Drawing from her personal experience, a justifiably annoyed Selva drafts a letter to future employers and sheds light on the reality young people face when they apply for jobs nowadays.
I was inspired to write this article because I was not only hearing similar experiences related to job processes from those around me, but also from random strangers on the street and online: My CV is only a glimpse of what I have done… I have the potential to do so much more, if only you would hire me.
Dear potential employers,
It is with great pleasure that I would like to let you know a few things that you may have forgotten about the “job-search and employment process”. I am writing to you on behalf of all the active job seekers out here, trying to make it work.
another classic point is that I have none or limited work experience for the job I have applied for and that you would prefer to work with someone more experienced. I’m sorry, did you not read my CV prior to inviting me for an interview?
First, time is money, so please don’t waste my time. Don’t invite me for an interview if you already have someone else in mind or if you’re just intrigued by my CV and just want to know who I am, with no intention of hiring me. The reason I’m saying this is because I spend quite a lot of time mentally and physically preparing for every interview – and the exhaustion when it is all done, with no job at hand, can be depressing.
Second, do not lecture me on my previous choices.
“Why did you decide to work for company XYZ?”
“Why did you work at ABC for a short period of time?”
“Why did you leave your previous job?”
Now, the last question is something which is asked as a “trap” question. Here you want to see if we will bad-mouth our old workplace. But, by now, most of us know this and we will say something nice about our old workplace, so why bother asking this question?
Oh and of course another classic point you make is that I have none or limited work experience for the job I have applied for and that you would prefer to work with someone more experienced. I’m sorry, did you not read my CV prior to inviting me for an interview?
Besides, in order to gain experience, I need to start from somewhere… won’t you lend your hand to help this poor soul gain work experience?
Third, are you really able to find “the perfect fit” with all those numerical, verbal and personality tests? From HR’s point of view, I get it; these tests are, of course, a great way to exclude thousands of applicants with the aim of inviting only a handful for an interview. But, dear employers and HR, do you ever wonder if the person you have eliminated through these tests may have actually been “the one”?
Fourth, it would be nice of you to give me some sort of feedback, especially when you have actually given me a time-frame as to when you will do exactly that. FYI, IT’S CALLED MANNERS!! Oh, and for those who do give feedback, thank you so much! Your feedback really helps me to improve on my weaknesses, so that I can ace my next interview.
Fifth, during the interview, please make it a pleasant one. Nobody wants to leave an interview feeling like crap and have negative thoughts about you or your company. In an era where we are obsessed with how we portray ourselves to the outside world, you’d think companies would spend a little bit more time being “nice” during an interview.
At the end of the day, it’s not just you choosing me – it is also MY DECISION to work with and for you, if I choose to do so. Remember that!
Sixth, some people have a linear employment past – and some don’t. By this I mean that there are some who know who they want to be and so everything they do is related to their goals. Then there are others who take up different roles, in the hope of getting closer to what they are destined to do. So when looking through some CVs, you may come across those who have completely changed from a job or a sector to another. Please don’t judge me for sector hopping. I’m just trying to find what I’m destined to do. That is all.
Seventh, STOP TRYING TO LOOK FOR FLAWS! Surely, you must have seen something in my CV that triggered you to interview me. So while you interview me, stop going through my CV, stop analysing the words coming out of my mouth, looking for ways to eliminate me in the process.
Eighth, at the end of the day, it’s not just you choosing me – it is also MY DECISION to work with and for you, if I choose to do so. Remember that! 🙂
Yours sincerely,
Future employees
Cover Photo by Daniel McCullough Unsplash
