I've spent a lot of time on Craigslist lately looking for a job, and I must say, I am disgusted by the extent employers will go to save a buck and ruin a good employee's chance of ever seeing the inside of even the interview room, never mind actually getting the job.
I like to think that I am a good employee. I do my job, I'm great with customers, I'm always on time if not early, I don't let my employers down. They're paying my wages and giving me something to do in the day, why wouldn't I try my hardest to do my work? I know that I'm a good employee, but will I ever be given a chance to prove that? No.
You want to know why? Employers are unrealistic in the types of people they want to hire. It's like employers think people are just born with experience, when in fact someone had to give them a shot in order to get that 10+ years that are demanded by all employers now a days. And why do they want that 10+ years experience? Because it saves them a buck not having to train you to do the job.
I was on Cragslist today and saw an ad that demanded the following:
"Office Assistant/Reception.
Must:
Be great with customers/clients (4+ years experience in customer service prefered)
Be highly organized
Do payroll & accounting (4+ years accounting experience preferred. Quickbooks experience a must)
Be able to communicate with all customers (2 or 3 additional languages to English a definite asset. Mandarin or Punjabi mandatory.)
Must be competent in filing, faxing, copying and printing.
Job includes occasional office cleaning (experience in cleaning industry an asset)
Job requires MS office experience (MS Office course or 3+ years using Word, Publisher and Excel in an office application a must)
Must have taken a 1-2 year office administration course no matter experience.
5+ years reception experience.
Must be available mornings, days, evenings and weekends as we need you.
Must have vehicle as we can call you in at any time. Must have celluar device we can reach you at at all times.
If you do not meet all of the above requirements, do not apply. We are only accepting resumes from people who meet the above criteria."
So, you're telling me I have to have taken an office admin course, have pretty much 16 years of experience doing everything INCLUDING cleaning toilets, speak upwards of 4 languages fluently, and be available to you every moment of every day? Did I mention they want all of this done for them for a whopping $14 an hour? Wow. Big spenders.
For those of you who are fortunate enough to have a job and aren't forced onto craigslist and other job boards every day, I will tell you this isn't an uncommon post. I see posts demanding all of this and more every single day. And the jobs that are more realistic than this not demanding ridiculous experience and pay a more reasonable wage than this... a job that I actually might have a chance of getting? They are taken away by the people who know that job posts like the ones above are unrealistic and almost disgusting. People who have that 5 years of experience always get the good realistic jobs because it means the employers won't have to pay to train me.
Honestly, this kind of enrages me as I have spent the last 3 weeks applying to job after job with not so much as a blink my way. I am a good employee with some decent experience, and no one will even look my way because it means they might have to spend 2 days explaining a program to me or perhaps answer a question or two at the beginning while I figure stuff out. HEAVEN FORBID.
I also wish employers would realize that we live in Canada, and that the office languages of Canada are French and English. Demanding that potential employees must speak ANY other language is actually against the law. If you want a bilingual employee, the two languages you can require by law are French and English. You may state that it is an asset for customer relations if you can speak another language, but you cannot demand your employees speak every language under the sun, and you can't refuse to hire someone with all the correct skills because they don't speak every single language in our multi-cultural city.
Employers. I only ask that you give some people an opportunity to prove themselves. If you give good employees like me a chance, you might see that there is a benefit to giving young people the opportunity and some training. I want to have a chance to prove myself, but instead I sit at home and my brain rots because you can't suck it up and offer me an interview, never mind the job.
I'm frustrated. Job hunting sucks. I just want an interview to boost my confidence a little bit. Is that so much to ask?
Blog, and be happy.
Kyleigh.
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