What are your job seeking annoyances?

[Liberal Veteran]

I have two I can think of off the top of my head that drive me absolutely nuts.

1. Ridiculously long and complicated online applications that then want you to upload your resume and cover letter that you basically just had to tear apart and put into tiny boxes for them. Most of these will end up going into the black hole of the applicant tracking system along with all your missing socks never to be seen again.

2. Interviewers who never contact you again. I'm a grown up. I completely understand that I am not the only person interviewing for a job. I am not talking applicants. I mean face to face interviews. If I filled out your application, passed your phone interview, passed your skills test, passed your personality test, and then got dressed up to do the interview dog and pony show of questions (sometimes more than once), then I know you have my email address and phone number. At least drop me a line saying "someone else was selected" if I am not the chosen one. I can scratch that one off my list of hopefuls and move on.

So what are your annoyances in the job search?

[onehandle]

1. #1. #2 doesn't apply because once I have their contact information...

...THEY STAY CONTACTED.

[Callmecrazy]

2. Being unemployed in the first place. nt

[Tobin S.]

3. I spent an hour and a half filling out an online application yesterday.

At the end of the application were three yes/no questions about experience. I answered one of them with a no and when I went to the next screen it said I wasn't qualified for the position and thanks but no thanks.

Here's a bright idea: Put the three questions in front of the application. That way the applicant doesn't waste an hour and a half of his or her life filling out your needlessly long-winded application if they don't have the experience you are looking for, and, by the way, that you didn't specify for in the job's ad.

Another pet peeve when cruising the job boards is the purple cow ads. I just learned that phrase the other day. These types of ads will be highly detailed as far as qualifications for the job goes, to the point that one person in a million will actually meet the desired traits. No one responding to these ads is likely to be 100% qualified for these positions, so a lot of time I've sent them my resume thinking that they can't be totally expecting a candidate that meets all of the qualifications. Judging by my response rate, it looks like I'm wrong.

[Liberal Veteran]

4. Or must have 10 years experience in a software program that existed for 2 years.

And I agree with you on the purple cow ads.

Applicant must be proficient in:
Word
Excel
Unix
Fortran
Speak fluent Navajo and English.
Must be able to perform complex particle physics calculations while performing brain surgery with minimum supervision.
Must be able to lift 100lbs on a regular basis.
Expected to be able answer multi-line phone system while juggling chainsaws.

[Tobin S.]

5. lol! Exactly!

It looks silly when you put it that way, but it isn't far from the truth.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

6. 2 questions

Is the Navajo a required or a preferred?
Must the chainsaws be running?
I'm probably good with the rest as long as I can bring my own forklift.

[Taitertots]

9. Just say yeah and hope the interviewer is too stupid to call you out

Of course I speak Navajo, "hum chong bong so glum see dog hat cheese"

[lastlib]

14. Damn! I'd have that one except for the Navajo!

(my brain surgery is a little rusty, though..............)

[dawg]

18. Companies use those ads to justify hiring H1B candidates instead of Americans.

That's why they are there. To *prove* that no qualified Americans were available.

I don't mean to sound anti-immigrant. But this is one of the games that companies play in order to justify bringing in overseas talent to work jobs in America (for much lower wages).

[MH1]

25. ^^^^^ BINGO. ^^^^^ (nt)

[Boomerproud]

7. Once in a great while you'll find something on Monster or another site and you're all jacked up

and then, after filling out the application it says "This Job Has Expired". Happens to me all the time. I agree with the previous posters about the ridiculous skills they want from their applicants.

[shenmue]

17. I hate that

[Taitertots]

8. "Entry level" jobs that are not entry level

Staffing companies that make fake job listings to get applicants for other, shittier jobs.

Jobs with requirements that weren't listed in the ad. Travel Requirements, midnight shifts....

[IrishEyes]

10. Unprofessional Interviewers

I had one lady interview me chewing/smacking gum the whole time. Another wore jeans with a sloppy top at a professional office. Another woman used bad grammar and said "like" throughout the interview. One guy left his cell phone on. it kept ringing while I was trying to answer his questions.

Companies that want you to have a masters degree and ten years experience but be 25 years old and work for next to nothing.

Even though I know that it is definitely time to move on from my current job, I keep putting it off because I hate job searching.

[Art_from_Ark]

11. Job searching has been a pain in the butt for a long time

I don't know how many jobs I applied for back in the '80s, but they almost invariably involved some sort of ridiculous interview ("There are no right or wrong answers to these questions we're asking you that have no relevance whatsoever to the job you're applying for, we just want to see how you answer them&quot . Either that, or they would find some excuse not to even grant an interview ("Your answer to Question 6b was too short. Too bad." or "We don't really have any job openings at this time, we are just looking for applicants&quot

I never reached the "pee in this cup to show us you're really qualified for the dead-end job you're applying for" stage, but I knew someone who was hired and then fired before he even started because he didn't pass the pee test.

Screw that noise.

[Liberal Veteran]

13. Then there are the "there are no right or wrong answers" personality tests.

That really do have right or wrong answers. The worst are the ones with the scale "Strongly Agree, Agree, Somewhat, Disagree, Strongly Disagree".

I've pretty much determined the answer they are looking for is always "Strongly Agree" or "Strongly Disagree". There is no room for thoughtful "Yeah, sometimes I enjoy being around lots of people" but "sometimes I prefer a little quiet time with a good book". You must be either one or the other.

[IDemo]

12. #2, and,

Craigslist job postings that don't mention a company name or expected compensation.

"Tech" jobs that demand the education and skillset of an engineer willing to work at tech wages.

And recently, an email contact by an HR person seeking a telephone interview whose email arrived as "donotreply@invalidemailaddress". I replied directly to her "actual" email address listed in the signature and never received a call or reply. This was from a well established company.

[Wolf Frankula]

15. Agencies that Post Non-existent Jobs

A couple years ago I got calls and emails from a real temp agency that listed a job I wanted. They told me the name of the company, said it was temp to hire. I did all the paperwork, passed all the tests and they mentioned I could get the job. They urged me to put in notice at the place I was working. I asked them for the address, so I could find it quickly. They gave me an address. I drove there, the address did not exist. I called the company where the job was to be. They said they NEVER, repeat NEVER used temps.

It turned out the job never existed, they were trying to get recruits for a shitty call center, and hoped to get people to quit their current jobs, then they would HAVE to take the crap job.

Wolf

[jmowreader]

16. Psychological profiling

Auto Zone has a wonderful one...every third question is about drinking in bars. I can't figure out if they WANT someone who drinks in bars because people who do are more extroverted, or someone who doesn't because they're more sober.

[Liberal Veteran]

19. Apparently not everyone is psychologically equipped to handle selling auto parts.

The only thing I can determine from the sheer number of those psych profile tests is that corporate offices are suckers for a good sales pitch from people who promise them that these profiles will help them hire good little worker bees and weed out the troublemakers.

The only thing I can figure is they offer some kind of way of spreading the blame when someone doesn't turn out to be a great employee. "Gosh, the software said they were a good match. I can't imagine why they left our minimum wage job after 3 month for a job paying three times what we did."

[jmowreader]

20. I think it's orientation that does it

"Welcome to Auto Zone. Here's a iisting of every pizza parlor within five miles of this store. If you get a delivery job with one of them, you might be able to afford your rent."

[adirondacker]

21. I've had several application sites that timed out before I could finish the page. No autosave option

Everything is deleted and you have to start over. This has happened to me where I literally had to cut and paste the answers as fast as I could before the page timed out.

WA State online unemployment form had this issue as well.

Nothing like typing a page, hit enter, and find out it was all in vain.

[hunter]

22. Successful job searches I've had to run away from.

In my life it's generally been two sorts:

Those that are intrinsic to the Military Industrial Complex, and those that are intrinsic to aimless Consumerism or Finance.

All the best jobs I've had are altruistic in some way, even if it's just delivering pizzas to people who've been smoking a lot of pot. Honest-to-God I'd rather deliver pizzas to pot parties than manufacture silicone lubricants or write software for MIC death machines.

[Xipe Totec]

23. Multiple rounds of interviews. Stupid questions like: 'If you were a tree...' nt

[KamaAina]

24. "Valid driver's license required."

I mean, c'mon, for a policy position?!

[bikebloke]

26. When they can't even send a "thanks, but no thanks" email.

Last time I looked for work, at least they sent a paper letter through the mail.

I recently interviewed for a job. First with an HR drone who asked assinine questions about careers paths in 5 years and other nonsense. It went better with the big shots. Still, with a big HR department, an email can be sent with a click.

[Mr.Bill]

27. Being 60 years old

and the person interviewing me is someone in their 20s and has died orange hair, six facial piercings and neck tattoos.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

28. Certainly agree with #1

But I think the thing that bothers me the most is 'selling' myself. I'm mostly an introvert, and don't like to draw attention, so I don't like convincing people how awesome I am.

I also feel phoney sounding enthusiastic about a job. Its a friggin' job for christsakes; for pay: if I cared that much I'd volunteer to do it. I can be a team player, but I'll never be a cheerleader.

[Mr.Bill]

29. I've always thought it was funny when I start a new job

and friends ask "How do you like the new job?" I always say "I hate it. That's why they have to pay me."

[Liberal Veteran]

31. Yeah. Selling yourself is just a blast. Especially in jobs you just can't be passionate about.

"Why do you want work for Burger Hut?"

Expected answer: I enjoy working with the public and providing them with a fresh, economical, and healthy meal with a smile.

Real answer: I need the money.

Answer you wish you could give: Because it's been my life's ambition to work in a run down dive slinging bargain basement organic matter that hardly deserves to be called "food" for 8-10 hours a day for shit wages and clean up after rude people too lazy to walk 5 feet to the trash cans while wearing a stupid ass uniform that reeks of the fetid swill that we cook no matter how much detergent I wash it in.

That answer I'd love to deliver with all the enthusiasm of Alan Rickman in Galaxy Quest in this scene:

[raccoon]

34. Ditto, I hate "selling myself," and don't think I'm good at it. nt

[Recursion]

30. Recruiters who place fake job ads

In IT at least, that's the worst one

[ailsagirl]

32. Not even bothering to let you know if you aren't chosen

There's no excuse for that-- it's downright rude.

[chrisa]

33. Unethical recruiters that take your resume off of a job board and shop it around without your

permission. Also, recruiters who try and find out who else you're interviewing with so that they can call up and say that they have someone better.

I've never met a recruiter who wasn't a sleazebag.

[kentauros]

35. Having to explain to the interviewer what I do.

I can't remember the position now, just that it was a drafting job. The interviewer was a low-level HR person that had never interviewed anyone in any form of engineering field. I had to explain to her not only what I did in relation to the position, but that I used drawing software called AutoCAD to do it. She was not familiar with any of the details about the position, and so couldn't ask questions related to my experience.

She at least admitted in the beginning that she had no experience interviewing for my kind of work, giving me all kinds of internal red flags about how the interview would go or what would happen to my chances. No, I didn't get the job, and I figure they probably went through many qualified applicants before figuring out it wasn't for a lack of good experience on our part.

The best interviews have always been with the people I'd be working with directly: the engineers and the lead designers. I've never had good interviews with HR people.

[Special Prosciuto]

36. Stupid irrelevant interviewer questions.

My all-time favorite:
I once had an interview for a TEMPORARY job, three months maximum duration.
The interviewer asked me, "Where do you want to be five years from now?"

[ailsagirl]

37. That's a good one