Applying for jobs and scheduling interviews????

[rox]

It sure is! But, it can get a lot worse. We had to recruit 4 new people last year and it was a multi-month process whereby we had to rate hundreds of applications, most of which came electronically, and had sometimes 100's of pages in them. Then, after paring it down to a short list of 4 candidates for each of the four positions, we had to (usually) fly them in for interviews (6 or 8 or even 10 interviews per candidate), listen to them give a talk, take them out to dinner etc. etc. etc. How would you like to do THAT every time you had to hire somebody?

That would be very painful. On my last paid position over a decade ago I convinced my boss to have the entire team conduct the interviews. We all made up our list of questions on our own, we asked the same questions to each candidate, the candidate came in went from team member to team member being interviewed. Then the team got together and talked about the candidates. What was really cool about this is I convinced my boss to let the team also interview candidates, not just him, when the candidate would be hired he would be the boss to all of us :licking:

I really dislike hiring from the outside, it is so much easier to hire someone already within the org, but sometimes it happens. Another thing I dislike is training. Particularly when the person I am training is not bright enough for the work. I was very successful avoiding training. One time my boss got mad at me because he hired a person who was to take over parts of my responsibilities as I was overloaded, I wasn't involved in that hiring process. After about 2 weeks I went to him and told him the new person was weak. He was highly offended. However the new person quit within a month, couldn't handle the work. It was after that hire where I approached him about doing team interviewing and that time he went along with me.

 

[dickfoster]

A lot of my friends work in Silicon Valley... they are very good at what they do and have moved around a lot with increases in compensation.

The 4 I'm thinking of have almost been exclusively recruited... no sending out resumes and "Applying" for positions.

The Head Hunters can be very good at what they do and the ones that deliver are highly sought after on a one to one basis.

Poaching, Recruiting is the natural order of things...

Several have left very good positions at the angst of their spouses... the reason they left is fo Stock Options/Ownership positions... do they always work... no, but when they do it is very lucrative...

SRI, Genentech, Apple, etc...

All have done very well in a highly competitive environment and the employment contract based on the strength of the company making the offer is everything.

Some have been paid hundreds of thousands in severance packages... as per contract.

The skill set varies... Technical Writer, Management, Coder... etc.

That was my experence in SV too. I found the best jobs when I wasn't really looking for one. Either they found me or I'd ask an if by chance question in passing and the next thing I knew I'd be at a new job. The last company I worked for I started as a customer and ended as an employee. They hired me with no position in mind, they just figured it was a good fit and I had some knowledge of a new technology so off we went.

 

[dickfoster]

That would be very painful. On my last paid position over a decade ago I convinced my boss to have the entire team conduct the interviews. We all made up our list of questions on our own, we asked the same questions to each candidate, the candidate came in went from team member to team member being interviewed. Then the team got together and talked about the candidates. What was really cool about this is I convinced my boss to let the team also interview candidates, not just him, when the candidate would be hired he would be the boss to all of us :licking:

I really dislike hiring from the outside, it is so much easier to hire someone already within the org, but sometimes it happens. Another thing I dislike is training. Particularly when the person I am training is not bright enough for the work. I was very successful avoiding training. One time my boss got mad at me because he hired a person who was to take over parts of my responsibilities as I was overloaded, I wasn't involved in that hiring process. After about 2 weeks I went to him and told him the new person was weak. He was highly offended. However the new person quit within a month, couldn't handle the work. It was after that hire where I approached him about doing team interviewing and that time he went along with me.

I always figured that companies who interviewed you with everybody from the CEO to the janitor and did everything by committee didn't know what the h e l l they were doing. To me that's the manager's job so I always did my own hiring and my own firing. I'd let HR get place ads and get resumes in the door then I'd take it from there. I figured if I was going to have to be the one who had to fire them then I wanted to do the hiring too. If you don't know how to hire the right people then you've got no business being a manager of anything or anybody. I always considered it a personal failure if I had to fire someone, even if it was for cause.

 

[MossRoad]

We usually did team interviews. The three most experienced people and the boss would sit down and read resumes. We'd make a pile of YAY and NAY, then the boss would send the YAYS to HR and they'd set up interview times. We'd re-read the resume before the interview, and then all four of us would meet with the person. If the person wasn't a lying turd (would you believe people are deceptive in their applications? SHOCKING!!! :laughing: ), the boss would break away with the person and give them a one-on-one interview. If they were a tying turd, the boss would thank them for coming in. Later in the day, we'd meet again and discuss pros and cons of the person. Eventually, we'd rank them in the order we liked them, and offer the job to the person with the highest score. Worked good for us and I've made a lot of friends getting to pick them like that. :thumbsup:

 

[check]

I always figured that companies who interviewed you with everybody from the CEO to the janitor and did everything by committee didn't know what the h e l l they were doing. To me that's the manager's job so I always did my own hiring and my own firing. I'd let HR get place ads and get resumes in the door then I'd take it from there. I figured if I was going to have to be the one who had to fire them then I wanted to do the hiring too. If you don't know how to hire the right people then you've got no business being a manager of anything or anybody. I always considered it a personal failure if I had to fire someone, even if it was for cause.

OK, we don't give the Janitor a say. But (and this may surprise you) the Boss doesn't get a say either until we decide who we want to hire, and then he is expected to rubber stamp our chosen candidate(s). In fact, in our latest round of hiring (earlier this year), the Boss did say no to one of our four hires - so we launched a grievance with the Union! (Still pending.) He is no longer the Boss - he finished his term as The Boss and now he comes back into the ranks of us Peasants.

 

[dickfoster]

OK, we don't give the Janitor a say. But (and this may surprise you) the Boss doesn't get a say either until we decide who we want to hire, and then he is expected to rubber stamp our chosen candidate(s). In fact, in our latest round of hiring (earlier this year), the Boss did say no to one of our four hires - so we launched a grievance with the Union! (Still pending.) He is no longer the Boss - he finished his term as The Boss and now he comes back into the ranks of us Peasants.

I never did unions either nor did I want to. I was almost always a salary slave and couldn't stand punching clocks. Although I think I did once for about six months until I moved on.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I'm on the hunt for a new job myself...

LD1, I can't say I've had the issue you started this thread over, as I don't commonly apply for jobs, or put my resume out there. But I agree, it does seem like it should make sense to do a preliminary phone conversation. Lots of jobs on the local job advertising boards, but most are far below the salary I would be willing to accept. A major drop in wages with my current employer is the reason I'm looking in the first place! (Real good way to kill employees loyalty is cut wages, 18% in my case) When searching the list, I have simply passed over any not listing salery.

I have an interview on Tuesday, good wages, union job, close to home, industrial chemical plant setting. Fingers crossed.

 

[check]

I never did unions either nor did I want to. I was almost always a salary slave and couldn't stand punching clocks. Although I think I did once for about six months until I moved on.

We're all salary slaves at my work, and when we hire someone, we are stuck with them for 30 and even 40 years, until they retire. (We don't have mandatory retirement, and the last guy to retire finally left of his own accord at the ripe old age of 71.) In fact, since I got there 33 years ago, only 2 that I remember have "moved on" to other employers. Also, our Union has done very well by us, and we have a Collective Agreement that is envied by many! Wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[NorTracNY]

We're all salary slaves at my work, and when we hire someone, we are stuck with them for 30 and even 40 years, until they retire. (We don't have mandatory retirement, and the last guy to retire finally left of his own accord at the ripe old age of 71.) In fact, since I got there 33 years ago, only 2 that I remember have "moved on" to other employers. Also, our Union has done very well by us, and we have a Collective Agreement that is envied by many! Wouldn't have it any other way.

Wow! That is some advertisement you've just given for you place. Not many places are that good for the turnover to be so low. Can I ask what type of business and what size company?

 

[Turbys_1700]

Take this for what it's worth...

I've worked both in industry and education... Going on 35 years...

In education hiring is strictly on qualifications and reviewed by committee... It always helps to "know" someone in the loop... Connections... It's still important...

In industry I would make recommendations on hiring an individual after interviews... The President would either agree or not... It was my call... Again, connections and "knowing someone in the loop" is important...

I've had 5 different jobs in my life... Everyone of those jobs my qualifications met the requirements for the position... And in everyone of those hires, I knew someone in the company... Connections... It's still important...

YMMV...