Who do I have to **** to get an interview?

The BBQ Pit
#1

So I apply for a customer service job last week. According to the ad they’re looking for 3 years of customer service or collections experience with “healthcare experience” and a bachelor’s degree preferred.

I have 10 years of customer service experience. This includes 18 months of collections experience and three years working for health insurance companies. I have a bachelor’s degree.

On paper, wouldn’t you think this rates at least an interview?

Today I get a form letter from the company thanking me for applying but stating that they are looking for someone who more closely conforms to their requirements.

Excuse me? You asked for customer service or collections and I have both, “healthcare experience” which I have and a degree which I also have. How the fuck more closely do you expect someone to conform to your requirements than 100%?

I am so fucking frustrated with this shit.

#2

Overqualified. They’re afraid you’ll want too much money or that, if you take the job, you’ll get bored and leave.

#3

You can always answer the “overqualified” line with “Yeah, but I’m an underachiever, so it all evens out”

Seriously though, I was in your shoes a year ago Otto. It sucks, but keep sending out those resumes.

#4

Didn’t I already tell you and your boyfriend to move up to Canada? We’re more than willing to hire overqualified people and pay them a pittance. Even more of a pittance when you throw in the currency conversion. C’mon up! :smiley:

#5

Yep, I can’t tell you the number of times I screamed at the gods, demanding to know why I, who was perfectly qualified, did not get the interview.

The gods have still not told me. It’s bullshit out there. Try not to take it to personally.

#6

I’ve been in your shoes. It’s very hard to get an interview when you’re submitting a resume on your own. I submitted mine over and over again to all sorts of places, jobs I was very qualified for, and rarely even got a response at all. I had just graduated from college, and had a VERY good resume for a recent graduate with a BA, and more experience than most who just who had a BA.

If you have your resume on Monster.com, I’d suggest making sure that it is “searchable” by employers, and update it often. I got my current job by somebody contacting me, rather than the other way around, and I had a lot more success getting other interviews that way, also.

Good luck with your job search! It sucks when you put in so much effort applying for jobs, and most of them won’t even dignify your efforts with a reply.

#7

Well, it sounds like you have nothing to lose if you call and ask them why you were classified as not conforming to their requirements.

#8

preview is my friend…delete the second “who” and that’ll make a lot more sense

#9

Odds are your resume was overlooked for some reason or another. Companies go through hundreds of resumes, most of which are probably from qualified candidates. Even if you are perfect for the job, there may be 20 other candidates with nearly identical qualifications.

A job search is a numbers game. The more jobs you apply to, the better your odds.

I don’t really believe that the “targeted” approach where you research the shit out of 20 companies and then send your resume works. It takes a lot of time and in the end, it’s all a matter of some HR rep saying yes/no.

#10

I’ve been single for about a week less than I’ve been unemployed. Although I did run into him at a bar last week and got back the $20 he owed me. Somebody linked some website to check your Canadian immigration score and I came up a couple points short, but IIRC some of that had to do with having a non-English speaking partner.

I take it you haven’t looked for work recently. It seems like most employers (including this one) use placement agencies. Blind ads without company names or contact information, and even if you can reach someone who actually makes some sort of employment decisions they won’t give you an answer.

#11

I dunno, at this point, I’d offer up the blow job and see what pans out. At least you’d get something for your efforts!

Maybe you should consider having two resumes…one with your true qualifications and one that carries the trimmed-down version. I’ve heard that this works some times. Good luck!!!

#12

I’m looking for work right now, Otto. Graduation’s in less than 4 months.

However, I’ve yet to come up against placement agencies, nor have I applied for a job without speaking to someone who can serve as a contact later. Sounds like a whole different world. Good luck.

#13

I agree that you were probably overqualified. Or perhaps they filled the position internally before they got ahold of your resume.

Then again, there could have been something else on/not on your resume that hit a button withe one of the reviewers. I’m often amazed at the resumes our HR department decides not to pass on and even more so by the reasons why. Too often, people get a stack of 100 resumes from qualified individuals and have to narrow it down to 5 or so candidates. Often, the reasons for those they choose are downright stupid–especially when the ones doing the screening aren’t the same ones doing the hiring.

For example, a while back we were looking to fill a position that required experience supervising others. I passed on a resume from a friend of mine, thinking she’d be perfect for the position. Nope. She didn’t even get an interview. I found out (much later) that our HR department screened the resumes looking for, among other things, the word “supervised.” Now, this friend of mine had mentioned in her resume that she managed a group of 8 people–that, to me, implies supervision. But she didn’t use the right verb.

I say all this just to let you know (and you probably already do) that it’s not a reflection on you. You’re probably sick of hearing this, but don’t take it personally. Good people go through this all the time. Looking for a job just sucks. Good luck to you.

#14

Hell, just marry some guy up here, and they’ll have to let you in regardless of your score. :slight_smile:

#15

I can imagine four possible reasons :
1)As many posters said : they thought you were overqualified

2)They thought you were too old (or rather not young enough) . They wanted someone with 3 years of experience, not 10.

3)They received a bazillion resumes, offered an interview to the first qualified people they found, and a form letter to all the others without even reading them. Yours was at the bottom of the pile.

4)The CEO’s neighbour’s second cousin’s hairdresser’s boyfriend applied for the job.

#16

I’m trying.

It just reeks when you have years of experience, excellent evaluations, good people skills, plenty of education, fill out all the paperwork, get the transcripts [I should mention here that I’m talking about applying for full time teaching positions in college when you’re part time], give them all the stuff well before the deadline–and you don’t even rate a response.

#17

I once got a form letter just like that one, except it was for the company I was working for at the time. I was working in a temporary management position and they continued to make it very clear that they just wouldn’t need me in a few months, so I applied for something that was a step down from management, but a step up from my previous position. Their job was basically to assist management with call monitoring - something supervisors also do, but they like feedback to come from multiple sources and to have more feedback than one supervisor could provide.

In short, it was to do a job that entailed doing all day what I did already about half the day and did well enough to be commended.

I got the form letter that I didn’t fit the position. Someone who had never worked in doing monitoring was hired instead.

I was hired for supervisor a few months later, so I have to imagine the form letter really was just their normal rejection letter and that they couldn’t commit to another position until they had seen more of my performance and had me interview for it. Still, it was baffling. I imagine your case was the same thing – they thought you were overqualified (my first guess – customer service hiring always considers turnover rates), or they had already filled the position, or they didn’t like something about what you submitted. It’s just easier to send a form letter than to actually tell you what happened - after all, their job is to get someone hired, not to help you in your career.

#18

Actually, I’ve come to the conclusion that the job of Human Resources offices is to prevent people from being hired. I’m sort of kidding. Sort of.

#19

I’ll throw in my vote for overqualified. If they would prefer a BA (but do not required one), plus are looking for someone with only three years of experience, they’ll have to pay you not only for your education but also for the 10 years of experience you have. They may expect that, after having done the job for 10 years, you are looking for upward mobility, but they might not be able to offer that. So they could be afraid you’d get bored and move on after less than a year. Also, most places are required to advertise for the job whether or not they already have someone internal in mind, so they might have already known who they were going to hire, but were required to post it publicly. There are so many factors that can affect whether or not you get interviewed and ultimately get the job. I definitely wouldn’t take it personally. Keep on fighting the good fight.

As a brief hijack, when I was getting my masters degree, I had to dumb down my resume as much as possible. I needed the money to get through school, so applied to several temp agencies, looking for temporary work. When they realized I had graduate education, they dropped me like a hot potato. While I understand where they were coming from, I used to think to myself, “Jesus, it’s temporary work - I’m not supposed to be there forever!” But those agencies, and many other employers, simply don’t see it that way.

#20

Actually, it is not far off the mark. Depending on the economy, an ad will generate tons of resumes. At least half can be eliminated right off the mark, sometimes I wonder if people actually read the ad before they apply. My favourite is the form letter with the name of the company and the position written in. Now you are down to the 100 or so that meet the qualifications. No manager has time to interview all of them. So, it is up to the HR representative to screen down to the 10 or so that they feel will match the manager’s needs to bring in for an interview. Their methods will vary and will be quite subjective. Plus, you have to remember that their primary responsibility is to not only find the most qualified person but the one that will fit in with the company.

That is the standard reply, I would not take it too seriously. Other people have mentioned this, but your qualifications significantly exceed what they are requiring. This raises a question in the screener’s mind ‘Will they really be happy?’ Its a terrible conudrum for them, on one hand you would be a valuable asset but they have been burned to many times by people that insist that they would be quite happy only to have them leave as soon as a better opportunity presents itself. This is something that you may want to address in your cover letter.

Have you thought about listing with a couple of temporary agencies? Many of them offer benefits and temp-to-perm programs. You also get an inside look at the company and they have the opportunity to get to know you and your abilities.