# Ask the job recruiter **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 24, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152 "2010-10-24T00:38:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![purple\_haze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@purple\_haze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_haze)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/41 "2010-10-26T01:13:19Z")
> [@Chest\_Rockwell](#): > > Such as? Well, I pulled a guy aside and sent him packing because he rushed through the first test and started talking to the people around him when they were trying to focus on their work. Checked his texts while I was talking. Didn’t complete the paperwork because he took a 10 minute cigarette break; “I’ll get to that later…” He was disruptive and I pulled him into an adjacent office to tell him that if he couldn’t focus during an orientation he wasn’t going to do well on the job. Beyond that you’re evaluated on how well you interact with others, follow directions, pay attention to detail, etc. The process is time consuming and the people that start to get rude or impatient won’t be placed. Please don’t call me hon, dear, sweetheart, etc. You may be very well meaning but I hate that; most women do when you’re a relative stranger. I know this is all common sense but it surprises me that people don’t know how to behave during an interview. For some reason a LOT of applicants share details of their lives that are very personal, which can get weird at times. ---
**Author:** ![purple\_haze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@purple\_haze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_haze)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/42 "2010-10-26T01:25:50Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Since you don’t directly hire someone, maybe you’re not the best person to ask this to, but I’ll give it a shot. > > What do the numbers look like? In other words, for a particular job, how many interested people do you get? How many of those interested people are qualified? How many of those people are contacted for a follow-up by phone or email? How many of them are invited in for an interview? > > I imagine the answer to this is somewhat job-specific … but is there any ballpark range? Over the course of the last week I talked to a couple of hundred people and did three orientations. Placed 18-20 or so in jobs. An HR person in a workplace looking for a handful of applicants will receive hundreds of resumes. First you toss the poorly formatted full of spelling errors six pages long resumes, the obviously unqualified people applying for every job they see even though they aren’t well suited for the position, the ones that call even when you post “no phone calls”, and the people that live a ridiculous distance from the job. After that it’s time to review the rest more carefully, and several applicants are scheduled to interview for each opening. The interview is what brings it home, and often times a second interview is done with the manager that the employee will be working with. I’m sure different companies do things their own way such as using keyword searches to weed out applicants or testing procedures, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/43 "2010-10-26T02:50:10Z")
> [@purple\_haze](#): > > People that have been drinking for a while often have a ruddy complexion and their noses are red, often with broken blood vessels. A beer gut isn’t a myth, sometimes they will have a big belly but the rest of them is average sized. Hands are trembling slightly. Heavy use of mouthwash and cologne. There is also a certain look that people get in their eyes when they are prolonged drinkers that is hard to explain. If you combine these physical symptoms with the smell that comes out of their pores a day or two after a bender it’s easy to tell. > > As far as drugs go, if an applicant comes in and reminds me very strongly of my daughter when she was using it’s a sure bet. They too have a look in their eyes, a certain intensity that is always there, that they can’t conceal and that alone is a dead giveaway. Combine it with that jumpy nervousness and slightly shaky hands and there ya go. > > When I ask them if they want to tell me about it and that I do drug screens, most tell the truth. That’s fine. Everybody has the right to be respected and I hope they return when they can pass the drug screen test. I can’t help but think you are being unfairly discriminatory here. Are there any scientific criteria upon which you base your assumptions or is it just a hunch on your part? I ask because I have [rosacea](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosacea), which makes my nose and cheeks very flushed and rosy. I don’t do drugs and don’t drink. I would also probably be nervous at a job interview. How do I know you won’t screen me out based on some vague assumption? I just don’t believe that you can reliably detect a drug user based on a “look in their eyes” or “certain intensity.” > [@purple\_haze](#): > > I’ll graduate in the spring with a bachelor’s degree in HR management. I found out about the job through the recommendation of a friend. She told the management team that I was a strong candidate and they hired me after a couple of interviews.. What were you doing as a job/career before this job at the staffing agency? Did you work previously in HR jobs similar to this one? Do they teach you or address how to tell if someone is on drugs or an alcoholic in your HR management program at school? ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/44 "2010-10-26T02:59:20Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] There is also a certain look that people get in their eyes when they are prolonged drinkers that is hard to explain. If you combine these physical symptoms with the smell that comes out of their pores a day or two after a bender it’s easy to tell. [/QUOTE] It is more than the color of the skin, or the nervousness. If you combine both of those with someone who smells of alcohol, keeps popping breath mints, and gets nervous when you tell them they will have a local police records check, you may have a person who has a problem with alcohol. SSG (P) Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![purple\_haze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@purple\_haze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_haze)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/45 "2010-10-26T03:16:26Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > I can’t help but think you are being unfairly discriminatory here. Are there any scientific criteria upon which you base your assumptions or is it just a hunch on your part? I ask because I have [rosacea](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosacea), which makes my nose and cheeks very flushed and rosy. I don’t do drugs and don’t drink. I would also probably be nervous at a job interview. How do I know you won’t screen me out based on some vague assumption? I just don’t believe that you can reliably detect a drug user based on a “look in their eyes” or “certain intensity.” > > Do they teach you or address how to tell if someone is on drugs or an alcoholic in your HR management program at school? I may notice certain characteristics and have a pretty good idea what’s going on but in the end a drug screen will remove any doubt. That’s the scientific criteria that you’re probably asking about. I wouldn’t eliminate you from consideration for a skin condition or because you’re nervous. At the university we learn about labor laws, management principles, compensation and health care plan administration, training and development, safety and health… and so on. At work we deal with real life scenarios day after day, which is just as educational. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/46 "2010-10-26T03:58:36Z")
> [@purple\_haze](#): > > What field are you interested in getting into? At this point, anything that could turn into a long term career with benefits and a steady income. The only ones that would probably be out would be a sales position. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/47 "2010-10-26T17:55:47Z")
> [@purple\_haze](#): > > (snip) or “We need an accounting professional/office manager/IT savvy tech support type of person.” Yeah, OK. :smack: That kinda sums up my job. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/48 "2010-10-26T18:14:08Z")
Do employers really give a rats about a cover letter? Do they really read it? I can write a good letter, but after awhile I wonder if they are necessary. It’s mostly ass-kissing, so do we really need to play that game? I think my resume reads pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![purple\_haze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@purple\_haze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purple_haze)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/49 "2010-10-27T00:48:05Z")
> [@campp](#): > > Do employers really give a rats about a cover letter? Do they really read it? I can write a good letter, but after awhile I wonder if they are necessary. It’s mostly ass-kissing, so do we really need to play that game? I think my resume reads pretty well. I would agree with you there. I don’t care about the cover letters at all. The only time they’re somewhat helpful is when you fax your resume to me. Sometimes after I go to a career fair and hand out business cards I get resumes faxed to me. In that case they’re helpful because people will include how/when/where they met me in the cover letter which helps me to remember them. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/50 "2010-10-27T01:38:25Z")
> [@purple\_haze](#): > > snip… After that it’s time to review the rest more carefully, and several applicants are scheduled to interview for each opening. The interview is what brings it home, and often times a second interview is done with the manager that the employee will be working with. I’d like to send you a resume as well and see what you think. I just got a rejection email from a company I was interviewing for. Heard via Secret Squirrel that I aced both interviews, and scored a 100% on the MS Word exam they asked me to take, but I didn’t get the job. Sheesh. What’s it take to get a job these days? ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152/51 "2010-10-27T19:34:04Z")
When I was job-hunting several years ago, I worked with several placement / recruiter firms in the IT field. A handful sent me out on an interview with a potential client / employer. NOT ONE of the firms sent me out on an interview with TWO potential clients / employers. I’m not referring to second interviews with the employers – I refer to first interviews with a second employer. Any idea why this kept happening to me? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-job-recruiter/558152.md?page=2)