condition of job application envelopes...

[joko]

I have recently discovered that I was turned down for a job because my application arrived at their office in something of a state and had a footprint on the back.

I assume this came from the postal service - I am rather more careful with things like this.

I would assume that most employers know that no-one in their right mind would send a letter for a job in this state, and to let that affect their decision is ridiculous.

I am quite annoyed and want to send them a letter of complaint - (probably won't)

Do employers generally pay a lot of attention to the envelope an application comes in?
I'd have thought that unless there are spelling mistakes, and envelope is irrelevant and its safe to say that any grubby-ness has come from the post box/ office, sorting office etc.

To any employers out there, can I have a show of hands on how important you would consider this, assuming that the envelope had clearly been neat at one point.

cheers

[kazza12345]

How did you find this out? Are you sure of your source of info?

i find it really odd that they would tell you this peice of information, as it is leaving them wide open for you to complain/take action against them. Also bear in mind that even if they had opened and read your cv/application, dosent mean you would have been shortlisted for the job even, or made it through interview, so i dont think you can stae that it was the envelope that didn't get you the job really. Any company that would tell you that piece of information must be bonkers and i would say if they are as unprofessional as to A) do that and B) tell you, you most probably would not want to be working for them anyway, as god knows how else they treat their staff. The only reason i can think of for that happening is that whoever it was you asked for feedback from wasn't strong enough to be honest with you, and found that a convienient excuse

[Loosehead]

Sounds like cobblers to me, if it where true, would you want to work with a bunch of plonkers like that anyway?

[gammaray]

You'd be surprised at just how arbitrary the selection process can get. I use application forms when recruiting junior positions and the one thing that turns me cold is when the applicant just writes "refer to CV" on each section. These end up in the bin.

[Loosehead]

I never go for the sorts of jobs that require an application form. I just can't stand filling in a badly designed form when I have already supplied the info in a CV.

[gammaray]

I don't ask for CV's for those positions, applicants just send them in.

[gammaray]

The other plus points for application forms is they have the same information in the same place on each form. That's helpful if you have 150 forms to look through and you're comparing work experience for example. As no two CV's are laid out in exactly the same way, you don't have to wade through paragraphs of bulls**t to find what you need to know.

[sense4all]

How can you be responsible for the condition of an envelope once you put in in the post box. I would say if this is the mentality of the recipient , you had a lucky escape.

[joko]

apparently they told my referee, they asked questions etc then launched into a bit of a huffy rant about it.

if they didn't like my cv they wouldn't have bothered to speak to the referee, so i must have been a contender, it was clear that they thought i was good but this envelope seemed to be putting them off.

of course i may not have got the job anyway, but this seems likely that this was the decider.

you are right though, i don't want to work for them - imagine if i'd left a teaspoon in the sink or dropped a pen or something! my job is quite messy so its a bit of a daft attitude really.

i know its daft, you know its daft, but do you think it matters to most people??

if so, should i send recorded next time just to be more sure it will be cleaner? (although no gurantee)

[sense4all]

Could you laminate the closed envelope and stick a self adhesive stamp on the outside? I love a bit of devilment!