Thursday, January 18, 2007
When the Hunted Becomes the Hunter
It was only in late December last year I started to flip through Recruit seriously, till date I have already applied for quite a few positions, received few calls and attended one formal interview.
As usual, job seeking is a pain in the arse, especially the waiting part. Coincidentally, I am not good at this part.
I almost roll my eyes everytime I get answers like "within 2 to 3 weeks, you will hear from us".
C'mon!!? Do you really need 2 to 3 weeks to decide???
Sure, the need for comparison to the other applicants I understand, but sometimes it will be fantastic if the Recruitor could give some heads-up, like "within 2 to 3 weeks, you will hear from us. I think you stand a really good chance" and sincerely meant that. It somehow eases the pain of waiting, no?
Well, since they pretty much size up an applicant from the first 15 seconds they walk through the door, if it is a clear case of no-go, maybe sometimes, a little honest albeit harsh reality in exchange for a cut in the excruciating wait might be better.
If it's the appearance, just say "Sorry, the ad says "PRESENTABLE APPEARANCE" and we feel you look like crap so no, sorry but thank you for coming." Hence this applicant knows it's a dead end to this one, goes home in despair but is highly aware of what went wrong, hopefully proceeds to improve on own appearance but is able to continue to apply for other positions which doesn't require a presentable appearance in the meantime.
If it's the intelligence, just say "Sorry, we think you look fantastic but we believe it's inversely proportionate to what you have up there. (points to head) So 'fraid not but thank you for coming." Hence this applicant knows it's a dead end to this one, goes home happily for the compliments to the physical goodness of self but is highly aware of what went wrong, and continues to apply for other positions immediately which bear the pre-requisite of "Only Presentable Applicants need Apply".
Ok, maybe the examples given are a tad too Simon Cowell, but point is, it would be seriously helpful for the recruitor to just give a rough indication or a hint of where we stand while we wait. That way, we could really manage our expectations better.
Anyway, contrary to popular beliefs, despite being used to the atmosphere of the interview setting, I am still nervous when it comes to the actual thing. It is a totally different story to be the interviewee versus the interviewer. It's weird to not being able to control the flow of the interview and I must still say, I do not heart some of the silly irrelevant questions the amateur interviewer asked. But for now, I can only try my best to catch the balls thrown at me on the court. Dammit.
That being said, unfortunately, the quest must go on, for it is a necessary evil. Actually work is not necessary, but the money is. (-_-')
So now, while I grit my teeth to pull the log across the bridge, please pray for me, wish me all the luck and help me keep everything that can be crossed, crossed. I need that.
Gracias! ¶ J poppycocked at 1:29:00 PM
It was only in late December last year I started to flip through Recruit seriously, till date I have already applied for quite a few positions, received few calls and attended one formal interview.
As usual, job seeking is a pain in the arse, especially the waiting part. Coincidentally, I am not good at this part.
I almost roll my eyes everytime I get answers like "within 2 to 3 weeks, you will hear from us".
C'mon!!? Do you really need 2 to 3 weeks to decide???
Sure, the need for comparison to the other applicants I understand, but sometimes it will be fantastic if the Recruitor could give some heads-up, like "within 2 to 3 weeks, you will hear from us. I think you stand a really good chance" and sincerely meant that. It somehow eases the pain of waiting, no?
Well, since they pretty much size up an applicant from the first 15 seconds they walk through the door, if it is a clear case of no-go, maybe sometimes, a little honest albeit harsh reality in exchange for a cut in the excruciating wait might be better.
If it's the appearance, just say "Sorry, the ad says "PRESENTABLE APPEARANCE" and we feel you look like crap so no, sorry but thank you for coming." Hence this applicant knows it's a dead end to this one, goes home in despair but is highly aware of what went wrong, hopefully proceeds to improve on own appearance but is able to continue to apply for other positions which doesn't require a presentable appearance in the meantime.
If it's the intelligence, just say "Sorry, we think you look fantastic but we believe it's inversely proportionate to what you have up there. (points to head) So 'fraid not but thank you for coming." Hence this applicant knows it's a dead end to this one, goes home happily for the compliments to the physical goodness of self but is highly aware of what went wrong, and continues to apply for other positions immediately which bear the pre-requisite of "Only Presentable Applicants need Apply".
Ok, maybe the examples given are a tad too Simon Cowell, but point is, it would be seriously helpful for the recruitor to just give a rough indication or a hint of where we stand while we wait. That way, we could really manage our expectations better.
Anyway, contrary to popular beliefs, despite being used to the atmosphere of the interview setting, I am still nervous when it comes to the actual thing. It is a totally different story to be the interviewee versus the interviewer. It's weird to not being able to control the flow of the interview and I must still say, I do not heart some of the silly irrelevant questions the amateur interviewer asked. But for now, I can only try my best to catch the balls thrown at me on the court. Dammit.
That being said, unfortunately, the quest must go on, for it is a necessary evil. Actually work is not necessary, but the money is. (-_-')
So now, while I grit my teeth to pull the log across the bridge, please pray for me, wish me all the luck and help me keep everything that can be crossed, crossed. I need that.
Gracias! ¶ J poppycocked at 1:29:00 PM