Musings on a competitive search for a shitty job
 

So you people who are my FB friends, assuming I haven't blocked you yet, know that we are hiring a part-time, temporary receptionist.

We were very honest in sharing that the pay is only $10 an hour for 20 hours a week. During today's interviews, we revealed that the job would end in March 2010.

We got over 70 applications.

By and large, I was happy with the quality of the resumes, considering it was an entry level job.

Four people that we extended interviews to didn't show up -- three of them never responded to the invite to an interview, one responded but didn't show up. I have never heard of anything like this before.

So the interviews were today. I don't normally do HR stuff because it's not my interest professionally, but I happen to be really good at conducting job searches. I think it's fun, like a casting special for The Real World or Road Rules.

Here is what I learned from this particular process:

1) BE YOURSELF from start to finish. We extended interviews to all kinds of people.

2) Study abroad really is impressive. If you are an undergrad, do this, even if it's just for a summer.

3) Even though I truly hate the question "so tell me about yourself" always have something compelling to say when somebody asks you -- not so much about your characteristics, but more who you ARE. Your essence.

4) Special skills, hobbies, and training are a plus even if they aren't related to the job itself. We extended interviews to a graphic designer, massage therapist, and manual laborer who had never had any administrative work before.

5) People who can tell a good story are awesome. I can't go into details, but one of our candidates had been a resident assistant and had the awesomest stories evar.

6) List your affiliations, especially if they're current. I was disappointed that no social Greeks applied to our position. :( The kind of work that we do relies on our staff members having extensive networks. Not required, but helps during Walkathon season.

That's all I can think of for right now.

LOLLERS!

I don't understand that! In this economy, people need to be at interviews all day everyday, especially recent college grads. Sallie Mae is not playing games and she WILL call you asking for her money.

and i wish i had done study abroad - my school opened up its Ghana program in my senior year, and by then i was an RA and becoming a member of SGRho. womp womp (on the missing out, not on the other stuff).

I never know how to answer questions like #3. Can you give me some pointers? Because "I'm a mom" doesnt *quite* cut it, lol!

It cut it for us! We appreciated that people spoke about their families rather than themselves -- that doesn't come across in resumes or cover letters. That might not be the same for everyone in a position to hire, though, but it's important to us.

It also would be the place to talk about volunteer work or hobbies, directly relevant to the job or not.

How do you not show up for an interview? I know I've actually called and cancelled after taking another position, but that's just not professional. Am I wrong for thinking you can go on an interview for a position you truly don't want just so you can bone up your interview skills?

I wonder if the candidates were indeed Greek but learned to not list their orgs because it could be held against them. I would list it for an education position because schools are full of Greeks but probably not for a job I found online where I have no contacts. To this day, I compromised and just listed "community service organization", my years and involvement.

I'm with you on Study Abroad. One of my college regrets is not doing a Study Abroad or national exchange. I am really trying to encourage my niece and nephew to consider it, but my niece is kind of justified in her concerns with terrorism in other countries.

I work in HR and have people not show up for interviews ALL the time. Granted the position we hire for pays $10/hr, but with the quality of some of the people who walk through our door, they should be thrilled by that.

I disagree on talking about your family when asked "tell me about yourself." It would raise a red flag for me. There's nothing wrong with being a mom, but I've found that parents (especially single parents, a lot work here) use their kids as an excuse for being late or calling out, and that doesn't cut it where I work.

I love when people have Greek affiliations on their resume. It's never helped me get a job but I still keep it on mine, and I prefer to hire Greeks over non-Greeks (more than half the interns I've hired have been sorority girls from UNC Charlotte and Queens University).

That has everything to do with supervision and not a lot to do with selection.

I have always heard that talking about family is a no-no in interviews (in fact, legally, I don't think that an employer can ask you those questions). In my field particularly, if you are hired, the institution often will have to find a position for a partner as well (if they are in the field). So talking about family can make the difference between getting the job and not getting the job, because sometimes the candidate that doesn't necessitate additional financial investment is the more attractive one.

It probably varies depending on the sort of position.

Of course not soror! One of my prophytes always tells me, "an interview is just that--you should be looking at them as much as they are looking at you. they ask questions, you ask questions. you should impress them but they should impress you too."

that actually helps - i always go in prepared to "interview" the interviewer, but not too much because i know folks feel some kind of way. We just phone itnerviewed a candidate here today and my co-worker was against her for "asking too many questions."

I'm still working my way around this one. I take it off when I send resumes to agencies, and selectively include it depending on the organization. My current organization is based on community service and works with a lot of universities so it's definitely appropriate.

If it came down between me and someone else for a position, i hope my letters would put me over the edge, along with my good looks and charm.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that. As in, it's up to their boss to enforce that they are on time? That's true. However, I hire people who use a points-based attendance system, and being late results in 1/4 point, unplanned absence is 1 point, etc. Regardless of the reason for the lateness, you are given an attendance point. It's been my experience that people with children are the quickest to be terminated because our policy is so strict on tardies and absences.

A few years ago in a different job I worked with two new mothers. One was on time most of the time, and the other usually strolled in around noon (3 1/2 hours late), blaming her lateness on the baby. As far as I'm concerned, this did not seem to be a big deal to either of their bosses. I guess it all depends on the work environment.

I am a single mom, and my employer is very family friendly. If I am more than 15 minutes late, I will call my supervisor. If I am out for the day, either I am sick or my kid is sick. I dont play with my leave time nor do I use my kid as an excuse to not be at work. If I am more than an hour late, I can flex the time on the weekend if need be.

Every parenting situation is different, though, and it's not relegated to just single parents.

This is a good convo.

I'm still confused on how to answer, though, lol!

Yep.

I have a job right now, but I'm looking to find another in a different city. I've been on more interviews in my life than I care to think about, but it's always good to get more tips and hints. :)

http://www.job-interview-site.com/te...d-answers.html <---- not bad responses

Please come give a good-work-ethic speech to the people I hire. :)

I agree that every parenting situation is different, I'm just assuming that it's tougher for single parents because you don't have a partner to fall back on to take care of your child if they are sick, off school, etc. Of course, both my parents worked and when I was in school and got sick, the nurse called my grandparents, my dad, then my mom. 9 times out of 10 my grandparents were the ones who came to pick me up since both of my parents not only worked, but worked 45 minutes to an hour away.