There are a couple of things that I really hate about the weird in-between of the Covid job search.
I’m just being coy. I hate WAY more than a couple of things. But for the purposes of time, I’m going to narrow it down to a couple.
The first: seeing posts/getting messages directing me to posts that express a very big need for very specific positions, largely related to my very specific skill set. Posts that make me think, oh man, I write copy, THEY need people who write copy – what could possibly go wrong?
The answer, as you may have guessed, is everything. But let’s break it down into the three possible scenarios here: one good, and two bad. And then let’s throw the good one right out, because it defeats the purposes of talking about what I don’t like.
To be fair, there is no good way to reject someone. Even if you follow, to the letter, the “right” way to reject applicants, it’s obvious that there are going to be hurt feelings. (That being said, I do want to give a shout-out to a real rock star at one company for sending me the job posting, while also delicately mentioning that if I didn’t match said posting description, she really would prefer not to waste our time. I didn’t, and told her, and now she’s my shining example of hiring personnel. Also to the friend who has referred me to two great companies and did introductions for me – Allison, you’re great!)
But I digress.
So you can either skim and reject, following up with either a form letter or nothing at all, or you can read and reject, following up with a rejection that leaves no doubt that the person was deliberately not chosen, without telling them why.
I think I prefer the generic qualities of a form letter. There was one position I applied for, at a really great company known for its Andy’s frozen custard, that had over 500 applicants. I did not envy this company for the selection process, nor did I expect to make the initial round of callbacks. And, man, the person who DID get hired? I bet they’re like, REALLY good at marketing. Even though I like to think that marketing a delicious product like Andy’s frozen custards would be a little bit easier than, say, driveway sealant or whatever. Nothing against sealants. They look great. But, you know. You can’t eat them.
You definitely shouldn’t try, I mean.
There was another position I applied for, at a great agency that just started up, and marketed to industries with which I have marketing experience: craft beer, food, and cannabis (okay, maybe I haven’t marketed cannabis, but I’m really, really down with trying). A friend of mine knew the owners. She facilitated an introduction. Aaaand…nothing. A few days later, I sent an email follow-up, and got shot down super, super fast. It was one of those “If we have anything that feels like you might be a good fit, we’ll let you know.”
I CAN WRITE SO WELL ABOUT FOOD AND BEER AND YOU’RE HIRING FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN WRITE ABOUT SAME WHAT EVEN IS THE PROBLEM!?
And now, for something good:
Song of the Day (Context: I spent my birthday sifting through memories and hauling them out of my dad’s attic, so everything is VERY mixed-tapeish and bathed in the glow of my neon-colored lenses right now): Melt with You, Modern English. The Valley Girl Soundtrack was ALL over that attic (see featured photo for visual evidence).
Ooh! Bonus positive content that’s even educational, making this the…Educational tidbit of the day: This: !? is known as an interrobang, making it easily the coolest name for punctuation that exists. (Reddit has been so good to me these past four months. More so than usual.)