Why Do People Bother At All?

[EvianBaby]

I'm sifting through CV's to narrow down a list of people we want to interview to replace me.

I can't believe some of the sheer laziness in the applications. Almost none of them bothered including a covering letter and so many of the CV's are not even finished. They've list a job title and year, with absolutely not description. There's spelling and grammar errors everywhere. I've got a few that are at least four pages long, just full of pointless rambling. They clearly haven't even bothered to proof read.

Then there are the ones who haven't kept one job for longer than 6 months but have filled out on the accompanying questionnaire that their expected salary is up between £28-£35k. What planet are these people on?

I mean, do they really look at these things and feel like they're bound to get a job on the back of the pieces of crap?

[vulcan42]

Before retirement I was involved in selecting new employees. On one occasion we had arranged interviews with 5 applicants and after these had taken place we discovered a sixth person had arrived so we decided to interview him as well. His CV wasn't complete and when we asked him to finish it he said "Oh, I can't be bothered, I'll get my mum to do it". He also had great difficulty in understanding why he wasn't offered a job.

[Dee Sa]

some of them don't want your job but have to prove to the job centre that they are trying otherwise their job seekers money will end.

[Just-Jude]

"their expected salary is up between £28-£35k"

Do you expect them to work for minimum wage?

[EvianBaby]

I'd hope it's obvious I meant from £28k. Not £28.

And no, the salary is a reasonable amount for the role and well above min wage. But someone with no experience and who's never held down a job for more than 6 months is being a bit optimistic looking to earn that much.

[Just-Jude]

Employers are too fussy, that's probably why I can't get a job!

I wouldn't work for £28k, the £35k is more in my range, but I would require a company car or van.

[EvianBaby]

Well I suppose it depends on what the job is and the location but £28k is a lot. And certainly more than the job we have is worth,.

[society]

When you don't have a job and have mouths to feed, bills to pay, you take what you get until better could be done. No harm is done in looking for another job while still being employed.

Some people don't understand that it's okay to start at the bottom and gain experience and knowledge while also climbing your way to the top. They just want to start at the top.

[joko]

i've experienced this, and actually, although it annoyed me, it made the job of whittling them down much easier...especially if they are really bad.

it gives you an insight into the true character - rather than the performance they put on in an interview or the CV and letter they got someone else to write.
i don't mean a few minor errors, i mean terrible ones - textspeak, no greeting, apparent rudeness, arrogance, stupidity, lies etc etc

many times i've seen someone with a great letter and CV and they've been a terrible worker and its become evident they didn't write either of them themselves - they couldn't have!

i did think of writing to correct a few people too, to help them, but actually its useful.
let them learn the hard way and figure it out for themselves...let them learn the art of making an effort and using common sense - it shouldn't take them too long if they have any sense.

[Nini74]

give the job to the person who confirms that they can work on their own initiative but are also a team player, and who reads, swims and socialises with friends and family in their spare time! lol I would be tempted to write to the local job centre and advise them to give some careers advice to their apparent job seekers who seem interested in just making an application that they know will fail. either that or teach them all a lesson, call them all in for interview, make them wait an hour and then just do a generic chat and give them an application form to fill in. that'll teach them. sorry - this sort of thing really gets my goat - some people genuinely make a huge effort in their job hunting, and others just expect things handed to them on a plate. oh EvianBaby you've started me off now! lol x