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The Why Don't You Get a Job Thread


kendal mint cake

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Here's a rant/plea for advice.

I saw a job advertised on the Reed website that I was perfect for, it was 5 minutes from my house & it was in a field I have a lot of experience in, I applied online at about 8 in the evening the day after it was posted with a ridiculously incredible cover letter, what I'm trying to get at is there was no way the company wouldn't want to interview me based on my cover letter and CV. At 9 the next morning I had a form email from reed saying I had been unsuccessful in my application, it annoyed me because there's no way the company could have actually reviewed my application in that time, what gives? This is the third time this has happened to me with the reed website and it made me furious, I don't mind losing out fairly but it's chronologically impossible I was even given a chance. The original posting said they'd be reviewing candidates over the next 2 weeks, it was the second day and 16 people applied before I did. Is there any point in whinging to reed about this? Should I go to the company directly? What's the point of a job website that isn't properly forwarding applications?

 

Don't bother contacting Reed. By the time they contact you, the job would have gone. I get the feeling that the autoscan at reed was looking for key words that your CV didn't include (they rarely scan the covering letter).

 

I would definatly contact the company directly. Ring them up and ask for the HR department. Just be honest and explain what happend with Reeds, in a non-slagging off way, and that you feel that you could offer a lot to the role and to the company. Ask if it would be ok to send your CV direct, and get the email address. A lot of employers will like the fact that you have put that effort in, and it shows that you are eager to work there. Be polite and I am sure they will try to help you with it. I advised one of my clients to do something similar a month or so ago, and he got an interview as a result.

 

Alternatively, copy a sentence that you think will be unique to the advert and google it. It may be advertised by some other sites, which you can then apply for via them.

 

Good luck!!!

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Have you thought about going back to your old company? They're recruiting for BAs at the moment (not sure which division) and your previous experience with them might come in handy.

 

No, I could never return to them. Besides, they're so fractured it's not like you can cross from one branch of the company to another, so my previous work with them would be irrelevant. Yesterday was very hard at my current job because I'm getting shit from lazy people over work I have yet to do when I'm utterly swamped. One guy, who is supposed to be doing the software helpdesk, is so stupid and lazy and yet he's openly looking to leave, thinking he can make 35k. There really is no justice in the world.

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Recruitment agencies seem to get a bit of a kicking whenever there are threads like this, but surely they get some people into jobs otherwise there's no point in them?

 

I'm looking for something new; I've got a good CV with a wide range of experience and 'track record' but I find the whole process of looking for jobs a hassle. Surely the point of one of these agencies is that you allow them to come up with potential opportunities for you?

 

Or am I being incredibly naive?

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I don't know. Personally, employment agencies have always been good at finding me work. Not long term or especially well paid, but something to tide me over while I'm applying to things I actually want to do.

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You may as well go to the company directly if you think you're such a good fit and it's that close to home. Got nothing to lose, right?

 

I would definatly contact the company directly. Ring them up and ask for the HR department. Just be honest and explain what happend with Reeds, in a non-slagging off way, and that you feel that you could offer a lot to the role and to the company. Ask if it would be ok to send your CV direct, and get the email address. A lot of employers will like the fact that you have put that effort in, and it shows that you are eager to work there. Be polite and I am sure they will try to help you with it. I advised one of my clients to do something similar a month or so ago, and he got an interview as a result.

 

 

Thanks for the advice guys, I spoke to the manager on the phone, the job had not been filled yet and he told me to email my CV and cover letter to him directly which I have done.

 

Reed are shit, it's horrible knowing that you can't trust them to do something as simple as forward your application when that's all they're really there to do.

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Reed are shit, it's horrible knowing that you can't trust them to do something as simple as forward your application when that's all they're really there to do.

 

I've never had any trouble with Reed but I have always gone through a particular agent rather than the website - I have a natural distrust of these web based systems and prefer to deal with a person where possible.

 

As far as agencies in general go, it depends on who you get - some agents are great and will go out to businesses actively looking for roles whereas others will sit around waiting to be contacted, which seems to be true regardless of which agency employs them.

 

From experience, I would definitely suggest that where possible you deal with a person at the agency (even if it's an email saying 'I saw this vacancy on your site, can you please forward me the full job description) and make sure you include your contact details in your email. If they ask you to pop in to register, try to do it as they are more likely to push your CV if they have met you - as a candidate you are a reflection on them. Also, if you are unsuccessful you will probably want them to remember you next time a similar vacancy comes up so investing a little time to build a relationship isnt a bad thing.

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I've had mixed success with agencies, I have a brook street office next door to me and the girls there know me personally but they still never put me forward for anything because the employers paying them are so specific about what they're looking for, Red door on the other hand were great and really encouraging and go out of their way to find stuff that's in a new field for me but would use my transferrable skills (which is what I'm looking for).

 

This incident has made me distrust any internet agencies

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Pfft. Relationship building. Agents don't care about building relationships with you, they care about buidling relationships with employers; that's where they get repeat business.

This. I've found that when I signed with an agency they got me something reasonably quick, and then once that ended and I needed something else, they were too busy and would promise phone calls that never came. Once I was given that first job, I was another statistic of how great they were, and after that I didn't matter. With the exception of Drafern back in the mid 90s, I've never had more than one job from any one agency.

 

Except Reed, who never got me anything in the first place. Instead they just handed all my details to some anonymous guy emailing from eastern Europe. Cunts.

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The only agencies I've ever known to be any good, and really active at finding people more than one job are the ones that deal specifically with Education (providing schools with long/short term supply teachers, cover supervisors, teaching assistants etc). Im sure the reason they seem to be so efficient is more than a little to do with the fact that there is a massive and continuous demand for staff in that area.

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My mum worked as a recruitment agent in the 60s and in 2006, when I was last unemployed, we had an argument about my job search. "Get in a suit and get up London," she said. "That's where all the jobs are" but she was living in the past and I told her so. The hard part for an agency was always, finding suitable candidates, and so you could take 10 copies of your CV and hit all the agencies in a relevant field, even as recent as 10 years ago.

 

Now, with job websites, finding candidates is a piece of piss and it's all about keeping your employer clients happy. A lot of agents work from home via email and mobile phone under the umbrella of an agency as a one-man band. Some of the agencies still going often employ people in a small, provincial city to hire for clients and candidates hundreds of miles away. They not only have never met anybody, they've barely had a conversation with them. Agents used to earn their money finding people who could blend together and stay in a job for many years but now it's a chop shop, a volume industry. I treat them with the contempt with which they treat me. I was honest with the agent who got me my current job when I said that "I want as much as possible and, to be fair, it's in your interests to get it." All I am to them is a commission so I'm pretty open about that.

 

Essentially, what you need is to rewrite your CV, get on Totaljobs, Monster, Indeed and other job sites and the agents will call you when they have something. One guy won't just take you on and keep going until he finds something, it's counter-productive for them. Get job alerts going on these sites so that if something does come up, you'll see it. In my view, it's a fucking soul-destroying experience that caused me ridiculous amounts of heartache and actual genuine tears. I applied for 40 jobs a week and would seldom get a response. I honestly thought I'd end up dying at the last job because I felt I couldn't leave. I didn't earn enough to support my obligations, let alone save money, so I couldn't resign.

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Pfft. Relationship building. Agents don't care about building relationships with you, they care about buidling relationships with employers; that's where they get repeat business.

This. I've found that when I signed with an agency they got me something reasonably quick, and then once that ended and I needed something else, they were too busy and would promise phone calls that never came. Once I was given that first job, I was another statistic of how great they were, and after that I didn't matter. With the exception of Drafern back in the mid 90s, I've never had more than one job from any one agency.

 

 

I've not had that problem, I've maintained contact with a couple of the good agencies from my last move and now I'm looking to move again they are being more than helpful (although somewhat limited by the market, which isnt their fault).

 

Also, depending what sort of role you are going into, you are potential future business if you are going to be in a position to influence recruitment in your new company. In this case they will be interested.

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God fucking damn. Not getting that other job is the least of it. I was due to get a pay rise this month as well in my current role. I just the "warning letter" today and I am no longer getting that pay rise. How is it a warning? That's punishment right there.

Edited by SpursRiot2012
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