Re: job-hunt weirdness

["Dana Worley" <dana -at- campbellsci -dot- com>]

On Thursday, July 09, 2009, Peter Neilson wrote: 

> Um, when they describe the exact job you are currently doing, that's
> not an exact match? Perhaps they had additional but unstated criteria.
> "Must NEVER have used Lisp, Smalltalk, or Ruby." And you've mentioned
> them.

There's more to being a good fit for a job than being able to check all the boxes on the skills 
list. 

For instance, if you've had 6 jobs in the last 5 years, and the job I'm hiring for has a 
substantial learning curve, you'll be tossed into the "no" pile. If you made $100K at your last 
three jobs, and the job I am hiring for is significantly less, you'll be tossed into the "no" pile. 
These are just two examples -- there are many red flags that warn me you may not be a 
good fit. 

All I am saying is folks are trying to over analyze why they weren't called for an interview for a 
job that, **in their minds**, was a perfect fit. Face it, we *all* think we are good writers and 
have top-notch skills that "anyone in their right mind would be a fool to turn down". That's just 
one perspective, and obviously not the perspective of the hiring manager or the outcome 
would have been different. 

Bottom line -- If you apply for a job, are not called for an interview, and the position is posted 
again four weeks later, it is highly likely no good candidates were found in the first round, 
including yourself.  

2 cents, from the hiring side....

Dana W.

***************************
Dana Worley
Software Product Manager/Manager, Software Support Group
Campbell Scientific, Inc. 
dana -at- campbellsci -dot- com

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