Job adverts

[munky]

I've applied for many jobs the last couple of years since leaving Uni and I've always wondered what employers mean when they mention that "experience" is required. Do they mean work experience or any type of relevant experience ( experience from courses at Uni or self taught in my case).

If you're a recruiter or human resources person that would be great but I'm also wondering what other people's take is on this.

Thanks!

[RichardCranium]

They mean actual work experience. Self-taught is very rarely considered valid and college-taught stuff not often considered valid unless you are seeking work in academia or planning on working hard for abuse instead of money to make rich people richer (I think that's called an 'internship').

So, do voluntary work. That counts as work experience; especially when you can get it backed up with a reference.

IT Can Help.

IT 4 Communities.

Exceptions do exist. If you want work as a web designer, go and design some web sites and put them up on the 'net. Then call that your portfolio and put it on your CV.

[munky]

Thanks for your reply RichardCranium. I have actually got a portfolio up on the Web which I think has helped on interviews. Last one I went to they said I was very close to getting picked but it was just my performance at interview which let me down.

I was so fed up getting rejected after interview with other jobs that ask for experience that I put on a "don't give a *beep* if I get if or not" attitude which evidently didn't do me any service. I think I may have to be more selective about the type of jobs that I target in future. I might start insisting on getting feedback too.

Thanks for sending those charity links by the way. I tried IT4 before and they weren't very good but will try the other link. Signed up for Oxfam last week to help update their product pages on their online store but would be great if I could use my programming skills.

[NickFitz]

I was so fed up getting rejected after interview with other jobs that ask for experience that I put on a "don't give a *beep* if I get if or not" attitude which evidently didn't do me any service.

Treat every interview as if it's the most important thing that has ever happened to you. Once you've left (the vicinity, not the interview room - interviews can last for as long as you're visible from the windows of the building), forget about it. That way you'll do well in the interview, but won't be bothered when it leads to nothing.

Even better, you'll feel really good when it turns into a win

Bonus points for thanking the agent for the news that you've been offered the contract, then asking them to remind you which interview it was

[threaded]

I've applied for many jobs the last couple of years since leaving Uni and I've always wondered what employers mean when they mention that "experience" is required. Do they mean work experience or any type of relevant experience ( experience from courses at Uni or self taught in my case).

If you're a recruiter or human resources person that would be great but I'm also wondering what other people's take is on this.

Thanks!

Don't take too much notice of what a job entails from what an advert says beyond the actual job title. Gigs are often far different from what you think they will be. The detail of a job advert is something to write your job application to. Much like it is a question in an exam, and you're writing the answer. When it comes to contracting, it is unusual to write a job application. So contractors tend not to take too much notice above whether there appears to be a chance of increasing the skill set and making themselves more saleable. Why then is there a content? Because there's a space for it? It is something to show to the HR drone? Dunno...

Often, the content of a job advert is actually lifted from another contractors CV, and there are some contractors who get pleasure by 'poisoning the pool', so to speak, and sending nonsense CVs to agents and watching the contents appear on Jobserve as fake job adverts (agents do it to each other too, but they're quite obvious and nowhere near as funny).

HTH

[threaded]

Thanks for your reply RichardCranium. I have actually got a portfolio up on the Web which I think has helped on interviews. Last one I went to they said I was very close to getting picked but it was just my performance at interview which let me down.

I was so fed up getting rejected after interview with other jobs that ask for experience that I put on a "don't give a *beep* if I get if or not" attitude which evidently didn't do me any service. I think I may have to be more selective about the type of jobs that I target in future. I might start insisting on getting feedback too.

Thanks for sending those charity links by the way. I tried IT4 before and they weren't very good but will try the other link. Signed up for Oxfam last week to help update their product pages on their online store but would be great if I could use my programming skills.

Don't take too much notice of feedback from clients if you're not picked. It is rare that they can vocalise what it is they don't like, beyond rate, so they just make something up. One Danish bank I know of has an ass-hat who actively likes to make up something really insulting, but something that no-one outside the domain would understand. A perfect example would be saying to a fellow contractor they didn't know enough about threads, when their name was at the top of the threads.h file for the compiler to be used. i.e. If you take feedback to heart you can end up upsetting yourself for nothing.

Just understand you didn't get the gig, shrug, ho-hum, next.

From my experience of going round many organisations and fixing cr4p code it is rare clients actually pick the best person for a job to be on my team. Believe it or not, with the down-turn, they're managing to choose even worse quality. So don't feel bad, chances are they really have passed over the better choice.

[Churchill]

From my experience of going round many organisations and fixing carp code it is rare clients actually pick the best person for a job to be on my team. Believe it or not, with the down-turn, they're managing to choose even worse quality. So don't feel bad, chances are they really have passed over the better choice.

I wanna fix crap code on Threaded's team! Go Team Threaded!!!

Btw, do we get biscuits and Marmite on toast?

As for the interview advice offered by Threaded and others, spot on.

The interview is your shop window!

[Mehmeh]

Bonus points for thanking the agent for the news that you've been offered the contract, then asking them to remind you which interview it was

HAHA, I love that.. I am sooooo using it..thanks dude!