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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Slipus on April 20, 2011, 10:16:24 AM
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I took a redundancy at the end of January, and had a bit of time off, before starting to look for another job.
I was not really worried what sort of work I did as I did OK out of my redundancy (no debt)
I was in a logitics role which included a fair amount of contact with customers.
Anyway I have been for a few interviews and applied for a number of jobs.
I applied to one of the large hardware chains and went along to the interviews and said all the right things. So got to the final interview. They asked me why I wanted to work for ---nings, as I had lots of diplomas, certificates and other bits of paper (there words) and was obviously well over skilled for this type of role. To which I replied " after 31 years the company I worked for asked who wanted a redundancy, so I took up the offer. I decided with this opportunity I would use it as a bit of a sea change and do something completely different. A few members of my family work in other stores and they comment on how good the team work is and I feel it is something I would like to be a part off" They also asked me what is the most difficult thing you have had to deal with at work, my reply " a serious motor vehicle accident involving death" that stunned them they didn't know to say. they then proceeded to ask a number of other questions about team work and stuff and asked me twice more why I wanted to work for them, to which I gave the same sort of reply.
I didn't get the job. About a few weeks later I went to get some stuff from the same store when i drove i to their timber yard and was told no the yard is full you can't come in, so fair enough I parked in the car park, walked into the timber section to locate the timber I wanted then went inside to pick up a few other things before I went back to get the timber. As i came out of the timber section the same knuckle head says "what didn't you believe me when I said the timber yard was full. I explained that i wanted to locate the timber I wanted before i got the other stuff. I thanked them for there customer service.
WHY WAS I CONSIDERED NOT SUITABLE TO WORK THERE ?
I also applied for a casual job at A Boating Camping and Fishing store. I have been boating camp and fishing most of my 52 years. I didn't get a job there either. I also went there to get some stuff. It took me a while to find a disinterested 16 Troglodyte and he was useless and no idea of anything.
So again I ask :- WHY WAS I CONSIDERED NOT SUITABLE TO WORK THERE ?
These mobs give no feed back about job applications even when asked and are hopeless.
These people don't care about what they do, so why keep em ?
so endith my rant.
cheers
Pete
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http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=10728
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your not a 16-18yo trogulite!
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These mobs give no feed back about job applications even when asked and are hopeless.
These people don't care about what they do, so why keep em ?
Are you honestly asking? You sound smarter than that.
these nuffys will work for bare min wage... I mean BARE min...
Anyone smarter than the manager doesnt stand a chance.... which wouldnt be hard to be smarter than
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Do I have to remind the arm-chair experts that everybody has to start somehwere. You can't expect a 16 year old to know the same as you when you have twice or in Lost's case three times the life experience.
Look on the positive side, you have no debt. I would love to be able to chuck in my job and work for ARB, BCF, Rays etc but alas I have mouths to clothe and feed.
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Had a similar thing quite a few years ago mate, left 1 company, and needed work so applied at a Canvas maker where a friend worked, turned up for interview dressed in nice slacks, tie and shirt and resume, manager took 1 look at me and said, " geez your over qualified and over dressed to work here, why would you want to work here". I told him I wanted a job. so he gave me a job.
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If they think you are overquailfied then they think it is only a matter of time before you get bored with doing more menial tasks and you will soon leave.
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im 47 and have been through the same thing with the same companies .
i would love to work for the companies mentioned and i have 10 years of customer service exp and well over 20 years building industry exp and have camped and fished for well over 30 years .
yes u have to give pimple faced teenagers a start but that shouldnt mean that the older people have to miss out .ie the right person for the job . if they want to train up a young kid then by all means employ and train up a kid .BUT advertise for a traineeship not for a team member
craig
oh and im still looking for work ;D
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I hope it all works out for you Pete, A sea change is like a breath of fresh air! Maybe they were intimidated by your qualifications?
Cheers
Rich
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You need to downgrade your qualifications from what you have to what they want, I did and got the job I went for, a truck driver/Hiab operator ;D
I am now a Storeman and relaxing till retirement ;D
Baz.
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I think you have to be *special* to work at a place like this.. The managers were probably scared that someone with hald a brain would be looking for their job.. They did you a favour mate. get into a small family business, at least they will appreciate you.
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There loss..
If you work for a ........farmers company long enough you'll learn to disslike them.
Lets do some roll acting and petending , oh goodie. And don't forget to ask would you like choclates with that.
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I've hired a lot of people, and had to apply for a few jobs in my time as well.
Don't downgrade your qualifications, address that concern up front with the interviewer. Back in the Tech Wreck of 2001 I got a "don't come Monday", and after spending a month applying for every job, I walked into the local hardware, filled in the application and got the interview. The manager asked me the same question, and I answered honestly that I didn't plan to be there for the rest of my life but I would give them the benefit of all my experience whilst I was there. I worked there for about three months, became a manager and got promoted to the Head Office group.
In my current role we have a crap position of project dogs body. We used to hire older ladies with no career aspirations, thinking they would put up with it, but this was never satisfactory (our fault, not theirs). Instead we decided to get hotshot grads straight out of uni, knowing they weren't going to stick around but also knowing they would learn fast an excel whilst with us. Never once regretted that approach.
Even now I have a bunch of Gen Ys who work for me and everyone of them is a star in the making, as good a worker as one could meet.
Good luck in your search, don't sweat the jobs you missed out on, just keep looking for the manager/employer who values experience.
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I guess everyone has been pretty well spot on. The managers were obviously very intimidated by your experience and that is their problem, not yours. We have all had 6unn1ng$ experiences where you feel like you have to converse in monosyllabic grunts for the staff to understand you. I personally like the badges they put on people like "Plumbing expert". I asked the guy who had that on was he a plumber and he said "no, management just told me to wear it". OH YEAH!! I love explaining to the "experts" what something is :cup: :cheers:
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If your looking to get a job & you get an interview dont be affraid to ask the hard questions .
At the end of the time ask them " How did I go ? " Take control of the conversation " When can I start ?
It goes like this
1 , we will think about it ,,,
2 , What do you want to think about ,,,? is it my background , experiance ,ability , comitment what ?
( stuff them make them squrm for a bit , If you dont get the job you tried )
3 If they want to think about it are they the decision maker as to who gets the job ? Yes/ No if its not you Who ?. Get the name then ask to meet with them ? Watch your power with questions rattle thier cage .
You came in with nothing leave with something .
Play hard ball its fun let me tell you .
Dont let some arse covering grunt put you off >:D Go Get Um :cheers:
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Must get an interview just to try that! sounds like a heap of fun. Stuff knows what I would do if I got the job though ???
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Yea, you are far to qualified and a threat to their empire, well the supervisor anyway. I'd also dumb down your CV and while that may suck you can apply your skills once in the door
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I have had many job titles over the years and loved them all (to a point). If I no longer enjoyed the job, I moved on to something more entertaining for me, challenging even. I list everything I've done on my resume. It shows that I can easily change my attitude and knuckle down to do something totally different ... the length of employment shows how much I liked it.
Don't sell yourself short. Why would you want to work for "The place I don't speak of" anyway? Because you think it's easy? Late nights and supervisors who don't give a rats about anything but meeting their budget. Managers who say they are approachable, but then don't listen to anyone but their boss? Everyone but those (poor unfortunate) 16 year olds can do better than that.
Decide what you really want to do and would be very happy doing and attend only those interviews that get you there. Same advice I give everyone. Do what makes YOU happy and it's a joy to endure the hours between arrival and departure. It's more than "just getting a job to survive" isn't it? Attitude makes all the difference.
And if those people didn't want to hire you ... well ... they will never know what they are missing ... ;D
Kit_e
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Don't sell yourself short
I do agree with that Kit_e. I was thinking that if he needed or really wnated the job then that maybe an option. I think what you posted is right on.
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Hey Pete, I was around your age when I had a similar situation. I was made to feel like my use by date was up. Here in
Adelaide there is an org. called DOME (Don't Overlooke Mature Expertise). Had 2 offers referred within 3 days and I'm still (subby) to the same company.
Maybe there's some similar (or same) org. up your way.
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or you could try Don't Underestimate Mature Blokes!! Ha Ha Ha
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You can't expect 16 year olds to have all the knowledge that we "older people" possess, BUT you would think that they would want to actually learn!
NO not them, they seem to think that the world owes them a living.
Hem
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The one that makes me wonder is when they run an add for workers that is worded some thing like " wanted experienced juniors"
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The one that makes me wonder is when they run an add for workers that is worded some thing like " wanted experienced juniors"
Sounds similar to "Military Intelligence"!!
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I was wondering what on earth could have gone wrong until I read the 52 then it all became immediately clear. In todays workplace there is little room for anyone over the age of 40 no matter how the government tries to say differently. I stay where I am doing shift work and providing for my family simply because I know that there is no other job available for me due to my age.
Before anyone says that is crap I will add I am in the I.T. industry and in this industry if you are over 30 you are considered a liability as I.T. companies want to put forward a fresh youthful look which is why they employ uni grads on dirt pay who are happy to work for that.
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Before anyone says that is crap I will add I am in the I.T. industry and in this industry if you are over 30 you are considered a liability as I.T. companies want to put forward a fresh youthful look which is why they employ uni grads on dirt pay who are happy to work for that.
Agree. Im in the same boat. I am learning nothing, no chance of advancement no training budget, nothing, but am on good $ and enjoy the people I work with, although the company has been bought out by the french, and since then has turned to poo.
+ the fact that grads will work for dirt at the start. experience means zot in IT these days.
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I have always wondered why the most recent reply's to a post are numbered as 'number' 1
when the original post gets the largest number and that's where the page always loads ?
The most recent post is always at the bottom of the page when I would think it would be at the top of the page ;D
Is it just the way the page loads on my own computer, or is this the usual way it happens ???
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I have always wondered why the most recent reply's to a post are numbered as 'number' 1
when the original post gets the largest number and that's where the page always loads ?
The most recent post is always at the bottom of the page when I would think it would be at the top of the page ;D
Is it just the way the page loads on my own computer, or is this the usual way it happens ???
Edit: As Gunna Do has stated below, go into your profile and change the layout.
Lets keep this thread on the topic of 'older over qualified workers being overlooked in favour of the exploitable young' rant.
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Sorry Snow to keep this off topic for one more post, but you can change the way the replies are ordered on the page ie. first to last or last to first. Go into your profile section and then click on the "Look and Layout Preferences" tab, then you can select the "Show most recent posts at the top." option, or unselect it as the case may be.
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Before anyone says that is crap I will add I am in the I.T. industry and in this industry if you are over 30 you are considered a liability as I.T. companies want to put forward a fresh youthful look which is why they employ uni grads on dirt pay who are happy to work for that.
Cant say I agree, I'm over 30 & still regularly get job offers, which include training & other things. If you allow yourself to get stale, then then industry will allow you to be stale. Im also IT, im one of the proper Propeller Heads X:-)
We are currently looking for 2 people with the right skills here & would be happy to find someone regardless of age. What I find frustrating is people lying badly in their CV & when asked in interview its obvious that they have never heard of what the primary skill your asking for.
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Cant say I agree, I'm over 30 & still regularly get job offers, which include training & other things. If you allow yourself to get stale, then then industry will allow you to be stale. Im also IT, im one of the proper Propeller Heads X:-)
We are currently looking for 2 people with the right skills here & would be happy to find someone regardless of age. What I find frustrating is people lying badly in their CV & when asked in interview its obvious that they have never heard of what the primary skill your asking for.
Well your company is an exception to the rule in the IT world from my experience. We are constantly being told by upper management not to bother applying for positions within our company yas there is no place for us outside of our current workplace due to our age. We have reasonable skill sets but the company also refuses to provide any training funds to send us on training courses. The only way we can get training other than crap web based stuff is if the customer foots the bill.
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Cant say I agree, I'm over 30 & still regularly get job offers, which include training & other things. If you allow yourself to get stale, then then industry will allow you to be stale. Im also IT, im one of the proper Propeller Heads X:-)
We are currently looking for 2 people with the right skills here & would be happy to find someone regardless of age. What I find frustrating is people lying badly in their CV & when asked in interview its obvious that they have never heard of what the primary skill your asking for.
Told ya dan, open an office in Scoresby and I'll start Monday.
PS... your company is a little larger than most, and your work is more specialized than most too.
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Well your company is an exception to the rule in the IT world from my experience.
I dont know about that, I was talking offers from external. I know of at least 4 others in 4 different companies that all are over 35 & all get the same type of offers.
Maybe the specialties do make up some part of it but that can be remedied with some self training. Anyway, im off to interview someone thats over 30 for a job.
& Bruce ive told ya a thousand times, if you want the $$ & good job roles, come into the city. Sadly even large companies keep all their high end roles in city centers.
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& Bruce ive told ya a thousand times, if you want the $$ & good job roles, come into the city. Sadly even large companies keep all their high end roles in city centers.
yea I'd rather get married than have to go to the city for work... yea, the perve is there, but relying on public transport (as you found out)is as inviting as the clap.
YMMV
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yea I'd rather get married than have to go to the city for work... yea, the perve is there, but relying on public transport (as you found out)is as inviting as the clap.
YMMV
Sitting in my city office overlooking the Yarra whilst typing this. Takes me an hour each way to drive in, I bought a new corolla for the trip. It is not that bad. As has been said earlier if you want a job in IT in MEL you have to work in the city.
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Sitting in my city office overlooking the Yarra whilst typing this. Takes me an hour each way to drive in, I bought a new corolla for the trip. It is not that bad. As has been said earlier if you want a job in IT in MEL you have to work in the city.
to each their own, I've worked in CBD and St Kilda 4-5yrs ago, it doesnt excite me with reports traffic is shed loads worse now than before - although for a new challenge with some sort of future I would consider it, but it would want to come with helicopter landing pad + chopper + pilot and matching paypacket for me.
against CBD:
- I hate traffic(driving),
- I hate crowds (train/tram),
- I hate being late to work or home (daily guarantee with train/tram and usually when you drive),
- I hate being lubed up to pay for parking (driving).. some places were $40+ a day!
Also have the corolla for daily duties and drivin eastlink without having to change lanes the whole way to work cause theres 0 traffic is fantastic for a no stress start to the day.
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Applied again to this mob .they wanted a part time and a casual and got rejected again .
frustrating
craig
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A bit of an update and a few observations.
To satisfy my need for mental stimulation I am doing some volunteer stuff for a industry based group in the area I love
Just did some calculations it's approximately 15 weeks since I left work the as I said the first few were a bit of a holiday. I looked back at my files and I have 39 separate covering letters for jobs I have applied for, this does not include the covering letters I wrote over for the first few weeks I for job search so I figure somewhere between 50 - 60 written applications.
Just give you a bit of background.
I am slightly unique at what I do (transport and logistics) I have a lot of experience in operational side of things and in the strategic planning type area. I have a paper I co authored being released at a internation logistics conference next month and my work in vehicle modelling efforts became part of the National Transport Commission submission to the federal government.
Out of all the jobs I have applied for I have had one interview that was for a state government position (I came second, they interviewed 4 people out of 80 something applications according to my exit interview).
I am only applying for positions that I know I can do. interviews = zero, nada, nil
Feedback = almost Nil.
I did apply for transport scheduler position via a recruitment agency and got a nice email back saying I didn't get an interview because the position had specific requirements. The requirements where transport scheduling experience and customer service experience. So I sent back an email asking where my application fell short as I felt i had significant experience in both areas, {i was a slightly more tactful in my email} (I have had a lot of scheduling experience. I have spoken to industry groups about scheduling and it is related to what my paper is about. As a transport ops manager I dealt with customers on a daily basis and in my last role I was dealing with customers setting up or monitoring distribution networks to delivery millions of dollars worth of product). Wonder why they have not responded ? LOL
So is age an issue ??
cheers
Pete
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Gday Pete, I am in the transport industry in Brisbane mate and heard a whisper there is a management position at cockburn transport.. not sure if it is what you are after but might be worth a look ;D
Also I know Tyne Container Services are looking for someone skilled and trustworthy to help running shipping containers.. I reckon there is plenty out there mate.. just gotta open all doors. Recruitment companies like Sarina Russo and max network are good but the best way is always word of mouth.. You must have built up some contacts over your years??
Good luck mate..
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I've hired a lot of people, and had to apply for a few jobs in my time as well.
Don't downgrade your qualifications, address that concern up front with the interviewer. Back in the Tech Wreck of 2001 I got a "don't come Monday", and after spending a month applying for every job, I walked into the local hardware, filled in the application and got the interview. The manager asked me the same question, and I answered honestly that I didn't plan to be there for the rest of my life but I would give them the benefit of all my experience whilst I was there. I worked there for about three months, became a manager and got promoted to the Head Office group.
In my current role we have a crap position of project dogs body. We used to hire older ladies with no career aspirations, thinking they would put up with it, but this was never satisfactory (our fault, not theirs). Instead we decided to get hotshot grads straight out of uni, knowing they weren't going to stick around but also knowing they would learn fast an excel whilst with us. Never once regretted that approach.
Even now I have a bunch of Gen Ys who work for me and everyone of them is a star in the making, as good a worker as one could meet.
Good luck in your search, don't sweat the jobs you missed out on, just keep looking for the manager/employer who values experience.
I agree with your take here!!
Nicely written!
Good luck with your hunt my friend, its never easy to be told you are not required when it is obvious you could contribute with an exceptional amount of efficiency, logic and gusto!!