# How would you handle being Blown off by an Employer?



## MisterPerfect (Nov 20, 2015)

I applied to this job at a job fair for security and they said if we were interested to call the manager on Tuesday between a specific time slot. I called several times and either got the voice mail or the front desk woman who said "No hes not at his desk ill take a message". I always called between the time slot and he was never there. So I decided to walk into the office which was down the street from me. When I got there it was still within the time slot he said to call and when I came in he said "Go home I dont do walk ins" and gave me his card with a phone number and said "Call between this time slot". So I went home and did it again and same thing I got front desk and she said he was out of his office. 

Whats strange is I was one of the most qualified people there and actually came to the fair in a suit unlike most of the other people there. I also unlike most of the people had a guard card. Only three people total had guard cards. One had a guard card, one had a guard card and CPR training, and I had guard card, CPR training, and multiple guard certificates. This is not guessing either since they told everyone to raise there hand who had a guard card and told them to stand in one line, and than told everyone with a guard card to stand in another. There was probobly over 30 people. 

Its not like I did not have qualifications but I guess the Employer did not really care about hiring any of us. 

This was not terribly recent but I was always told to just keep trying and eventually they hire you. What are you suppose to do when they totally ignore you? 

I later got a job working for a warehouse which called me in for a interview and gave me a drug test and said "If you pass this you got the job" and I started a week later.


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## JayDubs (Sep 1, 2009)

I'd suggest you find someone (in the field if you can manage it) to give you a mock interview. If you really are the most qualified applicant, and they are purposely trying to ignore you, you likely made a bad impression in some other way. Some people give off a "I'm not right for this job" vibe. And it can be really hard to see (and therefore correct) without an outside observer to point it out. 

Yes, sometimes a company isn't looking to hire anyone (or they hire someone based on a personal connection). But in those cases, they usually don't bother to look for people at a job fair. They circulate a job posting at some obscure location for forms sake, and hire the person they wanted to in the first place. (I know because I've seen it done.) 

As to "what to do when they ignore you," you did everything you could. You tried to follow up, and it didn't work. At that point, you move on. Sometimes there's nothing you can do to get hired at a particular position.


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## MisterPerfect (Nov 20, 2015)

JayDubs said:


> I'd suggest you find someone (in the field if you can manage it) to give you a mock interview. If you really are the most qualified applicant, and they are purposely trying to ignore you, you likely made a bad impression in some other way. Some people give off a "I'm not right for this job" vibe. And it can be really hard to see (and therefore correct) without an outside observer to point it out.
> 
> Yes, sometimes a company isn't looking to hire anyone (or they hire someone based on a personal connection). But in those cases, they usually don't bother to look for people at a job fair. They circulate a job posting at some obscure location for forms sake, and hire the person they wanted to in the first place. (I know because I've seen it done.)
> 
> As to "what to do when they ignore you," you did everything you could. You tried to follow up, and it didn't work. At that point, you move on. Sometimes there's nothing you can do to get hired at a particular position.


I did many mock trials and they said I did fine. Also the interview was only maybe 5 minutes. All they asked was "Do you have a guard card? Did you apply online? Do you have any qualifications" and than "May I have your resume". Also I dont think it they were really interested in hiring anyone. They seemed generally disinterested in even being there to begin with.


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## Razare (Apr 21, 2009)

Are they hiring? They might do job fairs just to keep a list of candidates and maintain a presence.

Also, your persistence is admirable, and with some employers that would be recognized as a good quality. With other employers, it can be recognized as a bad quality. Just depends who you're dealing with.

A lot of big companies, go through the motions of human resources because it is their job, but they're not that interested in hiring someone. There were companies I applied at, and I knew just based on the posting they were probably getting 100+ applicants. There was never any follow-up on their end.

What happens in most of those situations is that the manager already knows who they want, a friend of friend, and that's the person hired. Or they go out and recruit the person they want on linkedin or something.

I get better job offers from employers seeking me on linkedin than I see when you go to apply for jobs.

If you're looking for a job, applying for jobs is a job. Treat it like a job, and don't take it personal. The job market is better than a few years ago, but in 2014, I had 3 years job experience and a 4 year degree, and I did about 80 applications before I was hired. Eventually, a staffing agency was the contact that got me hired.

Don't even take a given application that seriously... it is serious but don't spend a ton of time on it. You should be able to apply for a job online in 15 minutes or less. I would crank out 4 or 5 per day, based on what was posted each day and kept at it for a month or so. You'll need to do dozens of them, so you can't spend that much time applying at 1 place. Don't bother with follow-up letters. Do cover-letters and send the application in with resume.

If they want to hire you, they'll call you. What chances you lose in the fact that you're not following-up, you'll gain in efficiency by applying more places, creating more opportunities. Also, you save on the hurt of rejection which makes it easier to keep going. If you do 4 or 5 a day, you stop caring about ones that never respond back, because you'll get 1 or 2 a day that will respond. Some will say, "We're not interested." Some will say, "Can you do a phone interview?" And you go from there.


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## MisterPerfect (Nov 20, 2015)

Razare said:


> Are they hiring? They might do job fairs just to keep a list of candidates and maintain a presence.
> 
> Also, your persistence is admirable, and with some employers that would be recognized as a good quality. With other employers, it can be recognized as a bad quality. Just depends who you're dealing with.
> 
> ...


I was doing hundreds and was getting no where till I started applying to warehouses which seem to hire practically anyone. You can tell them "Im missing an arm, am mentally retarded, and stutter" and they like "Great you can start on Tuesday! "


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## AriesLilith (Jan 6, 2013)

Personally I'm a bit of "shoot many places and see which ones I hit", so I don't bother if an employer seems disinterested or not respectful enough unless I really want a particular opportunity. There are places treating candidates lowly and if there is no minimum professionalism and respect I just go for the other ones.
Also, employers might have many candidates and can't handle nor reply to everyone, so if they don't respond I assume they don't have enough interest which can be a waste of time to wait.

So to answer your question, I'd just wait a bit more or give a follow up then forget about it and look for other opportunities. I usually go to many interviews and know all my options and potential best options.

But being a programmer, usually it's their loss if they don't hire me fast enough.  I'm being bombarded through LinkedIn every day or week, programmers here are very chased, not the other way around.


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## MisterPerfect (Nov 20, 2015)

AriesLilith said:


> Personally I'm a bit of "shoot many places and see which ones I hit", so I don't bother if an employer seems disinterested or not respectful enough unless I really want a particular opportunity. There are places treating candidates lowly and if there is no minimum professionalism and respect I just go for the other ones.
> Also, employers might have many candidates and can't handle nor reply to everyone, so if they don't respond I assume they don't have enough interest which can be a waste of time to wait.
> 
> So to answer your question, I'd just wait a bit more or give a follow up then forget about it and look for other opportunities. I usually go to many interviews and know all my options and potential best options.
> ...


Where are you from? So would computer Engineering be a safe Major then?


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## AriesLilith (Jan 6, 2013)

MisterPerfect said:


> Where are you from? So would computer Engineering be a safe Major then?


I'm from Portugal. Computer Engineering I'd say is one of the best options when it comes to opportunities. More and more businesses needs it, as business grows and/or needs to be more competitive. And newer and newer technolgies and needs surface everyday, so there is always more and more need for IT professionals to develop systems.

I'm not sure what happens in the next decades, but at least it seems like a great bet. Also, Computer Engineering can allow you to do different things later: business analyst, frontend developer, computer scientist, tester and so on. It's easier to switch specializations within IT, even if it requires lots of learning.

The catch is that you need to be very passionate about it or just like other mental jobs, it drains you pretty much and you can lose productivity. You also need to do constant learning, and be careful with your career path as choosing the wrong projects and staying in places with no growth for too long is going to make you less hirable.


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## AriesLilith (Jan 6, 2013)

Also, IT jobs can be quite flexible and international. You might work remotely (only a few allows it but more and more will hire remotely), you might work in other countries, and you might even start your own business. There has been many recruiters trying to ask if I'm interested in emmigrating.


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## MisterPerfect (Nov 20, 2015)

AriesLilith said:


> I'm from Portugal. Computer Engineering I'd say is one of the best options when it comes to opportunities. More and more businesses needs it, as business grows and/or needs to be more competitive. And newer and newer technolgies and needs surface everyday, so there is always more and more need for IT professionals to develop systems.
> 
> I'm not sure what happens in the next decades, but at least it seems like a great bet. Also, Computer Engineering can allow you to do different things later: business analyst, frontend developer, computer scientist, tester and so on. It's easier to switch specializations within IT, even if it requires lots of learning.
> 
> The catch is that you need to be very passionate about it or just like other mental jobs, it drains you pretty much and you can lose productivity. You also need to do constant learning, and be careful with your career path as choosing the wrong projects and staying in places with no growth for too long is going to make you less hirable.


I dont see how that would be draining. Not doing anything with your mind is pretty draining since there no stimulation, its like its killing your brain very slowly. Its rather frustrating.


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## MisterPerfect (Nov 20, 2015)

AriesLilith said:


> Also, IT jobs can be quite flexible and international. You might work remotely (only a few allows it but more and more will hire remotely), you might work in other countries, and you might even start your own business. There has been many recruiters trying to ask if I'm interested in emmigrating.


Who is asking you immigrate is it America?


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## AriesLilith (Jan 6, 2013)

It can be draining if you don't like it but you need to figure out specific solutions for specific situations and problems all the time. Also, there is often stress of needing to figure out new implementations and solutions under deadlines. This is certainly not a job where you just need to perform physically without much thinking or focus (not that those aren't hard, but if your mind is not optimal and focused, it's hard to keep productive).

Usually the recruiters from outside are from other European countries, like UK, France, Spain, Germany and so on.


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## la_revolucion (May 16, 2013)

I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. It's happened to me in the past too. It's like geez, at least have the balls to say you aren't interested in me instead of giving false hope.

But it seems to be pretty standard. I just chalk it up to another instance of being figuratively spat upon during job hunting. But if that's how the company chooses to treat it's job applicants than they probably aren't managed internally much better. So maybe you are better off not working for that douche. Time to move on.


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