This is from a sales ad for a large U.S. company: Qualifications To be considered for this role, candidates must meet the following criteria: Bachelor Perhaps that is a truncating problem, but I am feeling left out as a married man.
Continue ReadingThe Hardest Working Country
South Korea. At least according to some survey mentioned in this Forbes.com article. This may make your job look better: If you thought you worked long hours, consider 39-year-old Lee from South Korea. A civil servant at the ministry of agriculture and fisheries, Lee gets up at 5:30 a.m. every day, gets dressed and makes a two-hour commute into Seoul to start work at 8:30 a.m. After sitting at a computer for most of the day, Lee typically gets out the door at 9 p.m., or even later. By the time he gets home, it’s just a matter of jumping in the shower and collapsing into bed, before starting the… Read More
Continue ReadingRecruiting Buzzwords Exposed
Well, this is only fair – ERE offers up an article with the real definition of common recruiting buzzwords/phrases. Some of the buzzwords from the rather extensive list: Ad-hoc (adj.) Usage: “There will also be some ad-hoc projects required.” Definition: A catch-all phrase used by corporations to describe the countless hours of manpower invested in activities unrelated to one’s job function, generally evoked at the whim of departmental heads. DOE (acr.) see also depending on experience.Usage: “I am unable to provide a salary range for the position as it is DOE.” Definition: Whereby a company unable to pay market rate for a position compensates by placing the blame on candidate… Read More
Continue ReadingSpell Check Ain’t So Common
The title of a resume I found online: Experience Hard Warker
Continue ReadingFun From The Resume Pile
From the outstanding resume file – a resume I received yesterday for a Project Manager position: Personal Attributes I am highly enthusiastic, hard working, opinionated and motivated to work under my own initiative or as part of a team. 1. I have extensive practical experience of fault-finding… Which explains why his team wants him to work on his own initiative. In all fairness, the candidate goes on to finish item #1 with: …and problem solving systematically. Certainly a lot easier to do once you’ve established blame. There’s a sentence later in the letter that suggests English isn’t a strong suit – My team were involved in maintenance, repairing and servicing… Read More
Continue ReadingMore Wacky Lists
CareerBuilder.com offers up another list with “wacky” in the title. For web purposes, wacky is a euphemism for link bait, but I’ll bite. The list is comprised of the most unusual excuses provided by employees for being late. While rowing across the river to work, I got lost in the fog. Someone stole all my daffodils. I had to go audition for American Idol. My ex-husband stole my car so I couldn’t drive to work. My route to work was shut down by a Presidential motorcade. I wasn’t thinking and accidentally went to my old job. I was indicted for securities fraud this morning. The line was too long… Read More
Continue ReadingRelocate Me
This post was no joke on April 1. I give you my backyard this morning: Add to that 31 degrees and you may understand the overall somber mood up here. Last weekend was sunny and 75 degrees. One thing about living in Minnesota, we love to whine talk about the weather. Now, perhaps, you understand why.
Continue ReadingMisspelling Ads
Spelling errors in a resume are bad, but spelling errors in ads may be worse. I’m looking through ads this afternoon and found an ad that spelled Minnesota this way – Minnasota. Yeah, that isn’t going to impress the locals. However, I think I have seen the worst error ever. One company has the word “electrical” in their name…they misspelled it. They misspelled their own company name. Unbelievable.
Continue ReadingCover Letter Comedy
The Killian Newsletter is out which means another fabulous installment of Cover Letters From Hell. This edition features some dandies: …take this full of life, creative, fun, hardworking, quick learner, hands-on, intelligent, good looking, individually and help him by giving him the best possible experience, so he can continue the legacy of provided high level, knock your socks off advertising. That’s why one should have important letters read – out loud – by someone else. We’ve always had food-industry clients, and yes, we talk about food a lot, but we’ve never before been ordered to actually be food: … being a member of the (name withheld) Organization, and, braise yourselves,… Read More
Continue ReadingAssonance Alert: Archive Annual Awards
Well, I should qualify that; I suppose an Oscar, Grammy, Tony, etc. is a timeless award. However, I just read an employment ad from a large recruiting firm that had this bolded statement at the top: #1 Ranked Executive Search Firm – January 2006 January 2006? My first thought was who beat them out for the past 2 years. Maybe they have drastically declined in some way? Call me a minimalist, but I prefer to get right to the meat in an employment ad. In fairness to this firm, this was an internal hire. Still, I would think they would have a bit more sense to remove that statement since… Read More
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