You have to use your noggin - for example, applying for my current job in a dress, hose, pumps, etc. would be ludicrous. You show up in steel toed workboots, rugged pants, and a t-shirt. If you own your own safety glasses and hard hat so much the better.
But that’s my current job. I’ve gone full-on business formal for the office jobs I’ve applied for in the past.
I will note, however, that when applying for my current job a plain t-shirt is advisable, because you never know how the boss will take your choice in rock/death metal bands or sleezy pictures or trite wolves howling at the moon shirt.
Perhaps some of the HR pros on here could explain why some organizations seem to have embraced the obviously automated email response of: Thank you for your interest in Shluffelhumper and Co. Your application has been received for review. Please be aware that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Surely it must serve some purpose(s) other than [del]stroking the egos[/del] simply confirming receipt of the [del]special snowflakes’[/del] applicants’ submitted materials? Perhaps some benefit(s) to the organization?
I don’t have much to add to your post but I did want to change fairly certain to absolutely positive I agree and I’m not talking about this sort of thing. I think it goes to respect for the company and for the job you’re applying for. It’s awfully hard to look like you respect the job you’re applying for if you are dressed inappropriately. I figure if I dress like I am coming to work though it’s not a sign of disrespect and you can then use the interview to show them that respect. Always know the company and what they want you to do. Make sure they know that you know this and have been thinking about how you’d fit there.
Maybe I’m wrong but I believe if you pull that off then they’re really not going to be put off too much by you not over dressing. I don’t feel that wearing a suit shows respect as much as it shows conformity to protocol which is useful as well of course, especially in bigger companies, but if you’ve got the chops, have proven you know how you want to fit in and that you’ve gone the extra mile yourself to show them this you’re better served than just wearing a suit and showing up.
No HR person but it sounds like it’s to stop the rejected 150 applicants from calling, emailing etc asking about the job. Whether this is the best or most efficient way to do this I have no clue but it doesn’t require much effort to implement whereas fielding countless calls and reading countless emails is very personnel intensive. Even if only weeds out half the inquiries that’s a lot of free man hours right there.
Judging by this thread though, it doesn’t really set well with folks.
Exactly. That’s one of the reasons. It’s similar to an automated vacation message. People I know who work in HR find it reduces their workload considerably.
I’m a happy special snowflake when I get one of these.
Especially since I know perfectly well that all the documents they wanted me to attach could easily have flagged me as spam or have prevented my app from going through, and thus, I don’t know if they received the four to six 1-5 page items they required of all applicants (typical in my field) at time of application.
In fact, it’s all my over-inflated ego would ever have an inkling of hope that HR might do: “Yeah, we got your stuff. Don’t hold your breath.”
Since this is a rant thread, a recruiter called me last friday and told me she’d be out of the office but to call on tuesday to set up an interview.
I’ve called every day this week starting tuesday and gotten only voicemail and not one call back. I can understand not answering blind resumes but she had no problem doing that. When I try to follow her instructions however, crickets.
I’m not sure what’s going on here but I’m pretty much done trying to get that interview. Any insights? Maybe she was hit by a bus or became a mute?
I agree completely. In this day of email it would also be easy to set up an automated response saying the same. No hassle and costs nothing, no one is left hanging particularly if you state a time frame, e.g. if not conmtacted in six weeks assuem you have been unsuccesful. I’ve seen this a few times and it works.
Before this thread dies a timely death I just want to answer a few of the questions thrown my way.
First, I ranted here because it is an anonymous message board, I’m not so stupid that I would actually do it in an application.
Secondly, on the subject of my resume (or CV as we say here), it may not be perfect, few things are, but it is the best I can do and it has been checked by a professional careers advisor and a few former colleagues.
Thirdly, I may have unrealistic expectations regarding a response and I accept that that is my problem not the company I am applying to. But as I said above it is easy to set up an automated response. Out of all the jobs I’ve applied for this year only one was on a handwriten application form and I got an interview for that one.
You may not think so but an automated response can easily turn into the worse thing the business has ever done. All it takes is one mistake to the “wrong person” informing said person that they are out of the running when, in fact, they are still in the running or informing someone of the opposite situation.
Thank you for responding to our advertisement seeking a [job title]. This e-mail is to let you know that your application was successfully received. If you are selected to move to the next stage of the application process, which will be [interview/test/whatever] we will contact you by no later than [date]. We appreciate your interest in [firm].
I know very well how HR works in the organization in which I work. Because I actually work in HR (although not recruiting) in the organization in which I work. Do you know how HR works everywhere? You seem to be implying that you do.
Where I work, recruiters are assigned to a particular area of business and they have to know that area very well. One of our nursing recruiters used to be a nurse, for example. They work very closely with every hiring manager to write and fully understand the job descriptions for each position. I can think of one recruiter who was let go fairly recently for not understanding and responding to the business needs of the area that she was assigned to. It’s absolutely untrue that HR is responsible to no one and goes unchecked. Again, at least where I work. We’re accountable to many internal and external departments, including a lot of regulatory agencies. Every single application we receive that does not advance to the screening level still has to have documentation on why that person was not selected for an interview.
Perhaps you should acknowledge that your broad-brush assumptions aren’t reflective of every HR department.
I do think this helps somewhat. It doesn’t stop those people, however, who will still call or drop by, wondering why they weren’t contacted after submitting their application. There are many people who completely ignore that automatically-generated response.
I agree that it would be lovely if everyone could be contacted, regardless of whether they were going to advance in the process or not. But it would also be lovely if this economy allowed for us to have the administrative support we would need for other, more pressing business needs and we just don’t. I suspect that a lot of places don’t.
Do you have any other contact numbers? The hiring manager’s number or anything like that?
This kind of behavior is unacceptable.
Actually, what you should do is try to call/email, secure the interview(s) and then once you’ve gotten your stuff in order (presented yourself as a good applicant, possibly gotten the job, that sort of thing) bring it up to your hiring manager or someone in HR. Perhaps there’s a good reason for not getting a call back (a family emergency). If there isn’t, then this could hamper the organization.
Quality people can be snatched up in a moments notice - so an HR recruiter who is dilly-dallying and not getting back to applicants can cost the org quality people.
As someone who has had to do all too much job hunting these past few years I would love that sort of “we have successfully received your application” acknowledgment to become routine for two reasons:
It lets me know that the software actually functioned - otherwise you’re just dropping things into a black hole.
Various job hunting assistance and government agencies require that you prove you have been diligently applying for work. An acknowledgement of that sort is exactly what people in such programs needs. Otherwise, proving you’ve been job hunting can be extremely difficult, making an already difficult time even more stressful than it already is. Not to mention the time and energy consumed in finding alternate means of documentation that, really, I’d much rather spend on actual job hunting.
However - one of the reasons people ignore the “don’t call us, we’ll call you” aspect is that they are told to do exactly that. The desperate job hunter is caught between trying to follow the rules as laid out by the employer and following the rules presented by people telling them to be aggressive in following up and following the rules set out by aid agencies. I can’t count the number of sites and so-called experts that say “ignore anything to the contrary - keep contacting the companies you applied to.” Not to mention that if someone is getting rent assistance or food stamps and they’re told “either you apply to these jobs - even if you’re not qualified - and you keep hammering away and calling them - even if they tell you not to - or you’re going to lose your assistance” guess what will happen? Because, after enough time as long-term unemployed you’re going to be relying on government aid (pitiful though that is) and you’ll do whatever the government agency tells you to do, because they control your shelter and your access to food to at least some extent, and possibly entirely.
Of course, this annoys the hell out of HR departments and prospective employers, and probably makes them slightly less likely to hire those people - which just further perpetuates the cycle of long term unemployment.
Seriously - at one point I was ordered to apply for a job I was in no way qualified and told that if I did not, not only would I lose my food stamps (which were the only thing keeping us fed at the time, other than what I had in the freezer from the garden) but I could be forced to refund the benefit money we had received up to that point. Yeah, I applied for the job. It was one of the more humiliating experiences I’ve had to go through recently. The employer was furious. I got quite the verbal brow-beating. But what choice did I have? It was that or lose my ability to put food on the table. If I wanted us to eat that month (nevermind the prospect of being forced to repay with money we didn’t have) I had no choice.
So, my apologies to the HR people who have to endure that sort of bullshit. It’s not fun for us, either. But that has a lot to do with why you’re getting wildly unqualified people applying for jobs. It has to do with some of the folks who call you after applying even when you asked them not to. It just causes more resume flooding, which just makes it harder for people actually qualified to get noticed.
Exactly. I don’t think applicants need their hand held through rejection, but just knowing that the firm even received the application is useful. Even with no contact date, just a “thanks for applying, we received your information” email is useful. Otherwise, it’s very possible that the information was not received.