# Job Seekers, what turns you off immediately? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443 "2012-05-09T23:58:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/41 "2012-05-10T20:48:23Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > On the first call I always ask if I’ll have an office with a door. Even if I’m just doing some sort of short term consulting job I won’t work in a cube so if I discover that’s expected I just tell them I don’t think it’ll be a good match and terminated the interview there. I had one potential employer get really upset at that point and tried to insist that I finish the interview. Not trying to hijack the thread, but I think you may be severely limiting your opportunities with this requirement. It’s really rare these days that you find a company with actual offices for any but the most senior managers. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/42 "2012-05-10T20:59:22Z")
**overly** -I assume HR reasons are synonomous with legal reasons? ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/43 "2012-05-10T21:00:09Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > On the first call I always ask if I’ll have an office with a door. Even if I’m just doing some sort of short term consulting job I won’t work in a cube so if I discover that’s expected I just tell them I don’t think it’ll be a good match and terminated the interview there. I had one potential employer get really upset at that point and tried to insist that I finish the interview. I just noticed this when **FatBaldGuy** pointed it out. Out of curiosity, what’s the typical response? ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/44 "2012-05-10T21:02:12Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > **overly** -I assume HR reasons are synonomous with legal reasons? Absolutely. In my previous job, we were required by our legal department to posts jobs externally even when they an internal candidate was already considered promoted to that position. For that reason, I usually try to go through a contact at the company or a recruiter who has a contact, because I often assume that my resume isn’t going to get seen or will quickly be thrown on the pile unless it’s highlighted by someone. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/45 "2012-05-10T21:04:06Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I once applied for a job that wanted me to sign a medical release form entitling them to view my medical records. Uh, no. Oh yeah. There were a couple places that wanted my credit report, even though what I was doing (email marketing) would have, by its nature, NOT entailed any access to sensitive information of any sort. You can’t send sensitive info over email and still expect it to remain private; so I would have had no need to access any of it to do my job. I refused to sign the release form. In one case I got to the interview and they never asked for the forms, and I never heard from them again so it was a moot point. In the other, it was for a temp job that I’d already been working on for months, I refused to consent to a credit check, the temp agency begged me to, I pointed out that I had no access to their financial information, didn’t need it, and didn’t want it. After a couple weeks of back and forth, I actually won that one. Thankfully it’s now illegal in Illinois for employers to ask for a credit report as a condition of employment. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/46 "2012-05-10T21:04:51Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > … You can’t really tell when they’ve already got someone in mind, but in my experience, a hefty percentage of jobs are posted externally because of HR policy, not necessarily because they actually plan to hire from the outside… “Must-have requirements: 5 years experience with our in-house proprietary, acronymic software you’ve never heard of and can’t possibly have ever used before, unless you worked here, which you haven’t, so, nyah.” ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/47 "2012-05-10T21:07:17Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > “Must-have requirements: 5 years experience with our in-house proprietary, acronymic software you’ve never heard of and can’t possibly have ever used before, unless you worked here, which you haven’t, so, nyah.” Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/48 "2012-05-10T21:22:06Z")
Posting for one job, and then interviewing me for a different job. I once submitted a resume/application for an inside sale position. Based on my work history and knowledge, I would have been a great fit for them. But I knew it was a no-go when the interviewer started asking me how I would handle a cold call visit to a new customer. Umm, I don’t do cold call visits to customers. That’s why I was applying for an inside sales position. I’m guessing they either filled the inside position or cancelled it, but decided to interview me for some unposted outside position, because of my history in the industry. Thanks for telling me ahead of time. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/49 "2012-05-10T21:53:10Z")
Wasting my time. That includes: 1. The most hated redundant forms. 2. Interviewing me even though the job doesn’t exist. 3. For temp agencies - not telling me the name of the potential employer. I’m not going to work with you if you refuse to tell me this. 4. Telling me to pop in for a short chat, and then insisting I fill out applications and take tests. I’ve walked out on interviews for this very reason. 5. Stating very clearly on the advertisement that experience is not necessary in a certain thing, and then at the interview I am sat across from a very frustrated interviewer who is very clear that the experience is very much necessary. And we are left with no reason to carry on the interview. 6. Being cagey about remuneration. If no salary band is mentioned, I will not apply. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/50 "2012-05-10T22:45:16Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > Not trying to hijack the thread, but I think you may be severely limiting your opportunities with this requirement. It’s really rare these days that you find a company with actual offices for any but the most senior managers. It’s only ever cost me one job that I think would have proven interesting which was at Avid working on film editing software. The job I took instead ended up paying off very well a few years later when they went public so it wasn’t a great loss. I just honestly believe that programmers do their best work in an office with a door to get ride of distractions. I don’t want to work for a company that expects people to program in a cube farm. I’m not going to argue with a company about it, I’m just going to walk away. At one company I was working for, however, I was persuasive enough that when they moved into a new space they gutted and redesigned it so all the other programmers had offices as well. One of my mentors once told me, “If you don’t ask for it, they’re not going to offer it.” The best times to negotiate are before you accept an offer and when you have an offer from another company in hand. When they’re horny for you pay, office, vacation, stock, and stock options are all on the table; however, once you accept the offer you’ve lost a huge amount of leverage. If you’re good your employer will make hundreds or thousands of times your salary off your work. There’s no crime in getting your share. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/51 "2012-05-11T01:32:38Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I’ll get turned off if a job lists absurdly high qualifications or improbable experiences. I often see entry level jobs that want stuff like “Must be fluent in Pashtun and Hausa, with six years of experience implementing programs combining malaria prevention through interpretive dance programs with micro finance to Roma children with multi drug resistant TB. At least four years working in an active conflict zone excluding Iraq and Afghanistan. MA in health related field, MD preferred. $32,000.” Back in the day I referred to it as _ **God For $25k** _. As in; “We want people with 10 years of experience in a package that came out last year, three years of experience with something still in beta. Must be a top performer, willing to work all hours. Salary to $25k.” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/52 "2012-05-11T01:39:43Z")
Also known as, “we’d like to hire back the last three people we laid off, but we can’t afford to, so we’re just going to collate together all their job descriptions and hire one person who can do all this stuff.” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/53 "2012-05-11T03:01:33Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I’ll get turned off if a job lists absurdly high qualifications or improbable experiences. I often see entry level jobs that want stuff like “Must be fluent in Pashtun and Hausa, with six years of experience implementing programs combining malaria prevention through interpretive dance programs with micro finance to Roma children with multi drug resistant TB. At least four years working in an active conflict zone excluding Iraq and Afghanistan. MA in health related field, MD preferred. $32,000.” Eh, sometimes it’s just a wishlist and you should apply anyway. I didn’t fully meet the list of desired qualifications for my job because I had never used the web-seminar software they had recently transitioned to, but putting this in my cover letter got their interest anyway: “In addition I note that your ad asks for both familiarity with the WebEx program and website management. \ I must admit that I have never used the WebEx program, but I am a fast learner who enjoys learning new software, and I do have experience conducting online trainings with iLinc, a different company’s online meeting program, which I hope would lessen the learning curve.” It helps that I wasn’t lying about being a fast learner: within six weeks they were confident that I had learned the program well enough to be put in charge of the biggest online events without help. I forgot about the personality questions. When I first started my job hunt I wasn’t looking to leave my old job but to pick up a 10-20 hour a week part-time position to supplement my income. I clearly don’t have the right stuff for working in retail any more because none of the places I applied to that gave such a test called. I know, it could be that they were reluctant to hire someone with a BA, but it’s more fun to think that they found my answers to the personality quizzes lacking given I answered honestly, picking the answers that conveyed things like “Well, if Joe doesn’t involve me, I don’t see why I should give a crap if he’s goofing off unless I’m supervising him.” ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/54 "2012-05-11T04:19:39Z")
1. Redundant forms. “Please attach your resume. Now go through this long form filling in every little bit of information on your resume.” 2. Unneeded details. Do you really need to know how many credits I took in college when I have a completed degree? 3. “Please tell us your salary requirements.” I feel like this is nothing but an easy way for me to eliminate myself before the interview stage. 4. Personality tests. Thankfully I don’t have these in the line of work I’m applying for, but back in the day when I was applying at places like Target and Walmart, they were the bane of my existence. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/55 "2012-05-11T04:56:16Z")
In my field, I deal almost exclusively with recruiters. These are the things that get them hung up on: (a) Not willing to tell me the salary range. I’ve gone so far as to explain to a recruiter that if his customer has not given him any idea of salary range, then I don’t want to work for a company that is that mis-managed. (b) Not willing to give the company name. In my field, if your resume is submitted twice by two different recruiters, you are out because the company could get stuck paying double fees. The recruiters are well aware of this. One said I should send HIM a list of everyone that I’ve applied to and he would let me know if I’d already applied to his client. Yeah, not going to happen. © Non-technical recruiters who have a 150 word description and know nothing else about the company or the job. Dead giveaway for a 3rd teir recruiter who is just trying to nail something of a general email list and has no actual relationship with the hiring company. ETA: OH YES… and if I go for an interview and they hand me a printed excel spreadsheet looking “job application” form… I’m very tempted to just walk out right there! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/56 "2012-05-11T12:26:43Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > **overlyverbose** -How can you tell a job fits the category in your 1st paragraph? (just posting because you have to, though an internal candidate has the inside track) As I posted in response to **even sven** ’s gripe, oftentimes a job description and requirements that are very specific tend to be tailored to fit one and only one person who meets those requirements, and that’s usually the guy who’s already got the job. I see ads all the time for technical writers who need a very, very specific skill set in order to be hired. For example, the candidate has to have so many years of experience in a particular industry or field, so many years of experience using a particular software package, so many years experience working in a particular environment; well, you get the message. A lot of these jobs (well, for tech writers) tend to be contract positions and the company has to show a good-faith effort to meet equal opportunity requirements to continue the contract. So they solicit resumes knowing they’ll never call these people for an interview, except as a token gesture. Yeah, it pisses me off, too. That being said, I had an acquaintance who was actually hired over the incumbent for a job with a government contractor. She also met the required qualifications, so she applied, was interviewed, and was hired. (Actually, I think the incumbent was promoted, and my acquaintance was hired to take his job.) The skill set was something you’d learn in the military; in fact, my acquaintance had been this guy’s supervisor. He was very much OK with bringing her on board. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/57 "2012-05-11T13:12:12Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > (b) Not willing to give the company name. In my field, if your resume is submitted twice by two different recruiters, you are out because the company could get stuck paying double fees. The recruiters are well aware of this. One said I should send HIM a list of everyone that I’ve applied to and he would let me know if I’d already applied to his client. Yeah, not going to happen. You left out that they ask for the contact information you used for those submissions. My circumstances are similar and I’ve been known to hang up on people who were asking for the contact details of every company I’ve worked for in the last 10 years. Yeah sure dude, go to the fucking yellow pages, mmmmmk? The celibate version works, too. Or you could try plugging their names into google, and hey, maybe their corporate website will be the first hit! There are offers I reject because they’re from my least-favorite former customer. Apparenly I’m not the only one, as several agents have moaned “but why? Why does nobody want to work for them?” Because they’re ill-managed, craniorectally inverted sonsabitches with no decency, that’s why! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/58 "2012-05-11T13:30:36Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > **even sven** , FWIW, job postings that are as specific as the one you described tend to be that way because the agency or company has already identified a candidate, they just can’t offer the job formally until the job has been advertised to the general public. Basically, they make the job requirements so specific that there is one and only one person on Earth who has those qualifications, and barring some miracle, no one else will have them. It’s stupid and a waste of everyone’s time and money, but it has to be done. Some are physically and legally impossible, though. There was one I should have kept and framed… translated to American terms, it was asking for someone to have a Chem Eng degree, a Master’s in Marketing, and be native-level in _five_ languages, max age 22, training contract (70% of minimum salary). Note that at that time the Spanish government had made it illegal to hop courses, so even the biggest genius ever would not have been able to get through the coursework by the required age. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/59 "2012-05-11T14:13:38Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > In my field, I deal almost exclusively with recruiters. Me too, and recruiter turn-offs could fill up a thread of their own. Like recruiters that try to sell me on a position that requires VP-level experience and a move to another country, when I’m a cubicle schlub and I’ve already made it clear I’m unable to even leave my home _city_. The bigger problem is when the recruiter gives me a position description that _does_ appeal, and arranges the interview, and I prepare to sell myself for the position, and then the interview happens and the company is looking for something completely different. Fucking bait and switch. And I don’t even know whom to bitch out, because there’s no way of knowing whether the company or the recruiter is at fault. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443/60 "2012-05-11T14:16:11Z")
Every so often I see job descriptions that call for an excellent GPA or a degree from a prestigious university. If you’re looking for someone with 10 years of professional experience and you think their GPA and alma mater maters enough to mention it in the job description, I don’t want to work for you. Incidentally, I had a lousy 3.0 from a prestigious university so I’m technically 1 for 2 and both requirements turn me off equally. I’m not going to brag about where I went to college anymore than I’m going to defend my 3.0 after 10 years of professional accomplishments. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-seekers-what-turns-you-off-immediately/621443.md?page=4)