But let's face it. There's a snow storm outside and this is the second employer who has sent out rejections in the middle of a winter blizzard on Super Bowl Sunday - during Kitten Bowl, to be exact. If it weren't so sad, it would be quite funny. So, allow me to post version 2 and insert my editorial comments for all to share.
"Maryalice Leister:
Thank you for your interest in the Specialist, Academic Authenticity Support position with ************(redacted) [Ironic this position had everything to do with verifying teacher credentials, students submissions, and research veracity]. We have received a large number of inquiries from highly qualified candidates for this role. [Really? How many? I want to know.] At this time, we have decided to move forward with candidates who more closely match the skills and qualifications required for this role. [Underscore is mine. I wonder how much more closely someone matches the skills and qualifications for the role than nearly 95%?]
We will keep your resume and profile in our applicant database and encourage you to keep *************(redacted) in mind when considering future opportunities.[When I received the first rejection from this employer, I was naive enough to think the robo-rejection email meant it and I have continued to look at their numerous postings.] We invite you to visit our website periodically to review new positions as they become available, [check!] and update your profile as needed.[Every time anything changed] Please accept our best wishes for your continued success.[Sincerely, thank you very much, but those wishes aren't working.]
Sincerely,
Human Resources [Funny name for a mother to call her child, don't you think?]
************(redacted)"
Just had to do it. How else does someone internalize these dismissals if not with humor. There isn't an HR person out there who truly believes these canned emails lessen the blow. As a candidate, I receive this type of email, I deflate yet again, and wonder, again, why others get hired and I don't. But what this type of rejection does is place a wall between the employer's HR people and the candidates. I said in an earlier blog post that it is nearly impossible to get feedback on why my qualifications aren't what they want and how I can improve so they would be. The employer doesn't care, but as a candidate, I care a great deal.
So, here's the clincher. This particular employer? Today's rejection email is number 7 in the past year. Some of the varied positions for which my degrees and experience qualified me? Program Manager; Secondary Ed Program Manager; General Ed Course/Writing and Communication Manager; Evaluation Delivery/Teacher Education Manager; and 3 more. Same words, substitute job number and title, and I am dismissed along with "a large number of other qualified candidates." Harsh, anonymous, efficient.
I am less and less enamored with the Internet hiring process. I have a voice, skills, talents, a personality and many people who think I taught them or led them or supported them with integrity and strength. If you are a job seeker, you deserve to be heard and considered. It doesn't matter if it takes time and the interviewer might have to disappoint you to your face or in a live call.
I love being online; I want to work online, using the wonderful tools it gives me, the places I can interact, and the people I can meet. But frankly, we need to go back to real people in real time for hiring. Kudos to those employers who have done that during this search - there have been a few. If I am brave enough to apply, to hang out my qualifications for judgment, then I am entitled to know who my reviewer is and how or why I have been judged inadequate.
Thanks for sticking with me for this post. I just have to believe I am not alone in my thoughts. Unemployment and job searches are grueling and it is so important that others realize this and be supportive. As always, tell me what you think. I'll listen and I will respond!
Took me back to my own job hunt out of college -- magna cum laude and great grades but no job experience -- it took forever! At one time I thought of wall-papering my home office with the rejection letters....wouldn't that have been uplifting, lol. Now that I am on the other side of the hiring equation, I can see that it takes a lot of creativity to break through all the screens and filters we as employers put up -- we sure do make it difficult on ourselves to find the right person for the job!
ReplyDeleteI guess what worries me the most is that for all the sophistication we have with tech filters and screens, some really terrific people are being missed because no one ever talks to them personally. Nothing is definitive. Some employers might like a creative, avant garde approach; another would be annoyed by someone who thought outside the box. It doesn't even help to dissect the job listing because I am learning there is a whole lot of cut and paste going on. I am not convinced the actual manager or department chair is seeing the posting, but instead, entrusting it to HR. I thought I worked hard and long for my previous jobs. I am putting my name in for a medal for the amount of dedicated effort I have expended on this journey. Thanks for leaving a comment. I appreciate knowing people stop by!
Delete"If I am brave enough to apply, to hang out my qualifications for judgment, then I am entitled to know who my reviewer is and how or why I have been judged inadequate." This put me in mind of "Face your executioner" (wherever that comes from, and I'm sure I should know...) You make a valid point. I suffered similar humiliation, albeit on a smaller scale, when I was searching for a job after we moved to a new state. I was "just" a real estate admin, but I came already equipped with extensive knowledge of how to BE that very well, having spent 8 years working for a demanding, technophobic, megalomaniacal top producer. Print advertising was already reduced to "nil" , which left craigslist and the daily tentacular spawn of suck-your-soul employment sites. So many of the offerings were fraudulent -- on craigslist, especially, though that is where I did eventually find a job. It was for less money and with considerably reduced responsibilities (no more photo editing or copy writing for YOU!), but I was glad to get it, and could have fared worse. Again, digressing...I come back to simple agreement with you, that this faceless online process is both arbitrary and dehumanizing. Your fortitude in the face of repeated slights such as the one you cite is, I think, inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI smiled at your post - the one place I have NOT looked is craigslist for all the reasons you cite. Hmmm. You know, it is hard to beat down the feeling that employers see it as "they" are doing "you" (or me) a favor, as opposed to me bringing my expertise to them and doing them a favor. I have not just looked in my field but have made some lateral applications in a return to non-profit love from long ago. Hasn't helped. And you know me, I am far from deserving of praise. But...I can write. Thanks for stopping by and being there for me, my friend.
DeleteI'm sorry to say it, but my experience is that you will quite literally be rejected as soon as ANY item on your resume doesn't exactly match the job requirements in the robo-HR system. And you're right - the HR people almost never see it, other than a low level filter-person. I had one position for which I was uniquely qualified, and was rejected within minutes of submitting my resume. My sin? Although I had trained well over 1000 teachers in person and over 3000 through an online course, I had never "worked in post-secondary education". In the end, it has been my experience that there are HR department worried more about 'ticking boxes' than choosing the right candidate.
ReplyDeleteI have winnowed my resume overall and of course, always fine tune it appropriately. I do think I am being dinged on the post secondary thing too, but tucked in on my resume is my years as an adjunct and the fact that my Masters was a rather intense romp through both instructional design (which I loved) and adult learning theory with the attendant training connection. I really want to use my skills, just make a difference. But sadly, it has become I need to survive. Thanks for stopping by, Rob. You have taught me much and I respect you greatly. So glad our paths have crossed.
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