What the heck? (Mods, please close!)

[TheOtherVillainess]

Since I've been out of work, I've been looking for a work-at-home job and though I'd found one I liked.

This was the original job posting:
Package and Fulfill Orders at Home

Company: *removed*
Job Description: *XYZ* is currently looking for a dependable, detail-oriented individual to work from their home for 2-3 hours in the evenings, 7 days a week (Friday evenings are not required- if prefer Saturday morning). We operate an internet/mail order company and have had great success working with friends/neighbors to fullfill our customer orders, so we are looking for a similar partnership with this position. Job duties include: printing labels, packaging orders and weighing and stamping outgoing mail. Orders are fulfilled in the evenings beginning around 7pm - 8pm. If interested, please fax or email your availability and work history.
Pay Range: $10 per hour
Contact: Shannon So-N-So
(contact information removed)

Sound perfect for me, I can work at home nights and so I send in a copy of my resume.

I wait to hear back from them and tonight when I check my email, I found this in my inbox:

Hi *name*,

Thank you for your interest in our position. Unfortunately we have decided to hire another candidate who is within just blocks of our location. I'd like to keep your resume, as we have so many projects coming up!

I wish you the best of luck in your search for employment. Thank you again for your interest.
Best Regards,
Shannon So-n-So

What the heck? If you don't want to hire me, say so. I won't get upset. But that kind of response just kind of threw me for a loop.

I probably shot myself in the foot when I typed a hasty reply telling her not to bother because if that was the reason she was not hiring me. But it kind of bothered me that was the reply I got after I took the time to send her my resume and inquire about her company.

TOV

 

[lyzziesmom]

Actually this looks like a pretty standard letter. At my job we call it the "thanks but no thanks letter." A lot of times there really isn't a good reason why somebody doesn't get hired: it may be that they've already filled the position, or you were overqualified, or maybe they really did hire someone else who is nearer. I know employers are required to keep your resume for several years and a lot of places really do look at those first before recruiting for more.

That being said, looking for a job is probably harder than actually working. Hang in there and you're bound to find something that is a good fit for you, and will be better than stinky ol' Shannon So&So anyway.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

If they didn't want to hire me for whatever reason, that's fine. But telling me I live too far away was just kind of odd. I've gotten lots of rejection letters before but nobody's ever told me 'Sorry, you live too far away for us to hire you' before.

TOV

 

[MorganLeFey]

uh, I've seen lots of letters where potential employees were told "we hired another candidate who suits our immediate needs, but we'll keep you in mind for something else."

in fact, I got one of those letter. and three months later the company called me for an interview for a diferent position.


it was unprofessional of you to respond to the letter the way you did.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Maybe so and I will gladly admit that.

TOV

 

[allison443]

The job involves shipping this company's product...would the product have to be picked up at the company's location on a frequent basis? Maybe that's why they want someone who lives close by...I wouldn't take it personally.
Good luck with your job search.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I would have to assume so, but the job location (at least the way it's listed in the contact info) is only 15-20 min from my house. So it's not like it's far..most people driver farther than that to work every day.

TOV

 

[Tjaleks]

uh, I've seen lots of letters where potential employees were told "we hired another candidate who suits our immediate needs, but we'll keep you in mind for something else."

in fact, I got one of those letter. and three months later the company called me for an interview for a diferent position.

I received the same type of letter and then also received a call approximately 2 months later. I am still at that job almost 5 years later.


We send out letters like this all the time. Currently my empolyer utilizes a personality index test looking for the right type of person. To me it looks like a connect the dots, but our HR person can read it and tells us what to look for in our interviews. She is almost always dead on, it really is amazing. We also send these letters out in a reasonable time table so we don't leave a person hanging, but we do keep the resume on file.

It really doesn't take that long to send a resume to someone. I would just use this as a learning experience and not act so rashly next time.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I usually don't act so rashly, but something about the way the reply was worded kind of bothered me.

I've had really bad luck with interviews in the last few weeks. One guy called me to do an interview and the day before I was to go in, he called me back saying that somebody they'd interviewed at 9 am that morning was able to start work at 1 pm that afternoon. So I was no longer needed.

Then, about a week later, I was called to do an interview at another place, a stone import place. Anyway..something happened and my babysitter backed out, so I had to call and attempt to reschedule. When I tried to reschedule, the woman on the phone was like "Will you have childcare while you work?" in a snotty tone of voice. I was kind of taken aback by her question and she told me to call her when I could reschedule. I never did call back because she was so snotty to me on the phone.

TOV

 

[poohandwendy]

What the heck? If you don't want to hire me, say so. I won't get upset. But that kind of response just kind of threw me for a loop.

Um, she did tell you that she didn't want hire you. She even gave you a reason. That was what the letter was about. Did you expect to like the reason she didn't hire you?

I probably shot myself in the foot when I typed a hasty reply telling her not to bother because if that was the reason she was not hiring me. But it kind of bothered me that was the reply I got after I took the time to send her my resume and inquire about her company.

Yeah, you definitely shot yourself in the foot and I guess I just don't get why you would do that? I thought you just said you would not get upset if someone tells you they don't want to hire you? You took the time to send in a resume (a requirement if you want a job) and she took the time to explain why you were not getting the job. She even left it on a friendly note, 'I would like to keep your resume in case we have an opening in the future'.

She has the right not to hire you based on whatever criteria she wants to use. I am not seeing a problem here. I think it is nice to at least know what the reasons were. Then you can know if it is something you need to work on or if it just was a matter of wrong place/wrong time (which it was).

Just a tip, you are owed NOTHING when you send in a resume. Unless you have a marketable skill that is in serious demand, they are interviewing YOU and you are trying to impress them...not the other way around.

LOL, the good news is that you at least were able to set her mind at ease that she made the right choice, by default.

 

[swea_pea1]

You're lucky you got a response at all! I think if you poll 100 people, 99 of them will tell you that they've applied for a job never to hear from the employer again. I know that I have.

When my Dad was downsized in the 80's, I helped him send out resumes. We must have stuffed and licked 1000 envelopes for him - a man with tons and tons of qualifications, including owning his own brokerage firm. He got exactly 4 interviews out of it and two job offers.

I've posted before to one of your job threads about a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your response to Shannon was the realization of that. Where you may have been considered next time, now you certainly will not be. And guess what? Shannon may also know others who are hiring but definitely wouldn't pass your resume to them. Nobody wants to hire somebody that has a bad attitude from the get-go.

One of the things I learned early on in my career was "be careful of the toes you step on today because they may be attached to the butt you need to kiss tomorrow." Sorry to be harsh, but if you truly want to advance yourself and build a career, you've got to get smarter about your job search.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

PAW--Shannon's response was just not the response I expected. We can't hire you because of where you live sounds..I dunno..shady to me. But hey, it's her perogative not to hire me. *shrug* Whatever.

I did react hastily and it was out of line. But I did learn from this: Be careful how you respond.

TOV

 

[poohandwendy]

PAW--Shannon's response was just not the response I expected. We can't hire you because of where you live sounds..I dunno..shady to me. But hey, it's her perogative not to hire me. *shrug* Whatever.

I did react hastily and it was out of line. But I did learn from this: Be careful how you respond.

TOV

Shady? She really didn't even have to respond to you, so I think it seems unlikely that she would take the time to send an email that was just a lie. No need to take the time when she could have just blew you off without a second thought.

I took it to mean that you were qualified and considered, but the deal breaker is that the other person would be more likely to be able to come in on short notice. They may be a company that often needs extra help on some days to get things out quickly, things that come up without any notice, and thought it would be a bonus to hire someone really close by. It's not an insult to your living farther away, just an explanation of what she was considering when making the choice.

 

[ducklite]

I probably shot myself in the foot when I typed a hasty reply telling her not to bother because if that was the reason she was not hiring me. But it kind of bothered me that was the reply I got after I took the time to send her my resume and inquire about her company.

TOV

Wow.

If that's the type of attitude you're giving off, it's not wonder your having trouble getting hired.

We send TBNT letters to those that we actually interview for a position. We do'nt send them to all apllicants as we generally get a couple hundred resumes (or more) for every job posting.

We DO keep resumes on file, and do call people back who didn't make the cut the first time for whatever reason. But if I got a note like yours, I'd put you on a permanant "Do Not Hire" list.

And for the record, anyone who backs out of an interview due to a child care issue is someone I'll NEVER hire. If they can't get their childcare issues straight for soemthing as important as the interview, who knows what will happen if I were to hire them. We're a family oriented company, but missing an interview over childcare problems isn't going to fly.

One other thing--I jsut hired a guy--he's starting Monday. Obviously being qualified for the job was the first priority, but after that we looked at how far away they lived. Necause we had six or seven great resumes within a 10-15 minute commute, we filed the rest of them--including some that might have actually been more qualified. The guy we hired has great qaulifications. Were there some with better? Probably, but having someone who lived close was important to us for this position, so the quite qualified guy who lived in the same town as our company got the job.

Anne

 

[shortbun]

OP, I think you need to get more peaceful about your job search. You can't just slam people because they didn't hire you but might have something later. You could have shut the door on a great job! They even mentioned friends and neighbors so obviously they like to keep things close. Breathe slowly and regroup mentally. You have to stay positive while looking for work. People can read attitude. As for the babysitting problem, when I was in charge of hiring a problem with babysitiing would have sent up red flags for me had the person not said something like, "don't worry, when I come to work for you I WILL have backup childcare."

 

[Missy1961]

I think you're being picky. That response was more than a lot of companies send out. I know I went on plenty of interviews & never heard anything more. You thought the job was good enough to send in your resume, then when they send back a friendly note, you slam them. And try to slam them here, too! (I mean, you named them and everything). And I can't say that I think the other HR person was that far off when she wondered if you'd have childcare issues if you couldn't make an interview because of them.

Good luck in your job search.

 

[MushyMushy]

Wow, I'm really surprised at your response.

That letter was nothing but professional and I thought it was extremely courteous.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Hi *name*,

Thank you for your interest in our position. Unfortunately we have decided to hire another candidate who is within just blocks of our location. I'd like to keep your resume, as we have so many projects coming up!

I wish you the best of luck in your search for employment. Thank you again for your interest.
Best Regards,
Shannon So-n-So

This is a standard letter. It may even be the true reason.

What the heck? If you don't want to hire me, say so. I won't get upset. But that kind of response just kind of threw me for a loop.

I probably shot myself in the foot when I typed a hasty reply telling her not to bother because if that was the reason she was not hiring me.

Ya think!?

 

[mickeyfan2]

Maybe so and I will gladly admit that.

This attitude will keep you unemployable.

 

[ericamanda01]

OP, you said that you have to go to their office to pick up supplies in order to ship out product. Perhpaps they pay for milage, and hiring someone who is only blocks away could save them alot of money in the long run. Try to be a little more positive in your job search. Because, and please don't take this the wrong way, but you have the "thier all rude" attitude. Good luck, I hope you find something you'll enjoy soon.