Venting about job applicants

[Engineer]

There are 18 applicants so far, of which exactly 2 have the required qualifications.

My boss posted for my job (about a year before I found him through word of mouth) in 2009. He had 250 applicants. He threw 240 of them into the trash immediately saying that none of them had even the slightest qualifications for the job. He narrowed the remaining 10 down to 2 and finally, after reading them to the project manager, threw them in the trash too. 0 for 250 (and I believe that based on the recruiters that call me often trying to lure me away or to see if I know of anyone else).

 

[Murloc]

1. sometimes qualifications are a bit impossible so people apply anyway hoping there is no perfect fit anyway. Also they know that they're one in hundreds of applications so what's there to lose?
2. in some countries you need to apply to jobs to get job seeker's insurance and welfare. There's only so many relevant jobs you can apply to...
3. desperate foreigners will apply to anything hoping for a miracle

 

[cubby1223]

My boss posted for my job (about a year before I found him through word of mouth) in 2009. He had 250 applicants. He threw 240 of them into the trash immediately saying that none of them had even the slightest qualifications for the job. He narrowed the remaining 10 down to 2 and finally, after reading them to the project manager, threw them in the trash too. 0 for 250 (and I believe that based on the recruiters that call me often trying to lure me away or to see if I know of anyone else).

Sounds like they need to invest more resources into on-the-job training.

 

[jpiniero]

Sounds like they need to invest more resources into on-the-job training.

On the job training doesn't happen anymore; nor does it need to since employers today should be able to easily find someone who has the skills they need.

 

[kranky]

I really hate that kind of thinking. There is no reason people should be screwed because they are antisocial and do not have references.

There could be plenty of reasons. People may have been sick in school and because of that they didn't network much and didn't do any internships. They could have had family problems. They could have had other various issues that prevented them from having many friends or doing any internships.

Someone may be very much qualified for the position you have opened, but you wont even look that them because they don't have experience or references. You'll never know, because you never even gave them a chance.

You can also have someone who is extremely social and has references but when he actually starts working you'll quickly see he doesn't have the right skills for that job.

Oh, and remind me never to work for you. I wouldn't want to have a boss or an interviewer with this sort of thinking. My boss gave me a chance when I had absolutely no work experience and never did an internship in my life. All I had was my A+ Certification and an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts.

If they don't have experience, they are not qualified. How can I magically know if an applicant with no experience and no justification why it doesn't matter is somehow qualified? I can't interview everyone who applies. So I have to choose some criteria to weed people out. And someone with zero experience (and I'll mention again, no compelling story in a cover letter to convince me that's not an issue) is a way to weed people out.

And indeed, you had qualifications, didn't you? Do you think you would have gotten the job with no certification AND no related work experience? I would have looked at the fact you got an A+ cert with no work experience and thought here is someone who is pretty self-motivated. The cert proves you at least know SOMETHING and passed a test to prove it. You had qualifications.

The reason I wrote about networking is not that it's important to ME whether people do it. It's to make people aware of a way to improve their chances of landing a job. If someone is anti-social and finds the idea repugnant, that's fine. It's just one tactic.

 

[kranky]

Wait, cover letters are ACTUALLY read AND taken into consideration?
Color me shocked.

Every one of them gets forwarded to me along with the resume. HR does no screening - I get every resume, every cover letter.

 

[shortylickens]

Not by all of us. I usually just skip to the pictures.

Wait, I think I figured it out......

:hmm:

 

[ultimatebob]

Nobody has ever been harmed by making a case on their cover letter.

Sure they have. I've seen plenty of good resumes attached to half assed cover letters filled with grammar errors and typos while looking at applicants.

That shows me that I have either a lazy or sloppy applicant, and that the canidiate probably didn't get the person who helped them write (Or embellish?) their resume to bother checking the cover letter.

 

[Engineer]

Sounds like they need to invest more resources into on-the-job training.

A company of 8 has little time to invest resources into on the job training. The boss was designing the electrical systems and programming them at the time (while running the rest of the company - quotes, business end, etc.) and needed someone to take part of the load. Having to stop and train someone in this field isn't practical. I have held positions where I tried to train co-ops for this position and spent 6 months at a time on them. Very few actually picked up on it enough to make it worth keeping them.

By the way, I found the job via word of mouth. He put the word out with electrical salesmen and told them what he was looking for. I received an e-mail from a buddy of mine (he wasn't interested but passed it to me). I needed to get out of my other job (disliked it very much) and took a chance. While it's had its' ups and downs, it's been up enough to stay for 4 years now. Much better than previous job.

On a side note, I found an online advertisement for a position (about 12 months ago or so) similar to mine and it was one of the best written, in terms of what the employer wanted, that I've ever read. I was tempted to apply just to see the place / employer. The job stayed open for over 6 months and I don't know if it was filled or not.

A 4-year degree is not an absolute requirement. Please read further if you have some design experience and if that's what excites you. The basic requirements of this job are:

1) Have some experience on the "Design" end of programming PLC's (Allen Bradley's, Mitsubishi controls, etc.) for automated robotic applications (like Fanuc robots).

2) The "designer" we seek is very different from an engineer or technician who may just troubleshoot or do minor "tweaks" to programs on the shop floor, where a machine or robotic cell is installed and you may have experience programming PLC's that have already been programmed BY THE DESIGN GUY. I'm looking for the design guy. So if you don't have experience on the very front-end in doing the initial design programming, then this position isn't for you.

3) You should NOT need a visa sponsorship. If you do require a sponsorship, it's very unlikely we can help you, BUT it's a weak MAYBE. It depends how complicated it may be getting your visa approved.

4) Must have good customer-facing skills, as you will be interacting with customers or prospective customers from time to time on sales calls with the sales guy. Must have excellent, easy-to-understand English verbal skills.

5) Should have good people skills as you're not just going to sit in a room and work at your desk/computer.

6) A 4-year EE (Electrical Engineering) degree is greatly preferred. HOWEVER, if you've got mad programming skills, how could we not take a look at you? Please apply with a note explaining how good you are. But if you do not have an EE degree, then you must have at least 5 years of programming experience.

7) If you've programmed Fanuc robots from scratch, you'd be a good fit.


This is a small company, but growing and expanding -- we're busy and will keep you busy with interesting, unique projects. It's an engineering company, who custom builds automation solutions for factories in all industries (like defense, automotive, food, etc.). This is a machine integrator, if you will.


Thank you for sending me your resume and a brief cover letter mentioning how you fit the above key requirements would be very helpful and get you noticed much quicker.

 

[Engineer]

since employers today should be able to easily find someone who has the skills they need.

LOL. After you read my reply to Kranky and you come up with that? There is a severe shortage of Electrical Controls Engineers in this country and as the previous generation of people retire, it's going to get worse. Kids today don't know much about the job (out of school) and don't care to learn it even if they do (because it involves working around factories and who wants that right?).

 

[Howard]

LOL. After you read my reply to Kranky and you come up with that? There is a severe shortage of Electrical Controls Engineers in this country and as the previous generation of people retire, it's going to get worse. Kids today don't know much about the job (out of school) and don't care to learn it even if they do (because it involves working around factories and who wants that right?).

I'm 28 and love working in factories.

 

[Engineer]

I'm 28 and love working in factories.

You might be an exception then. Do you mind crawling around in dirty floors, wearing full protective equipment (because the damn stuff is not only dangerous but loud and dirty as hell) trying to trace wires out or simply trying to get to the panel to do a connection to a controller? Pulling a sensor out of a grease pit that replacing it? Scraping some sort of aluminum dust off of the machine (1/2" thick) just to get to a display?

Not all factories are this way. The opposite end of the spectrum is working in a Bio-tech manufacturer. Have to scrub down, put on a full body suit and wear two sets of shoe covers and two sets of gloves (ugh). Talk about a pain (and I might have to do a job at one soon that will last about 5 to 6 weeks - I'll hate doing that shit for that long).

 

[sourceninja]

On the job training doesn't happen anymore; nor does it need to since employers today should be able to easily find someone who has the skills they need.

Which is fine as long as a company that isn't investing in my future will quickly find out I did invest in my future. Typically in the form of a resignation letter when I move up to the 'next big thing'.