OT-Whinge for the week-Long rant about work

[crazycanuck]

Hey gals n guy,

I sure hope you can help me with a job issue. Where do I start? Ok, i'll give this a shot. *breathe* C *breathe*

I work for a large Superannuation company in Perth & in my best interests i've applied for two internal positions in the past 6 months. The first one, they forgot about the position & it was only because I asked my manager about the progress did anyone even bother speaking to me about it. The manger of that area didn't want my services because I didn't have the experience. Ok, I was rather annoyed & went on with life.

About 2 1/2 weeks ago I noticed another internal position that didn't require a high level of expertise & applied. I gave it a week & then emailed someone in HR to find out the progress. Well, I received an email today-forwarded on from another HR person-stating the postion had been filled. At no time did I receive any notification of interviews or even a "thank-you-but-you're-not-suitable" type email. I complained to my manager & we will be discussing this in my monthly catch up.

There's another internal position but the manager is just a tad bit too clicky for me.

If you're still with me..Is this normal for most companies????

I thought before I left the company í'd give internal positions a shot. I don't have to leave but i WANT to leave. Why, you ask?

I would like to develop a career but seem to have hit all the boring-non-career type jobs. I have a degree so i'm not a complete moron but don't have the full experience required to go into my chosen field. The chosen field is actually museum studies but due to the lack of museums my other choice is Library/archive management.

I'll keep this short unti someone replies & asks more questions. However, one bit of info-When I applied for positions in NZ & Australia the Recruitment companies come up with the "You don't have enough local experice"attitude.

I want to stop the revolving "I can't-get-the-job-I-want-but-can't-get-the-experience-to-get-the-job-"door.

I'm slowly going nuts & just want a job I feel challenged by & is rewarding. I'm bored and wasting my time with stupid positions.

Thanks for your help!

C

[East Hill]

I don't know if this is a common practice with Australian companies, but it is a very common practice in the United States of America. I think I see this complaint on a regular basis in the business section of the local newspaper, in which persons seeking employment have been left wondering for weeks, until they politely enquire if the job opportunity is still available, only to find out the position was filled weeks ago.

The conventional wisdom, for those wishing to obtain more experience, is to suggest that the job seeker volunteer for work in a job where the experience may be gained. That is, if you wish to put your education to work, find a small non-profit museum and ask if they could use unpaid assistance for a period of months.

I'm not certain that you would be able to accomplish that, because we don't know your exact circumstances. However, I am curious why you would be told that it's necessary for you to have 'local experience'.

Is this a code word for 'we won't hire you because you don't fit a certain quota'? In the US, employers may wish to hire A. Person. But, A. Person is not a U.S. citizen. The employer is required to hire from local talent. But the employer really wants A. Person. So, the employer inserts an advert in the local newspaper, specifying certain desirable qualifications. These specific desirable qualifications may exist ONLY in A. Person. The advert is tailored for A. Person. So, you apply. You are turned down. The employer can now go and request that a certain type of work visa/permit be issued to A. Person because A. Person is the only qualified candidate.

Even in my own workplace, which is the US Postal Service, internal positions may be tailored to fit a specific individual. These positions are advertised as "Best Qualified", and the only person meeting the qualifications may be the person for whom the position is intended, even if fifty or sixty people may apply, all of whom may fit the requirements.

I'm not saying that that is what happening in your case. It may simply be very poor manners.

I don't know if this helped you at all .

It may very well be that you will have to leave your present employer in order to further your career opportunities. If you plan to do that anyway, it may be a good opportunity to bring this up at not just the monthly catch up, but advance up the chain of hierarchy to ask about why you were turned down, then ask how the higher ups would suggest you accomplish your goals. After all, you are a part of that company's culture, you are familiar with their practises, and it would certainly be less expensive for your present employer to retain an employee than have to start off from scratch.

I think I would definitely ask a higher up "how can I accomplish my goal?". Most managers love to be asked for their advice... .

East Hill

[Trekhawk]

. The chosen field is actually museum studies but due to the lack of museums my other choice is Library/archive management.

I'll keep this short unti someone replies & asks more questions. However, one bit of info-When I applied for positions in NZ & Australia the Recruitment companies come up with the "You don't have enough local experice"attitude.

I want to stop the revolving "I can't-get-the-job-I-want-but-can't-get-the-experience-to-get-the-job-"door.

I'm slowly going nuts & just want a job I feel challenged by & is rewarding. I'm bored and wasting my time with stupid positions.

Thanks for your help!

C

I agree with East Hill contact the Museums and the State Library and explain your situation. A friend of mine from England did this in SA and amazingly got offered a short term job helping to catalogue a collection donated to the Museum. It was a foot in the door.

You may also be able to talk to people that work there and find out what they did to help break into the field you are looking at.

Gaahhh the old need experience to get the job catch 22 thing drives me nuts.

Good Luck CC

[alpinerabbit]

I want to stop the revolving "I can't-get-the-job-I-want-but-can't-get-the-experience-to-get-the-job-"door.

I am in the same conundrum. I had an interview for what I want within the same company last week. This is one of the few chances I'll ever get so I sure hope I did not f*ck it up.

I think it happens these days because there just is not time to train people anymore. You want to be born with an MBA, 8 years of experience under your belt and not be over 25 so you don't cost anything.

[East Hill]

I think it happens these days because there just is not time to train people anymore. You want to be born with an MBA, 8 years of experience under your belt and not be over 25 so you don't cost anything.

Just about describes the employer's perspective perfectly!

As I said, I'm in the Postal Service, and I don't have to worry about too much of that nonsense with what I do for a living, but I think trying 'to get a foot in the door' as Trekhawk said, is the way to go. The tough part is finding a musuem/library near to you.

Good luck!

East Hill

[crazycanuck]

Hi

THanks for your replies. When I get home tonight i'll be able to provide a longer response!

Thanks
C

[Mr. Bloom]

CC:

I've come across this a lot recently in my own company (and I'm one of the executive officers!!!). I hit the roof a few months ago when a very competant woman in one of my areas 'posted' for a position in another area...and they decided to eliminate the job without anyone telling her!

The other issue was when one of our employees referred her mother to me for a position that I ultimately decided to not fill. However, HR never informed her or the other candidates. To their credit, they were not notifying anyone because they were being considered for other positions...but alas, a little communication is human decency!

I think that sometimes companies forget that people get themselves emotionally invested in possibilities like this and literally sit on pins and needles wanting to know whether there's an opportunity or not!

To the bigger issue: if you're not happy, move on... Being in a bad position is poison to the soul!

We keep a plaque hanging in our house that says "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life" I believe this

[crazycanuck]

When I arrived at work early this morning I had a message to contact one of the HR folks.

I received an apology from one lady in the HR dept but she's not sure exactly what happened. She was going to speak to the HR dept manager and let me know more information but didn't say when I might hear receive further information..

I've no clue what's gone wrong but I want to know how many other people applied & didn't receive a response.

I'm going to work on creating an improved CV & pass it to a few Recruitment agencies & see what happens.

c

[Thistle]

I'm going to work on creating an improved CV & pass it to a few Recruitment agencies & see what happens.

c

good idea cc... if this is how they treat their staff, do you want to be there long-term? once might be an oversight, but twice? I would be very unimpressed.

Worst case, you can always move to canberra we have lots of museums and libraries and terrific bike paths

Good luck with the looking around. Dont be put off just because your current employer is too lazy to even tell you whether or not you got the job

[crazycanuck]

Thanks for that Thistle. We love Perth & we're pretty much settled here. (No matter how much people out here whinge about everything..don't get me started on the complaints about daylight savings..grrr..what's wrong with it??? )

I will be a bit cautious with my job search as i'm concerned about the new IR laws. I'm a bit lost on the whole law & want the straight truth about it. Any ideas?

c