What the hell do employers want?

Lisa_27

My CV is good, I get interviews for most jobs I apply for and some are probably out of my league as far as experience goes.

My CV is honest, there just must be something employers like, actually got interviewed for a job 10k over my last salary and was rejected but told by the man who interviewed me that if he had his way he would have hired me as he liked me and saw potential but had to go for the one with most experience.

Anyway, I apply for anything I can do so applied for a part time job in the local Spar shop; I have retail experience and bags of CS experience, the job would have been ideal for now. 16 hours and 5 min walk from my house so no travel costs.

Guess what? I never even got to the interview stage :mad: What on earth were they wanting? me to get on my knees and beg?

dandelionclock30

No, they are probably wanting a 16 year old who they can pay less than you that's what it most likely will be.
Employers seem to want everything but to pay the least amount possible. If they can get away with getting people on fake apprenticeships, internships and voluntary work etc then they will.

CKhalvashi

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Employers seem to want everything but to pay the least amount possible. If they can get away with getting people on fake apprenticeships, internships and voluntary work etc then they will.

We're not all wanting this, and we're now demanding more and more work experience, preferably in driving if you'll be driving, admin if you're in the office, and working knowledge of at least two other languages, from a list of the 16 languages I come into contact with on a daily basis.

We've had an employment round close yesterday, and received more than 12,000 applications for 15 posts, and henceforth, we're doing an online-only application system with a 'best person for the job' automated system. We have to get this down to 50 interviews.

CK

Slinky

Lisa_27 wrote: »

the job would have been ideal for now.

They can see from your other experience that you would only be using this as a stop-gap and they don't want to waste time and money on you, only for you to leave when something more suitable comes along.

Person_one

Slinky wrote: »

They can see from your other experience that you would only be using this as a stop-gap and they don't want to waste time and money on you, only for you to leave when something more suitable comes along.

How many people would see 16 hours in a Spar as their dream job and stay forever?

Takeaway_Addict

Lisa_27 wrote: »

My CV is good, I get interviews for most jobs I apply for and some are probably out of my league as far as experience goes.

My CV is honest, there just must be something employers like, actually got interviewed for a job 10k over my last salary and was rejected but told by the man who interviewed me that if he had his way he would have hired me as he liked me and saw potential but had to go for the one with most experience.

Anyway, I apply for anything I can do so applied for a part time job in the local Spar shop; I have retail experience and bags of CS experience, the job would have been ideal for now. 16 hours and 5 min walk from my house so no travel costs.

Guess what? I never even got to the interview stage :mad: What on earth were they wanting? me to get on my knees and beg?

Yes ideal for you but you were not ideal for them. As has been pointed out they probably guessed this would only be a stop gap and you'd move on fairly quickly so what would be the point in them hiring you, training you and then having to do it all again when they could have hedged their bets and taken some of the risk out of it by hiring someone whose CV may not be as sparkling but who showed longevity in jobs.

You should have dumbed the CV down for the spar job

Takeaway_Addict

Person_one wrote: »

How many people would see 16 hours in a Spar as their dream job and stay forever?

Alot of people would stay for a long time because the hours fit in nicely for tax credits etc I believe.

heretolearn_2

exactly.

We avoid anyone who we have good reason to think it's just a stopgap. And it was just a stopgap for you.

'How many people would see 16 hours in a Spar as their dream job and stay forever?' You'd be surprised. Anyway, no employer expects forever, but that's different to taking on someone you know is doing their best to leave from day one.

Keep on trying, you'll get there. If you are getting interviews then that's 75% of the battle. One day you'll be the one who is the right fit for the job.

Evilm

Person_one wrote: »

How many people would see 16 hours in a Spar as their dream job and stay forever?

There are plenty of students that would love that job and stay for 2-4 years and possibly beyond. Whereas the likelihood is that they'd lose OP to something else within 6 months.

Unfortunately its not "do I fit what the employers want" but "do I fit it the best" and "do I stand out enough" that matters these days -there are too many good applicants and its nothing personal that OP didn't make it to the top of the pile in each case.

falko89

heretolearn wrote: »

exactly.

We avoid anyone who we have good reason to think it's just a stopgap. And it was just a stopgap for you.

'How many people would see 16 hours in a Spar as their dream job and stay forever?' You'd be surprised. Anyway, no employer expects forever, but that's different to taking on someone you know is doing their best to leave from day one.

Keep on trying, you'll get there. If you are getting interviews then that's 75% of the battle. One day you'll be the one who is the right fit for the job.

Trying to leave and actually leaving are 2 very different things, I've been trying to leave my job from day 1, I am still there a year later, its just not as easy these days to find another job.

soontobemrsg

I've recently changed jobs from Teaching to Admin and one of the questions at the interview was actually why I was even applying for the job based on my skills. I did get it and have almost finished my first week. I love not taking work home!

At the end of my first day the boss actually called me into his office to discuss a payrise as he's afraid I'll leave on the current salary. I told him that I was happy with the pay or I'd not have accepted the position but for his door to stay open should my financial circumstances change. Which he was more than happy to do for me.

I so love my new job and I love the new challenge it provides.

I guess the point is that while you may seem over or under qualified for any particular vacancy it's what you do/say at interview and within your covering letter that really matters and whether or not they can see you fitting in with existing staff and be able to offer anything new.