As I plod along in my search for employment, I've become increasingly frustrated with the sheer incompetence of most HR departments. First, I am required to fill out a lengthy electronic application. Then, when I show up for an interview, I am required to fill out a secondary paper application . The other day I suddenly realized what many experts have always said, namely, I have never gotten a job going directly through an HR department, all my jobs were through connections and recommendations.
This fact was emphasized today. I applied for a position with an corporate event and meeting company in the DC area. Then, I found the company president's name, guessed at her e-mail address, and sent her a polite e-mail and my resume. The next day, I receive an e-mail back from the HR person.
"Thank you for reaching out to Jane Doe at DEF regarding our open position. She forwarded your e-mail to me, since I am handling the search.
ABC and DEF have a specific process we follow for hiring. Please go to our website and apply on-line. We will review your resume and be in touch if you meet the qualifications and salary range we are seeking.
Now that I have your name, I will make sure to take a careful look at your qualifications when your information comes through the system.
Again, thank you for your interest."
Anne Doe
All righty then, I respond immediately that I have applied for the position and appreciate her taking a closer look.
Her response:
"We’ve reviewed your application and resume. At this time, you do not meet the skills sets we are seeking.
Thank you again for your interest."
I'm dumbfounded. If anything, I'm overqualified for the position so, I ask her if she had 5 minutes to speak with me so I might improve my resume and discover in what areas I'm lacking or if I'm overpricing myself in the market.
Her response:
I’m sorry but my schedule is extremely busy. Your experience does not match planning meetings and events. Your experience is show production, which neither ABC or DEF do. I would recommend you apply to production companies.
Again, thank you for your interest and good luck.
Despite the hypocrisy of her spending 30 minutes e-mailing me back and forth, I was stunned at the sheer meanness lurking behind her actions and words. Well, at this point I realized she never really looked at my resume since I have over 15 years of planning meetings and events, she never intended to seriously give me any consideration and my initial suspicion that she resented me approaching the president of the company was confirmed.
After having cooled down a bit, I checked the company on GlassDoor and read that they only hire kids just out of college. I suppose it was all for the best. Imagine if I had gotten the job working for such a company.
Some days, I really hate people.
