September 4, 2024 at 12:00 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Fifty Percent
September 4, 2024 at 9:53 am
I read somewhere that there is a gender behaviour difference when people measure themselves against the requested capabilities for a job. It was a bit of a generalisation but I have found it to be broadly true. Basically, men have a far lower threshold matching their skills to a role when applying. Women judge themselves with a harshness verging on cruelty.
Interviewing people is time-consuming and expensive. If you are invited for an interview it is likely that your CV has gone through pre-screening.
Therefore when you are invited for an interview you have already cleared 3 significant hurdles you didn't know you had to jump. Many fail at those hurdles. I don't know what the ratio of interviews to applications is but I do know it is low. The lowest I have seen is 3 interviews from 100 applications. That would mean getting that interview would put you in the top 3%.
You have nothing to lose by applying. Be kind to yourself.
September 4, 2024 at 1:25 pm
I think it is ironic that the most significant job changes I made in my career really didn't involve an interview as such, and the worst job involved interviewing with several individuals and a board of directors. Including my first off-the-farm job at a grocery after school, I held a total of 12 jobs in my career with 8 of them in IT.
While in college, I was a stock-boy and delivery driver in a retail business when the bookkeeper/credit manager resigned. My boss asked me if I had any training or experience in that, and I said no, not even bookkeeping in HS, but I would learn it. Got the job and worked in two of their locations while in college.
After college, I interviewed for a position in my field of Sociology, took the job, and after eight months I decided I was a total failure, resigned, and went back to credit management.
Then as I have told you all before, in 1969 I had a friend in IT who invited me to visit him at work to see their IBM mainframe system, where I took what they called an 'aptitude test', and two days later had a job offer without any formal interview leading to 42 years in this field.
It would seem that my personal connections in the long run had much more influence on my career than the formal interviews I experienced.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
September 4, 2024 at 4:11 pm
When I interview people, the main thing I look for is an aptitude for learning and applying. Throughout my career, I only came prepared with a few skills absolutely required for the job. Yet, during that role, I picked up on other skills as the situation demanded. When I was a network administrator, we had an antiquated phone system that no one knew how to manage and no manuals or documentation. Therefore, I merely dug in, figured out how to administer it, and documented it for those who followed me. That's what I need from employees. I think I'd rather have someone with less experience but a drive to learn and innovate than someone with many years of baked-in expertise who may be less flexible and less likely to learn new approaches.
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September 4, 2024 at 10:02 pm
I used to look at job requirements as rigid in that the company knew exactly what they wanted. Over time I saw it for being more of a ask/bid model. I have also seen, as another commmented, that the more requirements there are then the more of a fixed mindset the culture is. Thus a propensity to not allow individuals to grow and achieve potential.
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September 5, 2024 at 5:40 pm
This thing about asking for an improbable mix of skills seems far more common for third party recruiters. Not only do these shops pad job descriptions, but they pad resumes as well. Often times, it's a mangled version of a job you could find advertised directly by the employer.
When you interview, just be straight forward about your true skillet and experience. Maybe also mention that in your past job, AD and network administration was an entirely separate role and team from database administration.
In past, whenever I've been in the job market, there will be a two week period of "Tech Bro" recruiters that either send me to interviews where I decide 5 minutes into it that I don't want the job - or they will hard sell a specific client of theirs and then ask me to dial back my salary requirement.
Finally, by week three, I'll start getting calls from an internal hiring manages, and it comes down to choosing from one of three different offers.
For what it's worth to anyone actually in the market now, I'm just sharing my own perspective from 30 in the industry.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
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