplomatic and unfortunately diplomacy is necessary to maintain your professional image.Equally, I have seen many external candidates trump internal ones despite not displaying discernible qualities over and above internal candidates. It happens. A lot. There are too many factors at play.
7 weeks is frustrating. I just concluded my employment contract for a new job 2 weeks ago - I applied in March. If they declined, would I get upset? A little bit but not a lot. Here's why. You need to have multiple irons in the fire (or cakes in the oven to use Bake off). One of them turns out good (or rises). You're like a chess player strategizing and making moves, but also like a gardener who continues to water and cultivate opportunities. This is how you get a pipeline. If you apply for one or two jobs and rest your hopes on them, you're likely to be disappointed and overreact. You're also likely to be come across less confident in interviews.
Good luck with your continued search. I thought I'd offer my two pennies, whether helpful or not is up to you.
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