OT: Job Rejection Letter Response

[Chin Diesel]

Not getting you. People ask for nonsense at work? And what kind of work? If a lawyer had written that, it would spawn 17 more lawsuits.

People ask for nonsense at work? Only about 20 times a day. There's a reason why Dilbert cartoons write themselves.

 

[itgoeslike]

It wasn't a grammatical error, it was a nonsensical question given the original stem. What would your answer be to this question?

Q: The 3rd grade is taking a field trip to the zoo. There are 14 students and 2 seats on each bus. How many buses does the school need to take the students to the zoo?

A:__________________________

The answer is fire the purchasing agent that keeps buying buses outfitted with 2-seats. . .

 

[huskymedic]

The answer is fire the purchasing agent that keeps buying buses outfitted with 2-seats. . .

C'mon, it's the BY...

 

[Chin Diesel]

The answer is fire the purchasing agent that keeps buying buses outfitted with 2-seats. . .

On the flip side, make sure you hire the person who made the short bus sale. Selling two-seat busses? Brilliant.

 

[Bezzz]

It's ungrammatical in the sense that the writer doesn't seem to realize that compound subjects both use the same verb in a sentence. He wanted to write, "There are 14 students total, and there are 2 seats on each bus." Instead, he made a grammatical error.

Reminds me of a joke. A computer programmer is going to the store. His wife says "Get a loaf of bread, and if they have eggs, get a dozen". So he comes back with twelve loaves of bread.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Reminds me of a joke. A computer programmer is going to the store. His wife says "Get a loaf of bread, and if they have eggs, get a dozen". So he comes back with twelve loaves of bread.

Well, if we're going to go that route.......


Little Johnny comes home from school and hands his dad a note saying the dad needs to meet with the principal. The dad asks what happened. Little Johnny said he was in math class and the teacher asked "What's 4+2?". Little Johnny said he raised his hand, the teacher asked him and he said the answer was six. "Very good" said the teacher. Then she asked "What's 2+4?". Before Little Johnny could say anything else his dad goes "2+4 or 4+2, what's the difference?". Little Johnny looked at his dad and said, "that's what I said".

 

[itgoeslike]

On the flip side, make sure you hire the person who made the short bus sale. Selling two-seat busses? Brilliant.

Sounds like the bus salesman's commission deal is structured on unit sales. . .

 

[J187Money]

I don't pay a ton of attention to resumes other than job titles. If they went to the right school and progressed at quality organizations that gives me enough data to have a discussion with them. That's where I figure out what I need.

 

[BoatShow]

When I was applying for teaching jobs it was SUCH a pain the butt changing stuff like the info of the principal/superintendent and adding anecdotal googled crap about the district to my cover letter. Andddd I'm finishing up my masters this year and stand to get 10-15k more per yer if I change districts. Can't wait to do it all over again!

 

[Jimdish255]

Upstater used the very exact word ungrammatical...

I'm no grammar expert so let me know if I'm missing something.

Since I'm a UConn fan I'm not great at counting by 7 but I'm pretty sure 14 divided by 2 is 7.

If the point is that a vehicle with two seats isn't usually classified as a bus... ok.

Will the driver be occupying a seat? If it's a school bus with bench seats will more than one student be on each seat? I hate questions like this.

 

[Blue215]

Sorry for jumping into this thread so late, but I have to chime in. Chin Diesel, I think you're doing your candidates and your company a disservice by not taking a couple of minutes to read through a resume completely. Just because somebody doesn't grab your attention in the first ten seconds doesn't mean they aren't very qualified for the position...or at least should get an opportunity at an interview.

I think Whaler11 had it right earlier when he said he reads through all resumes to look for those who are qualified and then interviews all of the candidates. Personally, I don't think there is such a thing as wasted effort when you are looking to hire the best candidate for a position.

I also think that resume analyzing software is a waste. In our efforts to make things easier on ourselves, we opted to use a computer to analyze job applicants based on individual keywords. And if there aren't enough "right" keywords in the resume, in the trash bin they go. How many good, qualified candidates never get to speak to a real, live person because of that? And how many very qualified candidates are lost by companies because nobody got to interview the candidate, or never even knew the candidate existed because a computer dumped them?

 

[RedStickHusky]

Since I'm a UConn fan I'm not great at counting by 7 but ....

classic. we all know that seven=a three possession deficit.

Problem with the question is it fails to articulate that 14 is a total number of students and instead implies that we are squeezing 14 students into each two seat bus until we reach an unknown total. Is syntax a sub-set of grammar or a separate discipline?

 

[storrsroars]

To me, the most important factor in someone getting their resume read is to completely bypass the standard HR application and write me themselves. If they took the time to look at the company's website, Googled the officers, found my email and were coherent in their CV and resume as it pertained to the advertised position, you bet I wanted to talk to them. That showed me ingenuity, ability to problem solve and some risk taking. No canned BS designed exclusively to spoof those God-awful online HR screening apps.

For me personally, if I did that and the hiring manager told me I HAD to go through HR, then I cross that company off my list of ones where I'd want to work.

 

[Blue215]

Interesting take storrsroars. I like that. Are you in that management level where you may get emailed directly? Just wondering if any management would accept that instead of going through the "normal" hiring process. I just think that dumping a candidate because they use "the wrong font" in their resume or because there might be a typo on the resume is ridiculous. I've seen so many documents written by CEO's that have typos, yet there they are- at the top of the company. Are they unqualified? My opinion is if we want the best candidate for a position, we have to work a little at it too. Like giving equal attention to ALL of the applicants. Look over the total package and decide which fits your company best. Let's be honest here. Once a person gets the job, when is their resume ever seen again? Never. So who cares about the font used in the resume or if there was a typo? What should count is what can this person do for my company moving forward or who is the candidate that can help my company moving forward.

 

[Sportsman5]

Interesting take storrsroars. I like that. Are you in that management level where you may get emailed directly? Just wondering if any management would accept that instead of going through the "normal" hiring process. I just think that dumping a candidate because they use "the wrong font" in their resume or because there might be a typo on the resume is ridiculous. I've seen so many documents written by CEO's that have typos, yet there they are- at the top of the company. Are they unqualified? My opinion is if we want the best candidate for a position, we have to work a little at it too. Like giving equal attention to ALL of the applicants. Look over the total package and decide which fits your company best. Let's be honest here. Once a person gets the job, when is their resume ever seen again? Never. So who cares about the font used in the resume or if there was a typo? What should count is what can this person do for my company moving forward or who is the candidate that can help my company moving forward.

I agree. Also, if an applicant is taking the time to customize each resume because he or she is detail oriented and wants to take the time to best present themselves, then that candidate is much more likely to make a small mistake than the person who makes one resume and sends that same one out to 10 jobs. Not everyone is able to find a person who can critique their resumes every time they apply for a job. So if the hiring person throws out resumes for tiny missed details, then it's very likely that a person will throw out resumes from people who care the most about getting that particular job. I understand time constraints make it so it's not possible to thoroughly look at every resume, but the filtering systems should be rational.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Pick and choose the links, but here are some links on resume tips.

http://career-advice.monster.com/re...avoid-the-top-10-resume-mistakes/article.aspx

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/resume-tips/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/naomishavin/2014/07/16/tips-for-the-perfect-resume-and-cover-letter/

 

[Blue215]

Pick and choose the links, but here are some links on resume tips.

http://career-advice.monster.com/re...avoid-the-top-10-resume-mistakes/article.aspx

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/resume-tips/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/naomishavin/2014/07/16/tips-for-the-perfect-resume-and-cover-letter/

I get it. I know this is how job hiring is done nowadays. And I've learned throughout my career to spell check and proof read everything. But that doesn't mean this is the best way to hire the best candidate. Keywords and computer filtering? It just can't be disputed that good candidates are frequently missed because of a computer. Hiring is done this way to make it easier on the person doing the hiring, not to necessarily find the best candidate. I'm not saying that companies don't want to hire the best candidate, but they are trading quality for saving themselves time and effort in the hiring process. Yes, I want candidates to make an effort for the job they are attempting to get. But I should also give an effort to hire the best person for my company as well. Technology is great. It's made things very easy for us as a society. Everything is at our fingertips. But it also creates a degree of laziness and makes us expend more energy to save time than to get it right.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I get it. I know this is how job hiring is done nowadays. And I've learned throughout my career to spell check and proof read everything. But that doesn't mean this is the best way to hire the best candidate. Keywords and computer filtering? It just can't be disputed that good candidates are frequently missed because of a computer. Hiring is done this way to make it easier on the person doing the hiring, not to necessarily find the best candidate. I'm not saying that companies don't want to hire the best candidate, but they are trading quality for saving themselves time and effort in the hiring process. Yes, I want candidates to make an effort for the job they are attempting to get. But I should also give an effort to hire the best person for my company as well. Technology is great. It's made things very easy for us as a society. Everything is at our fingertips. But it also creates a degree of laziness and makes us expend more energy to save time than to get it right.

I'll add this. Personal recommendations and professional relationships trump everything you just said and anything I've posted.

 

[Excalibur]

I'll add this. Personal recommendations and professional relationships trump everything you just said and anything I've posted.

This. Most jobs are attained through networking. Resume screening is a total crapshoot.