Keep Dreaming/Do People Still Read?

So, I had two phone interviews this week.  I thought that they both went fairly well.  Well, I know that they went fairly well because I was invited to in-person interviews for both.  Yay!  So, while I will happily keep dreaming that they turn into job offers eventually, I'm currently telling illiterate recruiters to keep dreaming.  I was contacted by phone and email by five recruiters this week.  The first was for an account management position.  I asked for more information because it sounded like a Sales position, and I'm not interested in Sales.  Her response said "it's an Account Manager position."  Well, that was super helpful.  I told her I was declining her offer.  She writes back inviting me to reschedule.  Keep dreaming.  Next I get contacted about a position which requires a Ph.D. and experience in Engineering.  I don't have either of those.  Keep dreaming.  Next I get contacted by two recruiters for HR Technology Analyst positions.  One I was not remotely qualified for, and write back telling her as such.  Her response is, "Well, just send me your resume, and I'll present it to the client to make that decision."  I acquiesced, and have not heard back.  The other recruiter called, and told me the position was in the NW suburbs.  I live in the city and don't have a car.  I said that is not an area that is easy to commute to and that I was not interested in relocating.  He then sent me an email with the job description.  Keep dreaming.  Finally, a woman called me stating "based on my education and experience she had a position that I might be interested in."  It was a customer service position, and it paid $11/hour.  Please note, I have a graduate degree in business.  I politely told her to keep dreaming.

So, based on all of these interactions, I've determined the underlying pattern is that none of them read anything--not the job description, my emails, nor my resume.  Perhaps people just don't read anymore.  The woman with the account management position clearly didn't read my response asking for more information about the position, nor did she read my second response stating that I was not interested.  The next two recruiters clearly didn't read the job descriptions for the jobs they were tasked to fill because I was not remotely qualified.  Yes, they're likely using keyword scanners, but why not bother reviewing that stack of screened candidates' resumes before contacting them.  The next encounter is more an issue of not listening rather than not reading, but still, I said I wasn't interested based on the location because I can't commute there.  Since the location of the company won't change, and I said I was not open to relocating, why send me an email?  The final woman clearly didn't read my resume before she called because my education and work experience does NOT match that of an entry-level CSR position. 

I understand that sometimes when someone doesn't take the hint, it's them being tenacious, but shouldn't that tenacity be reserved for when someone has at least expressed some interest in the position?  If a recruiter contacts you and doesn't take the hint that you're not interested, which you dropped by stating "I'm not interested/qualified," the next step is to tell them to take a hike (politely, of course). 

So, I ask you, people of the Internet, have you had an experience with an illiterate recruiter?

Can I Get a Little Wish Fulfillment Over Here?

Well, apparently it's not time just yet for my wishes to be granted--but, a good friend of mine just found a job that he really likes in publishing.  Happily, he found the other wish fulfillment people--not genies (recruiters)--connections.  A friend of a friend of his works at this publishing house.  Miraculously, she works on the same team as this open position.  So, while he still had to apply online, he was able to list her as a referral, and he had someone on the inside championing him as a candidate.

So, that's the other piece of the puzzle these days--working with a recruiter/staffing agency, or even better, having an in with the company.  This isn't news.  People have always known that it helps to have a friend who works at the company.  But what if you don't know anyone at the company?  Are you sure you don't know anyone at the company?  Have you looked on LinkedIn?  LinkedIn is a great way to connect with people professionally, and sometimes might be a leg up in the recruitment process.  How did my friend find out that his friend's friend worked for this particular publishing house?  Uh...LinkedIn?--CORRECT!  So, if you wanna get some wish fulfillment of your own, connect with a recruiter, or better, a friend--or a friend of a friend--that works for the company.

People of the Internet, please share your experiences with LinkedIn.  Have your connections helped you get a job?  Have you helped someone you know on LinkedIn get a job?  Or do you rebuke LinkedIn with every fiber of your being and think that it's just hype?

We All Need a (Jeannie) Genie

Now, I don't mean that we need a genie to grant all of our wishes with various zany outcomes, who eventually falls in love with us.  I do mean that we all want/need someone in our lives that has the ability to make our wishes and dreams come true.  Like the blog states, I'm currently dreaming of jobs, and fortunately for me, I have found modern day genies.  I have found recruiters.  If only it were as simple as them saying "your wish is my command," folding their arms, and blinking my perfect job into existence.

Now, I've never worked with a staffing company before, but in the short time that I have been looking for a new job, I've found that they fall into two general categories.  1) Recruiters who cut to the chase, negotiate salary immediately, then say they''ll get back to you, but you never hear from them again, not even a "no, it's not going to work out."  I'm left feeling a bit cold and bereft.  Was it good for you?  2) Then, there are recruiters who actually seem to care about you as a person, as well as filling their jobs and satisfying their clients' needs.  They treat this more like a relationship.  Maybe it's naive of me to think that they care about you as a person, but let me elaborate.  I'm talking about recruiters who talk to you for more than 15 minutes, and try to gauge if you're a good fit for the position they're currently recruiting for, and will (or at least say they will) keep you in mind for future positions.  These are recruiters that recognize that a good fit for you and the company is better for all parties involved.  But hey, what do I know, I'm new at this.  People of the Internet, what has your experience been with recruiters/staffing agencies?  Which side of the fence have you been on, and can you offer some insight into this world?

I Dream of Jobs

Last night, I was trying to get to sleep, and all I could think about was the jobs that I applied to during the day.  I decided to settle in for the day and concentrate, and I applied for 14 jobs over the course of seven hours.  That's an average of two jobs an hour.  Now, to the casual observer, that doesn't seem like that many.  But when you get down into it, you realize that the process for applying to most jobs goes like this: locate position you're (mostly) qualified for, click "apply," set up required profile, enter in all the information from your resume manually, navigate to actual job application, upload resume, submit application.  Rinse repeat.

It's not like this for all jobs.  Some jobs it's just submit your resume and cover letter to this email address and hope someone looks at it.  But for many jobs, it's the above process, for which I pose the following question, "in the thousands/tens of the thousands of dollars you spent on your ATS program, why does your text import not work"???  Many ATS programs have this import capability, so why do I have to enter in the information manually?  Or my new favorite scenario, the import only kinda works, so I still end up entering in most of the information manually or adjusting the formatting.  It's SO frustrating.

I know, I know, I get it.  You want us to set up a profile so you have all of the information on file, as well as to make it easier on us if we're applying to multiple jobs within your organization--at least that's the line you give everyone to get them to accept the clunky software.  So, people of the Internet I ask you, what ATS have you had experience with that (mostly) works like it is supposed to?