Numbers of applicants

Re: Numbers of applicants

MeeraM — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:41:47 GMT

Late reply to this - but I see your "300 miles with no reply after interview" and raise you a "200 miles to an interview involving a pre-9am M25 and being informed on arrival that the job had been offered to someone else" I was fairly furious about that!

Re: Numbers of applicants

David Strong — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:35:19 GMT

Hi Alan,

How are things?

I saw your ad and I cannot see what's not to like! There's surely very little to rule it off a list of possibles for many potential employees. I don't know what the +'ve/-'ve value would be in including one or more negatives/reality checks/expectations/specific strengths you're looking for in ads to wean down the applicants from advertising stage to those who would genuinely fit in best. A tricky business to attract the best candidates without attracting everybody else. Probably requiring greater subtlty than mine to get things just right?

Potential its the quality of employment your offering over there being an excess of folk looking for jobs?

Re: Numbers of applicants

Gareth Dowdeswell — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 10:23:19 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]

[quote user="Stephen Courtney"]But I do remember from interviewing in the UK that you used to get expenses paid interviews - if the practice wanted a look at you, they covered your costs![/quote]

Doesn't that happen now? That seems a bit rotten.

[/quote]

I've only had travel expenses paid for one interview of the 7 or 8 I've had whilst job hunting. I've always been too polite to ask, maybe I should be more assertive!

Re: Numbers of applicants

Lucie Allcutt — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:35:20 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]

[quote user="Stephen Courtney"]But I do remember from interviewing in the UK that you used to get expenses paid interviews - if the practice wanted a look at you, they covered your costs![/quote]

Doesn't that happen now? That seems a bit rotten.

[/quote]

I only had one interview last year that was "all expenses paid" and I wasn't expecting it for any of them so I thought it was quite nice!! It didn't take the sting out of it when they e-mailed me to say that they couldn't find any fault with me but (despite advertising for a new grad) they went with the candidate with three years experience instead! Cue the sad trombone!

I had another job interview where the practice owner specifically mentioned she had had over 60 applicants (and was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all)...and the only reason she interviewed me was because I took the trouble to call and have a chat with her to introduce myself! Didn't get that one either (another job lost to a vet with a few years experience!) but thankfully I have now been gainfully employed a couple of weeks shy of an entire year and it feels good :-) Granted it's with one of the eeeevil corporates but I really love my job, the people I work with are great and I feel I'm getting good experience although most of it is sole charge (which I told myself "I would never...!" but it has somehow managed to work out)!

Re: Numbers of applicants

Hannah Wynne Richards — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:09:44 GMT

Not as bad as the 200 I heard of applying for 1 post (1 in 2 rota ) in 1984-but a worrying trend

Wynne

Re: Numbers of applicants

karen jones — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:15:01 GMT

We have set up a specific email account and ask all applications to be sent to that so at least the replies can be made quickly and without cost.

The last job we advertised was for receptionist/accounts person and I pulled the advert from the job centre website when we got to 150 applicants. The time it took sorting though and replying was huge. One comment would be for people to think what their e mail address says about them!!!

Re: Numbers of applicants

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:11:05 GMT

[quote user="Stephen Courtney"]But I do remember from interviewing in the UK that you used to get expenses paid interviews - if the practice wanted a look at you, they covered your costs![/quote]

Doesn't that happen now? That seems a bit rotten.

It was certainly usual. Michael Simons not only refunded my train fares, but gave me something generous for subsistence, as well as buying me lunch, even though it must have been obvious in the first five minutes that I was not the employee for him. Another, whose name I have forgotten, paid for me to stay in a hotel overnight.

On the other hand, there was one notorious cheapskate. After the interview he just said "Let me put a couple of gallons in your petrol tank from the practice pump" as if he was being terribly generous. The trouble was, I had filled up in the town just before I arrived at the practice!

Re: Numbers of applicants

Stephen Courtney — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 22:07:00 GMT

[quote user="Claire Edgington"]

I travelled over 300 miles for a job interview a couple of years ago and I didn't even receive a reply to inform me if I had the job or not. I was fairly mad about it.

[/quote]I'm in my second job in the UK, third vet job ever, it took me 15 minutes to get my first job in here in 1994. Second job 2 years later i was rather more careful, and fortunately fell on my feet, still relatively happy 15 years later.

But I do remember from interviewing in the UK that you used to get expenses paid interviews - if the practice wanted a look at you, they covered your costs!

I take it that doesn't happen any more?

Re: Numbers of applicants

Claire Edgington — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:02:48 GMT

I travelled over 300 miles for a job interview a couple of years ago and I didn't even receive a reply to inform me if I had the job or not. I was fairly mad about it.

Re: Numbers of applicants

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:05:55 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]

I applied for a job while a final year student – "mixed practice seeks new or prospective graduate" – and received a reply I have never forgotten:

"Thank you for your application for the post of assistant. Since you are not married you would not be suitable as who would answer the phone when you were out on a call. Yours sincerely..................."

[/quote]

Ah, the good old days. But at least they replied.

Re: Numbers of applicants

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:17:52 GMT

I applied for a job while a final year student – "mixed practice seeks new or prospective graduate" – and received a reply I have never forgotten:

Re: Numbers of applicants

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:08:25 GMT

[quote user="Mark Rowland"]

Do you answer them all? I know its a courtesy to but it can take up a lot of office time. I had a similar situation when I last advertised. Mabey word has got out that you make a nice cup of tea!

[/quote]

I stopped counting how many applicants I had at 60 the last time I advertised for a trainee nurse. I personally answered every single one by email or by post, it can be a generic email or letter so long as it is personalisd to them, it takes time but I make the time. Sometimes I even go to the trouble of telling them why they failed to get the job and how to improve their chances. It is not only common courtesy but you have an obligation to do it. These are young people who may already be suffering from lowered esteem by not being able to get a job, to ignore them makes them feel even more worthless, they have after all gone to the trouble of applying so we should reply. Having seen how my children have felt in this situation when employers can't even be bothered to acknowledge their application makes this even more important to me.

Re: Numbers of applicants

Mark Holmes — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:05:27 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]at the moment making her mistakes at my expense [/quote]

Ah but she is probably working up alot of cases fully when you would recognise the picture quickly and therefore creating additional turnover. I do wonder is new grads don't generate some turnover purely from there additional caution.

Re: Numbers of applicants

Alan Tevendale — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:28:41 GMT

[quote user="Mark Rowland"]

Do you answer them all? I know its a courtesy to but it can take up a lot of office time. I had a similar situation when I last advertised. Mabey word has got out that you make a nice cup of tea!

[/quote]

Yes we reply to everyone that applies. If they apply by email then they will get an email letting them know any outcome and if by post we reply by post. I'm told I make a very nice cup of tea .

I know a fair number of new grads are doing a short stint of locum work before looking for a permanent position. I've no problem with this as long as they don't expect the same rates that an experienced locum would get.

Re: Numbers of applicants

Bob Russell — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:24:59 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

I have a new graduate doing work experience with me at the moment making her mistakes at my expense and she gives me a different angle to this: she has applied for hardly any jobs because she wants mixed practice she hasn't seen many that appeal to her and most are asking specifically for experienced vets. It doesn't surprise me that there is significant unemployment in the profession with the economic situation but this doesn't seem to have translated into a surfeit of locums - anything but.

[/quote]

The boosted numbers of newly qualified vets has only just started, especially with the new vet school feeding more to the jobs market. Are they telling prospective students that there may not be jobs in practice for them at the end of their training I wonder?

I would like to think a locum comes with experience! Experienced vets are always going to be in demand.

Re: Numbers of applicants

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:32:52 GMT

Re: Numbers of applicants

Victoria Winstanley — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 08:29:13 GMT

I never reply to posts on here but just had to chime in. As one of this years new grads, the job market is seemingly less than ideal shall we say, but I've waited this long already to acquire gainful employment so waiting a little more to find the best fit for both myself and the employer doesn't seem too bad. Anyway, it is giving me the opportunity to review an insane amount of online case studies .

What has most been worrying me is the number of new grads, that either I personally know or have heard about, that have taken jobs in small branch practices working mostly sole charge. Some are completing a few months training period at the main branch and will then be relocated but will still have the opportunity of phone support and some have just been thrown in at the deep end. A number of things bother me about this and I would love to hear people's opinions 1) Is this fair on clients? Is this providing a quality service? 2) If the new grad is working alone, where do they get the opportunity to continue their learning? Of course, there are always books etc. a but surely the whole point of the PDP is to learn in a structured environment along side more experienced vets?

Perhaps I am being slightly too idealisitc about the whole thing, but would love to hear people's thoughts.

Regards, Victoria

Re: Numbers of applicants

Busybee — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:01:12 GMT

I was a 2010 graduate and did come up against a lot of competition this time last year when applying for a job. I can only imagine it would be worse this year with class sizes bigger yet again and Nottingham's first graduate year as well. Also, as undergrads, we are encouraged to try for jobs even if they say they are looking for someone with experience - and that's how I got my job!

In most cases I did get a reply, either of an offer or a rejection, though one arrived nearly a year after I'd applied and was happily settled in my new job!

Re: Numbers of applicants

Mark Rowland — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 22:11:17 GMT

[quote user="Alan Tevendale"]

We've just been advertising for a new vet in our pracitce and after only having an advert on here and in the vet record website for 3 days had nearly 50 applicants. Interestingly almost all of these were new grads.

Any thoughts?

[/quote]

Do you answer them all? I know its a courtesy to but it can take up a lot of office time. I had a similar situation when I last advertised. Mabey word has got out that you make a nice cup of tea!

Re: Numbers of applicants

Stephen Courtney — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:35:30 GMT

Good for employers, you can cherry pick. Extremely bad for new grads.