I graduated college in 2001 and immediately got into the workforce. I remember the hiring process - a few interviews, some awkward conversations discussing salary, and finally the offer - it usually look place in a few weeks at most. At the time, it seemed that most people would focus on getting a job they wanted with a company they'd like to work for, and the company would be looking for someone who was a good 'fit', meaning they'd have the potential to excel in the company and they'd enjoy them as an asset while the employee would enjoy their role at the company. Fast forward to two decades later. I started my career in sales/marketing, and later moved into content creation in the marketing space. I copywrite, I do basic graphic design, and do lifestyle/product photography. I have over a decade of experience doing all three, and more than half of it was done while fully employed by an advertising agency. I have tons of references from both the freelance and agency world. I have a portfolio, a track record, a client list. I found myself looking for a job amidst COVID like many others, and I'm absolutely blown away at what these companies are asking of applicants. It's hard enough to even get in touch with companies - even with a solid resume, verifiable references, and a comprehensive cover letter, you barely even get a returned contact. Interviews upon interviews, frivolous personality quizzes, unscheduled hour-long calls to discuss said quizzes, team/roundtable interviews with a half a dozen people grilling you and throwing you curveballs, creative submissions galore (requiring substantial unpaid work or 'spec' work), additional references from each company, drug tests, background checks, etc. I understand the risk involved with hiring someone new. As a freelancer I've been burned a few times and it's important to protect oneself as a business entity. But at some juncture, some sort of risk is involved. You simply have to take a chance on the potential employee. You have to be able to determine if someone is a fit without building a comprehensive profile fit for the CIA. And this is all before making an offer - much of the time all they're willing to provide as far as compensation is a range, many times they skirt the subject when asked. I don't know if anyone else shares my sentiment, but I find it's seriously getting outrageous. Both parties assume some risk, but it seems like it's getting to the point where companies are seeking to eliminate all risk on their end while dragging applicants over the coals, subjecting them to endless hoops to be jumped through. TLDR; the workforce now expects job applicants to work temporarily part-time for them without pay in an attempt to prove themselves without taking any due diligence or assuming any risk at all on their end.
talk about two words that should never go together
Recruiter here for a big IT company, well-regarded by the market. Yes, it sucks. A lot. Most of the time the selection processes dont make any sense, even for us. Since we receive hundreds of thousands of applications yearly, they have created a battery of online tests designed to filter most people right at the beginning. The problem is that those tests often have little to nothing related to the position the candidates applied for, measuring some sort of bullshit cultural fit that isnt important for the role anyway. Most people give up or simply dont have the time to take these tests, so off they go. Out of the ones who do take them (and are approved, following an arbitrary cutoff grade), we have to interview 20 people a week, regardless of resum. So instead of putting time into actually hunting for good candidates among the applications, we HAVE to interview people non-stop to reach a mandatory quota of 20 interviews a week. Doesnt matter if people are rejected, you are perceived as a good worker if you reach your weekly productivity quota like an assembly line at a factory. This often wastes the time of both candidate and recruiter alike. But it doesnt stop there. Out of the ones that we interview, another layer of recruiters has to manually sift through the applications and filter the candidates that management might actually like. Because of the aforementioned assembly line at the bottom, these Level 2 Recruiters are often stumped and overworked while having to go through hundreds of people who dont fit any opening. This causes a lot of candidates to not receive any feedback whatsoever, most of the time because no human ever had the chance to review their profile again, or because their application got lost among a mountain of useless profiles. Then a few candidates are approved and presented to the Managers, so they can decide which ones they actually want to interview. Boom, another batch of candidates rejected, and most of the time the Managers dont provide any sort of explanation. Its just rejected, next. The remaining people then move on to have at least 3-4 interviews with Management. Oh, they also have to do another exercise, which may take from 01 hour to 01 week. Most of the time, they are rejected by one of the managers along the way. It doesnt matter if the direct manager of the position loves the candidate, because if a big wig doesnt like how someone answers to a fucking stupid logic question during a higher-up interview, they are out. The ones who are finally approved receive an offer that is below their expectations 70% of the time. And no one at the top gives a shit. So yeah, it sucks balls for everyone involved unless you are one of the people counting dollar signs at the top.
You never feel anxious, if so what would it be on a scale on 1-5? How would you rate your ability to work with others? Whats your race , religion , background? Have you ever been arrested? Lets do a check on everything youve ever said online and check your social media. Do you ever feel nervous , are you high right now?
And i said hell yea , Hell yea Hell yea. Fuckin right