I just got another rejection letter

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Yes the regional person had the final say. I only spoke to her on the phone, but she went out of her way to call me up when I didn't respond to her email so I figured I had a decent chance

(She wanted a phone screening, emailed on a Friday, and I came down with a nasty head cold that weekend, which is why I hadn't responded to her email - I was going to call her the Tuesday she called me)

I think I will call up the local guy again though, see if he can tell me WHY. I called him the week after the interview and he said he was just waiting to hear from the regional boss - from the sound of it he still wanted to hire me then, but I dunno. The letter came from regional, dated the day after I called, so he wasn't lying about that.

You said the reason right up there. A person looking for an employee doesn't care why you didn't respond. The fact that you didn't probably made up their mind. Not to sound harsh or anything, but they use things like that to weed out people. I know - I interview all the time. If someone doesn't respond to an email or a phone call, they go to the "not that interested" pile.

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

I have a degree and YEARS of experience in my field. I have been sending out my resume to jobs for months now. I have gotten ONE email back Requesting "the best time to speak with me over the phone. I emailed him back promptly last Tuesday and havent heard from him since. It's a job that I could do easily and is close.

I applied for a job at one of the local McDonalds and the manager tore my application up in front of me. Then told me that the jobs he had open were for people with no experience or education, high school kids and immigrants.
So I am working part time for min wage at a childrens teaching farm. Til my resume sticks to something out there.

In all honesty. I feel that my experience and education is working against me in the current job market.

 

[debilorrah]

Rhett&SarahsMom :

I have a degree and YEARS of experience in my field. I have been sending out my resume to jobs for months now. I have gotten ONE email back Requesting "the best time to speak with me over the phone. I emailed him back promptly last Tuesday and havent heard from him since. It's a job that I could do easily and is close.

I applied for a job at one of the local McDonalds and the manager tore my application up in front of me. Then told me that the jobs he had open were for people with no experience or education, high school kids and immigrants.
So I am working part time for min wage at a childrens teaching farm. Til my resume sticks to something out there.

In all honesty. I feel that my experience and education is working against me in the current job market.

You are probably right. Try dumbing down your resume some. That worked for a friend of mine who is a geologist with 30 some years experience. He just wanted employment!!! He changed out bigger words with simpler ones and it worked.​

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

Quote:
You are probably right. Try dumbing down your resume some. That worked for a friend of mine who is a geologist with 30 some years experience. He just wanted employment!!! He changed out bigger words with simpler ones and it worked.

Ack.. that will KILL ME!
I hate that I might have to resort to doing that.

 

[debilorrah]

Rhett&SarahsMom :

Quote:
You are probably right. Try dumbing down your resume some. That worked for a friend of mine who is a geologist with 30 some years experience. He just wanted employment!!! He changed out bigger words with simpler ones and it worked.

Ack.. that will KILL ME!
I hate that I might have to resort to doing that.​

I know how you feel!!!!! In today's job market though, employers are looking for the best for the least. You can try it and save the thing under a different name so you have both versions....

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Ok, not responding to an email sent at 5pm on a FRIDAY

immediately at 8am on Monday seems a bit snippy.

I called on Tuesday, that's only the second business day later, it's not like I waited around for a week

I really didn't wanna email and say "yeah call me Monday morning" and then not have a voice. OR be asleep when she called - that looks REAL good I'm suuuuure. I guess it's perfectly OK for them to wait 2 weeks to contact me, but I can't wait 2 days just to make sure I'm not gonna gag and choke my way through the interview.


Thanks for pointing out that my life sucks and I can't do anything right. I guess I'm gonna have to start calling in sick to any potential employers I might have applied to before I even get a dang job. Care to tell me what I did wrong for the last 587 applications????

 

[debilorrah]

Tala, it's constructive criticism. I know that just glancing around two of us pointed that out. Take it in stride and next respond immediately. There is nothing wrong with having a cold and talking on the phone.

 

[rufus]

Sadly, sometimes interviewers are just going through the motions. I have done a lot of interviews both as an applicant and prospective supervisor. We always had to interview at least five prospective employees even though management told us who they were going to hire.

After you receive your rejection letter, call the person you interviewed with and tell them that if things don't work out, to keep you in mind.

You would be surprised how many of the "anointed" pre selected prospective employees didn't pass the background check or the drug test.

Another thing to consider is, did you really want to work in a car wash? Some of God's greatest blessings are unanswered prayers.

Rufus

 

[ruth]

Quote:
Ok, not responding to an email sent at 5pm on a FRIDAY

immediately at 8am on Monday seems a bit snippy.

I called on Tuesday, that's only the second business day later, it's not like I waited around for a week

I really didn't wanna email and say "yeah call me Monday morning" and then not have a voice. OR be asleep when she called - that looks REAL good I'm suuuuure. I guess it's perfectly OK for them to wait 2 weeks to contact me, but I can't wait 2 days just to make sure I'm not gonna gag and choke my way through the interview.


Thanks for pointing out that my life sucks and I can't do anything right. I guess I'm gonna have to start calling in sick to any potential employers I might have applied to before I even get a dang job. Care to tell me what I did wrong for the last 587 applications????

Tala, you asked why you weren't hired and you were given the correct answer. As a former Personnel Director I knew the answer as soon as I saw your post that said you did not respond to her e-mail and she had to call you. As a Personnel Director, for a major recruiting agency, one of the "tests" we would use would be to tell the candidate to think about it and to call at a certain time, say 2:00 p.m. tomorrow if they were interested in the job. It wasn't to find out if they were interested, most were and would rattle on and on right then and there about how interested they were - one strike against them - it would be better if they appeared to need the time to think over things and make a decision but more importantly, it was to find out who could follow simple instructions to the letter - think about it and call at 2:00 p.m., not 1:00, not 3:30 but 2:00. - a simple "yes, thank you" would earn more points. If they did not call or respond at the appointed time, they would not be considered for the job.

Two or three people have tried to help you out by letting you know what you did wrong so that you could learn from your mistake and be more careful next time, but your attack and response also indicates that something may be wrong with your attitude as well and that may come across during an interview. If you had called and asked the company why you weren't hired and they had told you the same thing would you have told them "Thanks for pointing out that my life sucks and I can't do anything right?" Which, by the way, no one said anything like that.

As advice - show up to fill out applications dressed professionally; show up for interviews early and speak calmy and smiling, answer questions as simply as possible; don't elaborate unless asked; if asked why you left a previous job try to sound as positive as possible (I was wanting more responsibility, room for advancement) - and then, call and follow up promptly the next day with your interviewer and let them know how interested you are in the job and how much you appreciate their consideration. AND, by all means, if they give you instructions to follow - follow them to the letter.

By the way, the receptionist at most corporations are trained to mark on an application how the applicant was dressed, how they behaved, and any other pertinent information. You'd be surprised how many people show up and want to fill out an application while their buddies all stand around and they are dressed in shorts or jeans. Stopping by a place and asking for an application to fill out is the very first step of an interview and most people don't realize that.

We, who are older and wiser are trying to help you.

 

[TexasVet]

"Thanks for pointing out that my life sucks and I can't do anything right. I guess I'm gonna have to start calling in sick to any potential employers I might have applied to before I even get a dang job. Care to tell me what I did wrong for the last 587 applications???? "

I don't mean to kick you when you're down, but maybe your "my life sucks and I can't do anything right" attitude is showing during your interviews? Attitude can be more important, MUCH more important, than skills. No matter how hard it is to do, you have to walk into each interview as though it's the first one you've had and there's no place else you'd rather be.

And if you've truly had dozens of interviews and been rejected every single time, the only constants are you and this godawful economy. Go read a few of my job advice articles at www.PivotalForce.com, especially the ones about getting along with others and body language, and give it another go.

Wishing you all the best,

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com