Posted on 04/07/2006 by the cynic
Viewed: 604 times
For a little background: I'm a career changer. Was a social worker for children (there's a story up about that too), then thanks to a temp-to-perm agency, I've moved into banking operations, which I like better. And I can laugh at this now because I have a job.
But the job search was hell since I was switching, and I have a general comment: What is it with either HR people or recruiters who call first saying, "We found your resume online and think you'd be a great fit for this. Come in for an interview!"
The job interview would then typically go something like this, although this is from my worst one:
I: "So, let's look at your resume to see if MAYBE there's a match."
TC (thinking): Didn't you look at it already?
I (looks shocked, poring over the resume like a newspaper): "Umm, uhhhkaaay. So you MAJORED in SOCIAL WORK, and then you got a TEMP job in an accounting department. WHYYYYYY (emphasis on purpose--those HR girls always had that "whiny attitude, condescending" inflection when asking me this) would you go ALL the way to college and then take an hourly job at $25k?
TC (thinking): How rude is it to put down someone's salary, over which they had no control? Also, how did you get a job in HR if you don't know career changers and entry-level salaries exist? Why is this so strange to you that I'm 26 years old and am no longer interested in doing what I did at 21? Or that I didn't immediately get six figures upon graduating?
I (moving on): So. You have some NON-PROFIT experience here...What's the deal with that? You TEMPED. You are...how old..and you NEVER had a permanent job before? Hmmm.
I: Well, I'm not sure this will work. There's plenty of nonprofit stuff you can still do in New York. There are hospitals, schools, blah, blah....
Then there was the guy who actually said, "I believe what we choose to do when young is what we're programmed to do. You majored in social work at 18? Go be a social worker. I'm sorry. No switching."
Anyway...two points:
a) Where do they get off being so rude about personal things (always something about my age and my last salary)? Is there some new law that we all must do forever what we majored in as freshmen?
And the guy who acted like my father was just appalling (telling me I'm not "allowed" to change)
b) If it bothers them to that degree, why did they call in the first place and say they liked it? Then I show up in person and they tell me I'M strange for applying? Earth to HR guy/lady, YOU CALLED ME!
All this says to me is, "Caught red-handed. You didn't read a thing. Monster.Com read it for you and you're on automatic pilot."
POST A COMMENTlabtech(04/08/2006)
Yes - HR has to justify their pay now that hiring is rare to nonexistant...so they need bodies through the door to show that they still deserve to be at their jobs. Generally, if the first contact with the company is snotty at me, I know it's a waste of time to interview there. You don't have to answer any questions about age either, it's against the law for them to even ask.
thelma(04/12/2006)
It sounds like you ran into some really lazy HR people. I pity the company they're fronting for. They probably hired a lot of fast-talking con artists and turned away some truly competent people.
the cynic(04/13/2006)
Yeah. And the only jobs I've gotten have been not through HR, but through interviewing directly with the person I'd be working for. That seems to be the most direct method of hiring, plus the person knows what skills you have and what they are looking for. HR is a gatekeeper that leaves too much to be assumed about the interviewee. Half the time it seems like the HR interviewer is an office slave like the rest of us, whose job it is to churn out interviews but not necessarily know much about the position itself. It's too bad more companies haven't retained the old fashioned way of hiring. My parents were shocked that I couldn't just mail a resume to management and get the interview...that I had to go through this extra step. If I had a choice I'd keep HR for complaints, benefit issues, etc., but not for hiring.
BoneyardDiva(06/01/2006)
I had a similar situation happen. A company saw my resume online, set up an interview, then asked me why I took time away from a job to get more education. Um, YOU called ME! Glad to know I'm not the only one, sad to hear you had to deal w/ this b.s. too.
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