Job Applications, Responses, Reactions whats your experience?

Dempo1

Hi All,

As we all know the current economic climate is tough, no helped i guess by all those actively seeking employment with little success. Reading numerous threads over the past few months, it appears many candidates are experiencing many problems with the application process. Some examples includes applications not responded too, Resumes not reacted upon, poor if any communication from recruitment agencies and most disturbing Jobs being advertised that on the surface seem to be genuine only to end up be fictitious and an attempt to harvest resumes.

I just wondered what has been the general experience of those making applications, good bad or indifferent. I'm not looking for names etc, just an honest impression of experience from those seeking work and those who have made applications. I would also be interested are the problems faced confined to one or more Industries or sectors.

Thanks in for advance for any HONEST responses.

Quant

Bad

It's the lack of acknowledgement that I found most frustrating. Even a "thanks but no thanks" email would have made a difference.

epgc3fyqirnbsx

Bad

I'v had 1 interview this year for a sales job that I was very well suited to

I sat in front of a panel of three people for 45 minutes and had to give them a sales pitch for their product. So it was something that required quite a bit of preparation.

They said they would let me know around the middle of the following week

I heard nothing back which I felt was bad form

who_ru

a company that is using an agency is automatically giving an extremely negative impression of their business in my opinion. agencies are very cynical in their approach to recruitment in general, there are numerous examples on these threads to back this argument up.

HR in general is dismal - totally out of their depth at understanding the job or asking relevant questions during interview, this has been my direct experience in my sector - pharma.

during bad times employers will raise the bar even for low level positions. during good times employees or prospective employees will totally over estimate their worth - i know of someone that demanded 65,000 p.a. for manufacturing position within a multinational.

with regard to acknowledgment of applications i think not getting any will become the norm but over time this could also backfire on businesses, for example people having no loyalty to their employer, walking out without giving notice, being unhelpful to fellow colleagues or customers. bad manners or lack of professional courtesy is a two way street.

miec

Bad

Whilst it is frustrating to often hear no response from prospective employers, I can understand the problems they face. They advertise a job and they are inundated with hundreds of applications, if they are a private company, then they also get calls from recruitment agencies, so I can understand that it is a question of logistics and cost as to the lack of response but what I would like to see is within the advert that they give a cut off date. So for example say I own a company and I have a vacancy, it would make sense to put in the ad that if you have not heard by X date, you will not be contacted for interview. That elimates the uncertainty for the applicant and deals with cost/logistics for the company. [If anyone reading this and advertising a job, please do it, it saves a lot of hassle].

For those who have been called for interview, they should get a written response either by e-mail or letter, letting them know if they are successful.

Recruitment agencies are a whole other area but I believe the reason they advertise false jobs, or readvertise a job they had months ago, or copy others who are advertising the job is for multiple reasons. 1) to harvest CVs and gather information on potential clients 2) they have to look like or give the impression that they are very busy and doing well 3) the whole recruitment process is based on sales, matching staff with companies and this is why the above issues occur. I have read that a job gets advertised and all the agencies have to compete for the one job. In reality the job market is practically dead. I am job seeking in three counties and have been doing this since becoming unemployed last year when I left college, as I have a child in school, emigration is not an option for me. I am registered with four agencies and I got a sniff of a job once but the contract fell through, that agency has been very honest with me, telling me the market is dead and they are struggling.

Then there is the issue of WPP jobs and CE schemes, now CE schemes have been around for a long time and as such have no real affect on the jobs markets but more and more companies are using the WPP schemes because the government pays their staff. As such there are fewer jobs than ever because of this, so competition is even tighter.

I guess what I find the most frustrating is the time and effort that I put into each application with little or no reward but you know you have to dredge up the enthusiam, keep positive and show how much you want that job. Some jobs I have gone for have taken days of research and filling in application forms, tweaking my CV and cover letter for it and then nothing, no response. It can get me down but I have to be pragmatic and keep searching.

My experience of interviews so far have been incredibly positive I have to say, it is just getting that interview is the real problem and each company I have had an interview with has dealt with me professionally and with courtesy. I didn't get the job because they found the candidate with the exact right criteria but I got good feedback of two of them. I have only had three interviews with companies and the four interviews with the recruitment agencies out of a couple of hundred job applications but such is life and you have to keep going.

Dempo1

who_ru wrote: »

a company that is using an agency is automatically giving an extremely negative impression of their business in my opinion. agencies are very cynical in their approach to recruitment in general, there are numerous examples on these threads to back this argument up.

HR in general is dismal - totally out of their depth at understanding the job or asking relevant questions during interview, this has been my direct experience in my sector - pharma.

during bad times employers will raise the bar even for low level positions. during good times employees or prospective employees will totally over estimate their worth - i know of someone that demanded 65,000 p.a. for manufacturing position within a multinational.

with regard to acknowledgment of applications i think not getting any will become the norm but over time this could also backfire on businesses, for example people having no loyalty to their employer, walking out without giving notice, being unhelpful to fellow colleagues or customers. bad manners or lack of professional courtesy is a two way street.

Excellent points all round, it really does seem Companies are letting the eye off the Ball when it comes to quality recruitment practices. It seems to me that during this economic crisis companies would dedicate more time to attracting and hiring quality. I also agree that a company using recruitment agencies does not give an positive impression, such is my disdain for Agencies, i now search for Jobs that do not use agencies. I also agree that the total lack of respect towards candidates, particularly those who succeed in getting an interview is a disgrace and it seems to be rampant in the Irish Labor market.

Dempo1

miec wrote: »

Whilst it is frustrating to often hear no response from prospective employers, I can understand the problems they face. They advertise a job and they are inundated with hundreds of applications, if they are a private company, then they also get calls from recruitment agencies, so I can understand that it is a question of logistics and cost as to the lack of response but what I would like to see is within the advert that they give a cut off date. So for example say I own a company and I have a vacancy, it would make sense to put in the ad that if you have not heard by X date, you will not be contacted for interview. That elimates the uncertainty for the applicant and deals with cost/logistics for the company. [If anyone reading this and advertising a job, please do it, it saves a lot of hassle].

For those who have been called for interview, they should get a written response either by e-mail or letter, letting them know if they are successful.

Recruitment agencies are a whole other area but I believe the reason they advertise false jobs, or readvertise a job they had months ago, or copy others who are advertising the job is for multiple reasons. 1) to harvest CVs and gather information on potential clients 2) they have to look like or give the impression that they are very busy and doing well 3) the whole recruitment process is based on sales, matching staff with companies and this is why the above issues occur. I have read that a job gets advertised and all the agencies have to compete for the one job. In reality the job market is practically dead. I am job seeking in three counties and have been doing this since becoming unemployed last year when I left college, as I have a child in school, emigration is not an option for me. I am registered with four agencies and I got a sniff of a job once but the contract fell through, that agency has been very honest with me, telling me the market is dead and they are struggling.

Then there is the issue of WPP jobs and CE schemes, now CE schemes have been around for a long time and as such have no real affect on the jobs markets but more and more companies are using the WPP schemes because the government pays their staff. As such there are fewer jobs than ever because of this, so competition is even tighter.

I guess what I find the most frustrating is the time and effort that I put into each application with little or no reward but you know you have to dredge up the enthusiam, keep positive and show how much you want that job. Some jobs I have gone for have taken days of research and filling in application forms, tweaking my CV and cover letter for it and then nothing, no response. It can get me down but I have to be pragmatic and keep searching.

My experience of interviews so far have been incredibly positive I have to say, it is just getting that interview is the real problem and each company I have had an interview with has dealt with me professionally and with courtesy. I didn't get the job because they found the candidate with the exact right criteria but I got good feedback of two of them. I have only had three interviews with companies and the four interviews with the recruitment agencies out of a couple of hundred job applications but such is life and you have to keep going.

I appreciate where your coming from and it continues to be very frustrating. I am caught in a sector which seems to rely heavily on recruitment agencies ( which sadly have destroyed the market in my opionion) Your points about the motivations behind agencies is 100% on the Mark, just last week i had a meeting in an office of a large recruitment firm, the office i attended was in a large midlands town. I was greeted by a scruffy unshaven "consultant", pleasant enough but it soon became apparent he was out of his depth, instead asking me how where things generally in the market. After the meeting i asked him how business was? he invited me to look around the office. Five empty desks to be precise and he informed me five consultants let go after christmas, kinda said it all to me but yet this company is currently advertising over 100 jobs most fictitious and on line for months, bizarre state of affairs.

miec

Bad

I agree it is all a bit pointless and time wasting, I guess for now, we just have to grin and bear.

Raekwon

Bad

I will be leaving my current employer at the end of March as my contract expires and they have told me that they cannot afford to keep me on. I found this out last month so I've been looking for a new job ever since. I've probably applied for around 30 jobs and I've gotten 1 interview, which was unfortunately unsuccessful.

I'm dreading facing unemployment and I'm determined to get a job but I have to say that it's not looking too rosy out there at the moment.

I work in IT btw.

BopNiblets

If I even get a response from a company these days I feel lucky... it's total and utter balls and I wish they'd explode for not giving me the time of day.

Dempo1

Hopefully when things do turn around, the table will turn with these companies. Watching front line tonight was a depressing state of affairs. Graduates and recent apprentices are in dispair, its a complete mess.

30d1a1

have a cert and Ordinary degree in Electronics engineering and cannot get a thing due to having no industry experience (or an hons degree)

workin in a supermarket atm, but even they've cut back on hours and are due to introduce pay cuts ....

tried the UK but same sort of outcome, would easily ship off to Aus or NZ if I hadnt a few things tieing me local-ish (EU) that have to be sorted in person over the next few months..

counted my emails lately and have sent off over 40 or so CV's in the past 3 months, only gotten 10 responces...

frustration isnt the word

Dempo1

That is disheartening, not sure if you saw the front line program tonight, there is a thread running under front line 22nd February. Mainly graduates in the audience and it was quite depressing to watch, you can catch it on rte player at www.rte.ie

items

Construction here, trades. I'm qualified in my trade with with a good few other related qualifications an employer would find handy to have to use for advantage. Since things became quite I've been looking along with applying for jobs, I've got most of the big jobs sites set up to send an email to my address should any jobs in my trade become available.

I've lost count of how many I've applied for but the amount of responses is easy to remember, zero. I almost think jobs are advertised for the craic to see who applies for them.

In all my years of working any job I've applied for which has been a good few (15 years) I got all jobs applied for so to not even have a response I find strange.

I've also applied for work abroad and so far I have received a response from all jobs applied for abroad.

Couple of thing's I notice is 1, how quick Jobs advertised are taken off jobs sites, ones I've found haven't lasted more than 3 days and 2 its hard to find work available above a few months / weeks contract, seems to be no fixed positions, some have the cheek to almost advertise a job then it turns out its only a tender for a Job for self employed people.

I've given up applying here, for every job applied for I re typed my CV to suit some of the key job requirements advertised, I've typed up fancy cover letters outlining my experiences in relation to job so that recruitment can pick up on the good things quick without trolling through entire CV, all that took some time, each CV sent could take a couple of hours Cover letter / CV prep and to not even receive a response I haven't the will to apply anymore.

I'm only going to concentrate on jobs abroad, going for best deal I can get.

Best of luck to all applying.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Bad

It's not that I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, it's the fact that there is no light at the end of the tunnel that worries me. I have worked for 2 months in the past 18... That was just a temp role before christmas for Microsoft. It broke the monotomous cycle and gave me some much needed cash, but I cannot see myself working for the next year or more. That's terrible, I want to work, so do most people but there is nothing for us here.

Right now I am starting to look abroad, our skills and education is simply not wanted or needed here. I have to save my social welfare and any other money I get my hands on to pay for flights and a visa. That could take me a very long time on this low income. It's very very sad indeed

30d1a1

Dempo1 wrote: »

That is disheartening, not sure if you saw the front line program tonight, there is a thread running under front line 22nd February. Mainly graduates in the audience and it was quite depressing to watch, you can catch it on rte player at www.rte.ie

saw the repeat early in the morning ....

some fairly good points made, some patronisation of students though from the peers sayin they don't know what bad is ....

i'm working, but in a supermarket, it'd be actually more logical for me to go on the dole, money wise, but I wouldnt be able to hack not working ....

would gladly do unpaid work experience, applied for loads of them, but you even need experience to get places on the work experience ?? what a catch 22

i really dont know what to do, place is a shambles and there is simply zero communication between people, if I was in the position to I'd hav up sticks ages ago, unfortunately can't go far for another few months

mood

Bad

30d1a1 wrote: »

saw the repeat early in the morning ....

some fairly good points made, some patronisation of students though from the peers sayin they don't know what bad is ....

i'm working, but in a supermarket, it'd be actually more logical for me to go on the dole, money wise, but I wouldnt be able to hack not working ....

would gladly do unpaid work experience, applied for loads of them, but you even need experience to get places on the work experience ?? what a catch 22

i really dont know what to do, place is a shambles and there is simply zero communication between people, if I was in the position to I'd hav up sticks ages ago, unfortunately can't go far for another few months

You are better of in a supermarket than on the dole.

1/ You have something to do.
2/ It looks better on your cv so job hunting in the future will be easier.

Dempo1

items wrote: »

Construction here, trades. I'm qualified in my trade with with a good few other related qualifications an employer would find handy to have to use for advantage. Since things became quite I've been looking along with applying for jobs, I've got most of the big jobs sites set up to send an email to my address should any jobs in my trade become available.

I've lost count of how many I've applied for but the amount of responses is easy to remember, zero. I almost think jobs are advertised for the craic to see who applies for them.

In all my years of working any job I've applied for which has been a good few (15 years) I got all jobs applied for so to not even have a response I find strange.

I've also applied for work abroad and so far I have received a response from all jobs applied for abroad.

Couple of thing's I notice is 1, how quick Jobs advertised are taken off jobs sites, ones I've found haven't lasted more than 3 days and 2 its hard to find work available above a few months / weeks contract, seems to be no fixed positions, some have the cheek to almost advertise a job then it turns out its only a tender for a Job for self employed people.

I've given up applying here, for every job applied for I re typed my CV to suit some of the key job requirements advertised, I've typed up fancy cover letters outlining my experiences in relation to job so that recruitment can pick up on the good things quick without trolling through entire CV, all that took some time, each CV sent could take a couple of hours Cover letter / CV prep and to not even receive a response I haven't the will to apply anymore.

I'm only going to concentrate on jobs abroad, going for best deal I can get.

Best of luck to all applying.

I'm pretty much in the same situation although a different field, ironically affected by the downturn in the construction world. Your experience with Job applications is mirrored by thousands of people and the lack of any response or just basic acknowledgment of applications to Irish employers is just shocking and quite disgraceful. I too agree that it appears the only responses coming, good, bad or indifferent only seem to come from foreign applications. Seems to me Ireland's HR and Recruitment industries need to appraise their approach and at the very least get some manners. There is also clear evidence of fictitious jobs being posted on certain recruitment websites.

OneStop

Bad

+1 for most of what most people are experiencing here. I have applied for over 100 jobs in the last three months, results as follows:

1 Actual job interview - Successful but only 2 hours per week (better than nothing i suppose!).

8 Recruitment agency (i shudder even hearing the word now!) interviews - 6 of which where for absolutely nothing, 1 was actually a lead but went nowhere and the third wouldn't put my CV forward to the client (surprise).

All in all, this is an extremely FRUSTRATING experience. While there are a couple of few recruitment agencies left, most of them are making a bad situation worse by posting fake/repeat job adverts.

As for companies advertising separately, well I feel sorry for them. Not only are they inundated with application that having NOTHING to do with the role, they also have to contend with leeching recruitment agencies.

One chap in a recruitment agency told me he had over 150 applications for a job posting just TWO hours after he put it up on boards...scary stuff!

mood wrote: »

You are better of in a supermarket than on the dole.

1/ You have something to do.
2/ It looks better on your cv so job hunting in the future will be easier.

While I agree with point no.1, I think point no.2 is a catch 22, while its true that if you have a job gap in your CV you get discriminated against for it, however, if you fill that time with something out of your field you still get discriminated against because people think you weren't good enough to find a job in your own industry.

Personally, I would rather say I was studying / traveling rather than have completely irrelevant work experience on my CV. Would you not agree?

mood

Bad

If you claimed you were studying you would need the course on your cv and if you say you were traveling you could get caught out lying!

OneStop

Bad

mood wrote: »

If you claimed you were studying you would need the course on your cv and if you say you were traveling you could get caught out lying!

Yes, providing both reasons were not true, but thats not really my point.

What I mean is that having irrelevant experience on your CV can sometimes be as damaging as a "job gap"... especially now that CV's are filtered out for the smallest of reasons. Bare in mind this is more of a question than a statement

Personally, I have had plenty of "irrelevant" jobs which i have excluded from my CV for fear of looking like I "job hop" or am not "focused on my career".

mood

Bad

There are different ways it could be looked at. You just have to do what you feel is best at the time. And you can't be sure what point of view a potential employer will take.

6th

Bad

I applied for a job last friday night and even I have to admit I was probably crazy writing the cover letter I did. It was a job in an area I have no official experience in and I made that clear. I had nothing to lose so I was funny, causual and completely honest.

Not back long from the interview and I've the second one of Friday. The guy interviewing me said he contacted based on the email and had a good laugh reading it.

My advice, take a risk now and then to get noticed.

dinnybatman2

6th wrote: »

I applied for a job last friday night and even I have to admit I was probably crazy writing the cover letter I did. It was a job in an area I have no official experience in and I made that clear. I had nothing to lose so I was funny, causual and completely honest.

Not back long from the interview and I've the second one of Friday. The guy interviewing me said he contacted based on the email and had a good laugh reading it.

My advice, take a risk now and then to get noticed.

Well done! Might be a bit cheeky to ask, but could you post your cover letter, to give us some pointers. Obviously leave out anything too personal;).

miec

Bad

I've given up applying here, for every job applied for I re typed my CV to suit some of the key job requirements advertised, I've typed up fancy cover letters outlining my experiences in relation to job so that recruitment can pick up on the good things quick without trolling through entire CV, all that took some time, each CV sent could take a couple of hours Cover letter / CV prep and to not even receive a response I haven't the will to apply anymore.

I know the feeling, it can be so hard doing it time after time and I agree that it is disheartening when you hear nothing but if you don't put the effort in you could lose out on that one job you could get.

I have applied for over 150 jobs since last May, there are some that I put more effort it because they appear to be real jobs, ones with recruitment agencies I have learned not to kill myself over them.

I think the biggest problem for most jobseekers is that there does not appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel. I was convinced with my number of years experience, my B.A and M.A (all 1sts) that I would have been employed by Christmas, ha! I have to laugh at myself. I know at some point I have to be employed but I can't see it happening at the moment and the longer you are unemployed the harder it is to keep motivated and additionally, employers are less likely to employ you.

Having said that it has been heartening for me to read that others are experiencing the same thing because at least I know that we are all trying our best but that it is really, really tough. Fingers crossed we all get something and we just have to keep the chin up.

Dempo1

OneStop wrote: »

+1 for most of what most people are experiencing here. I have applied for over 100 jobs in the last three months, results as follows:

1 Actual job interview - Successful but only 2 hours per week (better than nothing i suppose!).
8 Recruitment agency (i shudder even hearing the word now!) interviews - 6 of which where for absolutely nothing, 1 was actually a lead but went nowhere and the third wouldn't put my CV forward to the client (surprise).

All in all, this is an extremely FRUSTRATING experience. While there are a couple of few recruitment agencies left, most of them are making a bad situation worse by posting fake/repeat job adverts.

I Could not agree more with every single point you made, particularly vulture recruitment agencies who appear to have F%^KED up the complete recruitment process. It just amazes me how hiring companies continue to use recruitment agencies, whats the point of it all. As for fake postings, all of the recruitment sites should be held accountable for allowing recruitment agencies post fake jobs. Just today i went on a number of sites and i could pick out up to twenty that don't exist and of course all through agencies, its a total disgrace and gone seem to be the days of regulations.

itac

Like many others, it's more frustrating to hear nothing. The worst thing is reading an ad, and trying to remember if you've already applied for that job, because so many of them are sounding the same, or are the same job just worded differently on another site. I've started keeping a list of what/when I've applied for just to double check back on!

I'd say on average, for every 10 jobs I apply for, I might hear back from one of them for either an interview, or a thanks-but-no-thanks. If I get the interview, out of every 4, 1 might get in touch to say tough luck. The others just leave you sitting in limbo, which is seriously annoying.

I wish they'd just say at the end of the interview, look, if you've not heard from us by x date, it's safe to assume you're not in consideration. It's not that hard to do-I've interviewed for staff, and have always said that at the end of the interview. It's a lazy/cheap way of communication, but at least it's some form of it!

6th wrote: »

I applied for a job last friday night and even I have to admit I was probably crazy writing the cover letter I did. It was a job in an area I have no official experience in and I made that clear. I had nothing to lose so I was funny, causual and completely honest.

Not back long from the interview and I've the second one of Friday. The guy interviewing me said he contacted based on the email and had a good laugh reading it.

My advice, take a risk now and then to get noticed.

Same as that, in my most recent interview, the guy thanked me for my application letter, he said he'd had hundreds of "dear-sir-here's-my-cv-k-thanks-bye" style letters.

Applying in formats like this* can be a winner, especially if it's for a company who want innovative/out-of-the-ordinary thinks!

*If you're too lazy to click the link, it's basically a stop-motion video of a job application, very cleverly done!

OneStop

Bad

itac wrote: »

The worst thing is reading an ad, and trying to remember if you've already applied for that job, because so many of them are sounding the same, or are the same job just worded differently on another site. I've started keeping a list of what/when I've applied for just to double check back on!

Haha, I feel your pain! I have an excel spreadsheet of every job I apply for...however I'm starting to think its not worth it. Chance are that if I apply to the same job even 10 times over, it still wont get read

Speaking of which, if I call up another recruitment agency to follow up on an email, just to hear its sitting in their inbox UNREAD, I will go spare...

Dempo1

OneStop wrote: »

Haha, I feel your pain! I have an excel spreadsheet of every job I apply for...however I'm starting to think its not worth it. Chance are that if I apply to the same job even 10 times over, it still wont get read

Speaking of which, if I call up another recruitment agency to follow up on an email, just to hear its sitting in their inbox UNREAD, I will go spare...

Hi There, i know its not easy but I would give up on Recruitment agencies, they are just a complete disaster, i have lost count of the amount of times i heard that excuse (email still in the In box), my response "Opening the damn email", its just unbelievable the daily stories of recruitment agencies, how in gods name are some of these cowboys still in Business, maybe its because they only pay commission and with none due, it must be a cheap business to run:D

6th

Bad

dinnybatman2 wrote: »

Well done! Might be a bit cheeky to ask, but could you post your cover letter, to give us some pointers. Obviously leave out anything too personal;).

If I left out the personal stuff it would consist of "Dear Sir/Madam ....... Yours Sincerely".

It was very specific to myself and the job so theres no great format tips. After 11 months of unemployment I'm glad I took the risk.

gline

Ive had a few companies saying the job isnt suited to me, yet I meet all the criteria and then some. Thats when they actually reply to me, which is roughly 20% of the time. Also I have one particular agency emailing me totally inappropiate jobs every day that I definitly am not qualified for.. basically spam.

But in general most places just dont reply