Why won't they hire?

[SpeedRacer 1]

OK for the last nine months I have been looking for work as a molecular biologist in the DC suburb area (the Bio-Capital area for biotech companies). I have an MS in molecular biology, and 15 years experience in research. Tissue Culture, molecular biology, gene expression, sequencing, cloning, protein purification, etc.

I have been submitting applications for positions online, and getting almost no responses. There have been a couple of times where my skills fit the ad like a glove. And I would highlight that fact in my cover letters.

So maybe someone else got the job before me? I don't think so, because the ad for the same job opening was there two months later, or resubmitted under a different reference id.

So WTF is going on here? I've had people look over my CV, it highlights my skills and gives results-oriented achievements, etc.

Why wouldn't a company hire a person for a position that they are clearly qualified for? (BTW, I am not getting rejections, I am getting NO responses at all, except the automatic email you get when you submit)>

Is it Human Resources? Are they using my applications for personal hygiene purposes, or what?

I am a highly experienced & skilled molecular biologist, and I have a thick folder full of copies of unanswered applications.

I am finding advertised positions, but no human being seems to be at the other end of my applications. I am now facing a mortgage payment that I will not be able to pay.

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[rwieder 0]

Outsourcing. It saves us money. But it really doesn't serve any other purpose other than to kill our own economy and jerk good citizens such as yourself around for nothing else than to see other countries prosper and kill our own economy.

Man, I hope things start getting better for you. Take care.

-Richard-
"You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall"

[PhreeZone 15]

If I remember you've got a huge gap in the resume from a summer off walking the east coast right? That is a red flag nowdays for some stupid reason. Any major gaps in employment now are getting resumes tossed directly into the waste can for no good reason. Some companies are now requiring you to be currently employed before they will look at you for a position.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[SpeedRacer 1]

With the recession, LOTS of people have huge gaps in their employment.

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[SpeedRacer 1]

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Outsourcing. It saves us money. But it really doesn't serve any other purpose other than to kill our own economy and jerk good citizens such as yourself around for nothing else than to see other countries prosper and kill our own economy.

Man, I hope things start getting better for you. Take care.

NOt in this case. The ads are out there for lab biologists to work in labs here in Maryland.
You can't phone in that kind of work.

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[rwieder 0]

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NOt in this case. The ads are out there for lab biologists to work in labs here in Maryland. You can't phone in that kind of work.

In all of your years on the workforce in your field, has it been this way before? I'm at a loss for words.

-Richard-
"You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall"

[BoogeyMan 0]

Good luck...... My sons have their degrees also, but are under-employed. The way things are, they are glad to have jobs. You may have to look out of your field. Sux, bruh..!
I retired in 2008. I lucked out, for once, after 41 years of rat race bull-schidt.

[SpeedRacer 1]

Just to get by I tried working any job I could find. I briefly worked at one job setting up tents for outdoor events. But it paid minimum wage, and I can't afford my house on that.

I just don't understand why a molecular biologist with a graduate degree and years of varied experience should just give up and flip burgers. Seriously, is that what we're doing with our talent here in the USA?

Are low-skill, minimum wage jobs the best use of professionals with graduate degrees in practical areas of science?

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[Fast 0]

Have you tried reaching out in another way? If you're doing online submissions your just a drop in a bucket of water of people applying for a job.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[PhreeZone 15]

Yep, the Unemployed discrimination is getting so bad they even have proposed legislation to combat it: Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011. Issue is no one is going to be caught on it since they can always say they passed you over for another reason other than your large gap of lack of employment.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[BoogeyMan 0]

Dunno...... The Exec's and professional types that I hang with CONSTANTLY complain about gov't regs., and insurance. It's a non stop discussion, and frustration for them.
Hang tuff, dood.

[DiverMike 5]

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Have you tried reaching out in another way? If you're doing online submissions your just a drop in a bucket of water of people applying for a job.

+1

Unfortunately, when I post a job for a software developer I get anywhere from 300 - 500 responses. It may make me a bad person, but I don't usually contact 400 or so people to tell them they are not being considered.

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[quade 3]

According to Belgian_Draft in another thread, you aren't really looking for work. According to him, you should take a job as a janitor.

Of course, that's complete bullshit.

As I stated in another thread, companies take out job ads for a lot of different reasons and only one of them is to actually hire people.

The issue as I see it is a combination of that and the fact the job market is so tight, companies can be ridiculously choosey (and sometimes illegally discriminatory) in the way they conduct their staffing.

Actually finding a job anywhere really sucks right now.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Gravitymaster 0]

Just hang in there a little longer until Obama gets his jobs bill passed. Then there will be plenty of jobs for everyone.


Seriously, what you are going through sucks. I wish you the best of luck. Hope you find something soon.

Is there something you can do like starting your own business? I know people who are out of work who sell stuff on Ebay etc. Surely, there must be something else you can do while you are waiting for something to open up. And I don't mean just looking throught the newspaper or for a job online. Think about what you enjoy and what other skills you have.

[BillyVance 34]

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With the recession, LOTS of people have huge gaps in their employment.

Yep. Unfortunate fact. People are finding it nearly impossible to get a job with their qualifications if they have been unemployed for any significant length of time.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[SpeedRacer 1]

I could, but I need to be able to eat & stuff. I have a few hundred dollars left in my bank account. And a mortgage payment due at the beginning of next month.

I cannot for the life of me understand why my applications are not getting through. I have been scouring the web, going to job fairs and networking events, handing out cards & CVs, and nothing is working.

I have seen many more job openings advertised in the last month then I ever have before, so maybe that is a good sign that things are beginning to turn around. I just wish someone would respond to my applications before the bank forecloses on my house.

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[SpeedRacer 1]

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With the recession, LOTS of people have huge gaps in their employment.

Yep. Unfortunate fact. People are finding it nearly impossible to get a job with their qualifications if they have been unemployed for any significant length of time.

That seems to me to be a bullshit reason to discriminate against someone. There are any number of reasons for a gap in employment, most perfectly legitimate ( recession, traveling, volunteering, in an occupation not related to this field, etc ).

If someone has the skills and experience in the ad, they should at least get an inquiry. Especially if the company has tried and failed for months to get someone to fill the position.

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[BillyVance 34]

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I could, but I need to be able to eat & stuff. I have a few hundred dollars left in my bank account. And a mortgage payment due at the beginning of next month.

I cannot for the life of me understand why my applications are not getting through. I have been scouring the web, going to job fairs and networking events, handing out cards & CVs, and nothing is working.

I have seen many more job openings advertised in the last month then I ever have before, so maybe that is a good sign that things are beginning to turn around. I just wish someone would respond to my applications before the bank forecloses on my house.

One thing about job applications though, many times employers will look at a resume for 5 seconds and if it doesn't grab their eyes, they chuck it, or crumple it and play basketball with it. You may want to follow up on your first application with a letter or a phone call to show them that you're serious. I don't know if that helps, but if you're not already doing that, give it a try. Persistence can pay off sometimes, just got to find the line between that and stalking.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[BillyVance 34]

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With the recession, LOTS of people have huge gaps in their employment.

Yep. Unfortunate fact. People are finding it nearly impossible to get a job with their qualifications if they have been unemployed for any significant length of time.

That seems to me to be a bullshit reason to discriminate against someone. There are any number of reasons for a gap in employment, most perfectly legitimate ( recession, traveling, volunteering, in an occupation not related to this field, etc ).

If someone has the skills and experience in the ad, they should at least get an inquiry. Especially if the company has tried and failed for months to get someone to fill the position.

I agree, its bullshit the way they look at applicants. If somebody really really wants to work, they should have that opportunity to prove themselves. If I had known several years ago before I became a stay-at-home dad that the job market would be like this, I would definitely have started job hunting right after I lost my job.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[quade 3]

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If someone has the skills and experience in the ad, they should at least get an inquiry. Especially if the company has tried and failed for months to get someone to fill the position.

You do understand how initially applications aren't even looked at by humans; right?

At almost every major company, all applications and resumes initially get looked at by computers. The computers are looking for the top ten or so matches that most closely fit the advertised job requirements. IF somewhere in the job requirements it says "core proficiency in MicroSoft Word" in in your resume you've listed "Microsoft Word," that may actually be enough to get you kicked out of the top ten. One such program is called "Resumix."

At least the government admits it.
http://www.federaljobresume.com/resumix.shtml

Even worse, it's entirely possible that once your resume and job application has made it to a human that the HR person doing the next level of weeding may do a cursory check of your internet presence. They can find out all sorts of things about you and use to discriminate against you they could NEVER LEGALLY DO SO IN A FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEW.

For instance, they might call up your Facebook page and just by looking at your photos OR PHOTOS OTHER PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN OF YOU decide you're not the kind of person they don't want to hire. Maybe they've been told to try to keep insurance costs down, but through this cursory search find out you're a skydiver. For some HR people, that would be enough and completely legal for them to just toss you out of the running.

It sucks looking for work right now.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Niki1 1]

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Quote

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With the recession, LOTS of people have huge gaps in their employment.

Yep. Unfortunate fact. People are finding it nearly impossible to get a job with their qualifications if they have been unemployed for any significant length of time.

That seems to me to be a bullshit reason to discriminate against someone. There are any number of reasons for a gap in employment, most perfectly legitimate ( recession, traveling, volunteering, in an occupation not related to this field, etc ).

If someone has the skills and experience in the ad, they should at least get an inquiry. Especially if the company has tried and failed for months to get someone to fill the position.

First of all, I'm not an expert at finding a job. If I was, I would have a job right now. But 2 points:

The gap in your resume. You were not unemployed, You were self-employed during that time. I'm sure you had an idea or two about the kind of work you do. So you were working for the My Research Company.

HR depts. use software to screen resumes and they are programed to look for certain key words.

This is probably like a 100 jump wonder telling Dan BC how to turn in place but just thought I'd throw the ideas out there.

Being 62 and looking for a job with ONLY experience is a bitch. That's me and you're problably 20 years behind me. Good luck to us both.

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

[NWFlyer 2]

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Have you tried reaching out in another way? If you're doing online submissions your just a drop in a bucket of water of people applying for a job.

*This.*

I don't do the same type of work that you do, but we're in generally the same category - mid-career folks in professional positions, the kind that require specialized expertise and/or education, blah blah blah.

Of my last 5 jobs, only one of them was a "cold" submission, and that was to a small start-up company, so their hiring process was necessarily a bit different than a bigger entity that's inundated with applicants and has a full HR gauntlet to get through.

Job #5 (Current): I was not only unemployed, I was looking to change cities. NOT an easy situation, but I called everyone I knew in the new city - friends from college, grad school, skydiving, old jobs, etc. I put the word out to everyone I knew that I was looking for a job, and what I was looking for. Every single interview I got (and there were maybe 10 or 12) I had a personal connection of some sort helping me out. Sometimes the connection would help me identify the job, in other cases, I'd found the job and found a connection through someone I knew (or someone they knew).

In the case of the job I ultimately took (and still have 3 years later), I called a friend from college whose profession is fairly different from mine. He said "Hey, let me get you in touch with my friend who works at [large employer in your industry]. He works for the VP of IT there." Five minute conversation with the friend of a friend, and my resume is on the desk of the VP of IT, and within about a week I get a call for a job that's pretty much a perfect fit for my background.

The other two jobs I was considering when I took this one were also through personal connections - one from a vendor I used to work with at an old job, and one where I found the job, but also found out a business school classmate went there.

Job #4 -this is the ONLY one that was "cold." Fun opportunity at a startup, but business was bad and I ultimately got laid off.

Job #3 - after a 6-month sabbatical, I got hired by a vendor that I'd worked with at a previous employer. I don't even recall much of a formal interview process for this one; I was a known quantity and they were happy to have me.

Job #2 - got my resume in the door through someone I used to work with, her endorsement was strong enough to get me an interview.

Job #1 - this was a large company that I really really wanted to work for; called up a business school friend who worked there. He put me in touch with the exec in charge of my area, but also invited me to breakfast with another exec when they were in town. So, my friend (who was a fairly junior person) set me up to make a good impression on someone who could directly influence the hiring exec. He did, and I got the interview and ultimately the job.

Point is, that job fairs and job boards, and networking events put you out there with everyone else. You need to figure out your angle - your personal connection, someone who can/will go to bat for you, get your foot in the door, introduce you to the right people, etc. It's how a vast majority of jobs are filled these days, like it or not.

I'm looking for an internal transfer right now. Every time I find a listing that looks interesting, I try to figure out who I know (or can get to) in that group. And I'm also carefully asking around with folks that I already work with; it helps that my boss knows that I am keeping my eye out for other opportunities (and understands my reasons, as he's unable to give me what I want to meet my career goals in his department), so while I'm discreet in my inquiries, I don't have to be totally skunkworks about it either.

(Edited to add: as others have said, a lot of times you see a job listed on the company's web site solely because their HR policy says they have to, even though they've already identified an internal candidate. That's SOP at my own company, which is one of the reasons I ask around to learn more about the "open" positions to find out if they are truly "open.")

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[kallend 1,647]

US companies are sitting on piles of cash. Until something forces them to invest in THIS country, we will continue to have a serious waste of human potential.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[billvon 2,433]

>US companies are sitting on piles of cash.

True, in many cases. Unfortunately those piles of cash are usually in other countries, and they can't bring it back into this country without losing approximately half of it. So they hire less qualified people in other countries for half the cost, which means they can hire four (say) Indians for every American they could hire here.

[kallend 1,647]

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>US companies are sitting on piles of cash.

True, in many cases. Unfortunately those piles of cash are usually in other countries, and they can't bring it back into this country without losing approximately half of it. So they hire less qualified people in other countries for half the cost, which means they can hire four (say) Indians for every American they could hire here.

The piles of cash suggest not hiring very much at all.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.