Requesting feedback if not shortlisted for interview

Margaret_Skinner

Yeah I know - I think I'm just !!!!ed off with myself because I really wanted the job and took a lot of time over the application - and more so because I've done audio typing but didn't think to specify it in the morass of all the other roles and responsibilities. A learning curve methinks!

FBaby

Argggg, I understand your frustration. I have made the same mistake before. It feels really mechanical writing everything down because if you start expanding a bit, you end up with three pages of statement which they wouldn't want to read either, but the process is like that, as long as you state that you have experience in everything on the list, even if you hardly put any detail to support the statement, you're in for an interview. I personally think it makes the process redundant as you don't get a feel for the person at all that way so are at risk of interviewing time wasters, but clearly HR experts don't agree.

Margaret_Skinner

Totally agree FBaby and have had experience the other way round when I've had to select folk for interview. I spent a lot of time on the Personal Statement because I always think that speaks volumes about the person and did put in a lot of detail about past roles and responsibilities as well but obviously not enough.

I also know that this is partly about the fact that this is the first time this has happened to me. I've worked all my life in admin and have been lucky enough to have been selected for interview in every job I've gone for - this is the first time I haven't got past the first stage so I know full well I'm thinking oh God is my age going against me now (56) or am I just going to have to try harder in future? Nose has been squished out of joint just a tad ......

Basically I need to suck it up, accept I ballsed up somewhere there and learn from it!

Marg

duchy

I'm like you - never not got to interview stage and rare I didn't get the job until the last couple of years. I think overall the job market is simply tougher as I have far younger friends who are experiencing the same and I'd grade them as similar to me on employability.

I do think people who have been in work without applying elsewhere for the past few years have no idea how much harder the market is now which is why there are so many glib comments from some people about the unemployed and no real understanding of how much more difficult it is now.

Yes you should have put in the audio typing but it's a lesson learned and I'm sure there will be an even more inviting job to apply for soon

t0rt0ise

On applications with the NHS you have to mention in your personal statement every single thing that is in the job spec. All they do is go through your statement ticking off the things on the job spec. One thing missing and you don't get an interview. It's only those that get full ticks that are sent to the person who will select for interview.

What I do is print off the job spec and do the ticking exercise myself to ensure that I've mentioned everything. Don't even think that if you've listed something in the qualification section that's good enough, they usually only read the statement to start with.

I started looking for work in the NHS 4 years ago at the age of 56 and have had two temp jobs and one permanent in that time. So age should not be a factor.

Margaret_Skinner

duchy wrote: »

I'm like you - never not got to interview stage and rare I didn't get the job until the last couple of years. I think overall the job market is simply tougher as I have far younger friends who are experiencing the same and I'd grade them as similar to me on employability.

I do think people who have been in work without applying elsewhere for the past few years have no idea how much harder the market is now which is why there are so many glib comments from some people about the unemployed and no real understanding of how much more difficult it is now.

Yes you should have put in the audio typing but it's a lesson learned and I'm sure there will be an even more inviting job to apply for soon

And that could be part of the problem too now that I think of it. I'd been in a good job for 8 years before I was made redundant then moved to another job for 6 months so it's a while since I've had to do the whole application/interview process and maybe I haven't realised myself how much the market has changed - I was probably lulled into a false sense of security by getting interviews for the last 2 jobs I applied for (in the last few months). Hopefully something else will turn up soon though.

Margaret_Skinner

t0rt0ise wrote: »

On applications with the NHS you have to mention in your personal statement every single thing that is in the job spec. All they do is go through your statement ticking off the things on the job spec. One thing missing and you don't get an interview. It's only those that get full ticks that are sent to the person who will select for interview.

What I do is print off the job spec and do the ticking exercise myself to ensure that I've mentioned everything. Don't even think that if you've listed something in the qualification section that's good enough, they usually only read the statement to start with.

I started looking for work in the NHS 4 years ago at the age of 56 and have had two temp jobs and one permanent in that time. So age should not be a factor.

Well the only problem with that is I've had 2 interviews since September with the NHS with similar applications and the first one definitely didn't tick off every box on the job spec although most of it. The second was much more like the one I applied for recently and had audio typing in it as well yet I got an interview. So that was a puzzle. I think it must be all to do with who's doing the selecting, how many applications they've had and whether there's an internal candidate suitable for the job and likely to get it.

Bit of a lottery much of the time.

FBaby

Again, it all depends on how many applications are received. if few, they are prepared to bypass some requirements, if many, then they look at every single one.

The reason is because of not wanting to be perceived as being discriminitory. Any decision based on perceived skills/ability can be questioned. Ticking boxes exercises can't be.

Margaret_Skinner

FBaby wrote: »

Again, it all depends on how many applications are received. if few, they are prepared to bypass some requirements, if many, then they look at every single one.

The reason is because of not wanting to be perceived as being discriminitory. Any decision based on perceived skills/ability can be questioned. Ticking boxes exercises can't be.

Yes I think you're right - must have been a popular one!

bap98189

Margaret_Skinner wrote: »

It seems a very vague reason not to interview someone - audio typing is not exactly a major skill -

Was the job a medical secretary or something similar? From my experience a lot of consultants still dictate notes, which are typed up by someone else later, so audio typing would be an important skill.