inequality in job application process

fsdss

i work in a multi disciplinary team, i am employed by NHS, my colleagues are employed by county council.
i recently applied for a new job at the county council, doing the same job as i do, but working on a particular project that was far better paid than i am currently on. there were 13 vacancies.
5 of my CC colleagues were offered interview, i wasnt.

i have asked for feedback, orginally, they said that i couldnt have met the essential criteria, but have back tracked on this because i challenged it (as i put in an excellent CV and know i meet all the criteria) and they haven't even looked at my application form!..the HR dept state that there were numerous applications but selected at random those for interview.

Whats even more disturbing is one of my collegues has sent in an incomplete application form (didnt save the CV) and it went through blank, and she has an interview??

I hadnt set my heart on the job (i have a good job), but i want to challenge this correctly without coming across bitter, after all i spend 6 bleeding hours perfecting this bloody essay of an application form for someone to toss in the bin. :mad::mad:

Caroline_a

Sounds like it's a done deal, personally I wouldn't waste my effort. Move on, use your energies for something more productive.

anamenottaken

fsdss wrote: »

i work in a multi disciplinary team, i am employed by NHS, my colleagues are employed by county council.
i recently applied for a new job at the county council, doing the same job as i do, but working on a particular project that was far better paid than i am currently on. there were 13 vacancies.
5 of my CC colleagues were offered interview, i wasnt.

i have asked for feedback, orginally, they said that i couldnt have met the essential criteria, but have back tracked on this because i challenged it (as i put in an excellent CV and know i meet all the criteria) and they haven't even looked at my application form!..the HR dept state that there were numerous applications but selected at random those for interview.

Whats even more disturbing is one of my collegues has sent in an incomplete application form (didnt save the CV) and it went through blank, and she has an interview??

I hadnt set my heart on the job (i have a good job), but i want to challenge this correctly without coming across bitter, after all i spend 6 bleeding hours perfecting this bloody essay of an application form for someone to toss in the bin. :mad::mad:

There would be a reason why the new job is "far better paid" so I would expect that there were requirements for the job which are beyond the current role. Perhaps your colleagues have demonstrated that they have that other experience or qualification which you do not hold.

It is unusual to be required to submit a CV and an application form. Did they ask for that?

fsdss

There is a reason why its better paid....as its a more complex role, but not something that i havent had extensive experience of (in 27 yrs).

the CV was required attached to application notes.

no the girls are not more qualified or experienced than me, i know that for sure.

my point is: the result from asking for feedback on the application form doesnt sit well for me...they havent read it, the HR lady has told me!..i want to challenge this, as having spent hours writing a glowing application, they didnt even look at it! and i dont buy random selection excuse.

They have written to me stating that shortlisting was guaranteed when the essential criteria was achieved, (mine was but not read!) however i want to draw their attention to their equal opportunities policy in a productive way.

ohreally

fsdss wrote: »

the CV was required attached to application notes.

Are you sure about the cv aspect?

Public service employers tend to avoid cv's like the plague as they are unlikely to comply with anti-discriminatory best practise.

cr1mson

Is there likely to have been lots of applications? If so it is entirely possible that the application hasn't been looked at. A friend recently recruited and had 250 applications and couldn't possibly look at them all. She had a quick flick and then picked the first 5 that looked okay for interview.

DKLS

cr1mson wrote: »

Is there likely to have been lots of applications? If so it is entirely possible that the application hasn't been looked at. A friend recently recruited and had 250 applications and couldn't possibly look at them all. She had a quick flick and then picked the first 5 that looked okay for interview.

If they use a HRIS system they dont have to even read the CVs, If I had 500 applications for a role I can click one button and it goes through all the applications and pulls out the top ten for me based on the criteria I set when I put the job role in the system.

I can press another button, enter a date range and invite them to interview usually these days I read a CV the morning the candidate come in for first interview.

polgara

Was the post open to external applicants? Most public sector bodies are going through restructuring so lots of posts are restricted to internal applicants which may be a reason only CC staff have been short-listed

Spirit_2

You wont get a successful challenge unless you suffered discrimination based on some protected characteristic.

You could ask them if they are only making internal hires just to satisfy yourself that it is not worth pursuing other posts with them.

Lots of good advice on here, It is annoying but I agree with the advice that suggests you put it down to experience and move on.

fsdss

thanks for all your replies...in short.
Yes i am confident of the CV attachment, it was stipulated in the guidelines to be attached within the application with a format on how it should read.
yes there were quite an amount of applications for the post.
yes it was externally advertised
at present the CC roles are protected, this is a new project with protected govt funding.
at best, i am going to pen a complaint and move on because whats the point of having an equal opportunities policy if they do not practice it?
Many thanks for your replies

yvonne13_2

fsdss wrote: »

i work in a multi disciplinary team, i am employed by NHS, my colleagues are employed by county council.
i recently applied for a new job at the county council, doing the same job as i do, but working on a particular project that was far better paid than i am currently on. there were 13 vacancies.
5 of my CC colleagues were offered interview, i wasnt.

How many people from the NHS were offered interviews? And how many interviews were offered externally?

Perhaps your application didn't have the key words they were looking for......