Why employers don't reply to your CV's & letters...

Audders

Registered User
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I was reading Greenfields very interesting post about assisting job seekers with tips on applying for jobs. Much sense spoken!

However, can anyone tell me why employers don't answer letters / job applications? It has to be one of the most most soul destroying aspects for the job seeker. Surely it is only common manners to respond?

I'd be especially interested in hearing from HR people on this?

I mean, even if the employer says they don't have the resources to respond (i.e: admin staff); how long realistically does it take to mail merge a generic response saying 'thanks but no thanks.....you did not meet criteria'.......or even an email using BCC.........? And surely it's worth staying on an extra hour some day t do this, considering the time the applicants have put into the application?

Audders

It is so rude and is one of the things that gets on my goat SO much.
 
Tell me about it.In august i sent 87 cv's to hotels around ireland.I have all my certs and qualified in the hotel dept.I got 3 im sorry letters.not as much as an email form the other 84.As a single mom on s.w i'm doing my upmost to get out of the s.w system and things like this really buggeer me off.
 
There's a difference between solicited and unsolicited. I would expect an employer to respond to solicited, when the role was successfully filled. I wouldn't expect them to respond to unsolicited, especially if they are at the receiving end of a mailshot. That's not to say they shouldn't respond.
 
As someone who in my time like cleverclogs7 sent lots of CVs with no response and knows how dispiriting that can be, I always reply to applications. As Audders says, it is a simple mailmerge exercise and I like to acknowledge anyone who has taken time to show an interest in our Company.

The problem with mass-mailing your CV to lots of employers is that most people use a generic "please find attached my CV" covering letter. I think in the current climate that is extremely unlikely to get a positive response from an employer. I think there are some basic things you have to do if you are sending unsolicited CV's:

1. Your covering letter should be addressed to the person who has the power to give you the job (that is probably not the HR manager unless you want to work in HR). You may have to pick up the phone and try and get that information our of the receptionist. Maybe you can figure it out from the website.
2. Your letter has to explain why your are interested in the particular company and what you have to offer them.
3. I would finish the letter by saying that you will phone to discuss the application.
4. Phone and try and get past the receptionist and the secretary and get to speak to the line manager.

Maybe some other contributors will have more time to add to this...
 
Speaking from a smaller employer's perspective, there's absolutely no way that we'd reply to letters, ie posted CVs.
We simply don't have the time or resources. It's a constant struggle with statutory compliance as it is.

We do respond to emailed CVs that don't go to spam, with a canned response. If we were ever looking for someone, we'd refer to these CVs. The more likely scenario, is that we'll be writing our own CVs!
 
Put it this way, do you reply to every leaflet (that exhorts you to reply) put through your door? These are junk mail, unsolicited and almost an intrusion. Maybe a few years ago this would have worked but not now. It's just the reality of things.
 
Agree. If we have the time we'll sometimes respond to the more relevant letters but those who send completely irrelevant applications for jobs that don't exist are unlikely to get any sort of acknowledgment.

As for those who follow up irrelevant unsolicited email applications, with impatient indignant emails wanting to know why we haven't replied? - and this is surprisingly common IME - they would probably have no chance of ever being employed by us.
 
I got a reply once that was handwritten and it read:

'Sorry post filled'.

No address, nada else.
 
I applied last Oct to DES to correct Home Economics LC Journals for the first time. I had requested the dates for the conferences and so knew they were going on 21st/22nd November. I had to ring four times to see if I had been successful but was finally told due to the large volume of correctors available I hadn't. A simple letter would have been professional. For the years previous there had been a shortage of correctors........
 
Job applications these days are fire and forget. Very few have the resources to reply to all applications. If someones interested in you they'll get back to you. otherwise forget about it. End of story.
 
As someone who in my time like cleverclogs7 sent lots of CVs with no response and knows how dispiriting that can be, I always reply to applications. As Audders says, it is a simple mailmerge exercise and I like to acknowledge anyone who has taken time to show an interest in our Company.

The problem with mass-mailing your CV to lots of employers is that most people use a generic "please find attached my CV" covering letter. I think in the current climate that is extremely unlikely to get a positive response from an employer. I think there are some basic things you have to do if you are sending unsolicited CV's:

1. Your covering letter should be addressed to the person who has the power to give you the job (that is probably not the HR manager unless you want to work in HR). You may have to pick up the phone and try and get that information our of the receptionist. Maybe you can figure it out from the website.
2. Your letter has to explain why your are interested in the particular company and what you have to offer them.
3. I would finish the letter by saying that you will phone to discuss the application.
4. Phone and try and get past the receptionist and the secretary and get to speak to the line manager.

Maybe some other contributors will have more time to add to this...


your point 1 and 2 had been done cover letter had Dear .........bla,bla,bla,wishing to apply for mentioned position at the such and such hotel.Jobs were advertised so its not like i was just doing it ramdomly.
If ever i have not been sucessful and sent an email telling me so,i make it common curtisy to reply back a "thank you for the acknowledgement"email.
 
In august i sent 87 cv's to hotels around ireland.

So how many other people do you think have mass mailshotted their CV?

Businesses are other pressure at the moment. They are cutting staff. They cannot allocate someone to respond to every application they get.

i make it common curtisy to reply back a "thank you for the acknowledgement"email.

This just adds to the mail problem.

Some people are not just happy with a "No thanks" letter. They stay in touch trying to find out why they were not considered.

It is hugely time consuming.

Brendan
 
A friend of mine has been unemployed since last June. Despite over 25 years experience, she has had two interviews since then. She religiously sends off to job applications online, through agencies, etc. All of these are in response to advertised positions and not unsolicited mail merges. She rarely even gets a response.

If a position is advertised, I do not think it is too much to expect a reply. Some companies respond with a quite generic "we will contact successful canditates within 14 days "(or whatever)," so at least you know if you dont hear back within that time frame then you have been unsuccessful. I think that is fair enough.
 
Many jobs that agencies advertise do not actually exist at all. It is often used to enable agencies accumulate a list of suitable candidates that they can then get on their books.
They will then send emails/flyers/spam to tons of companies outlining the excellent lsit of candidates they have on ther books.
It is a form of advertising for them as well, makes them look like a big agency with loads of jobs available so that employers may be impressed by them.
 
So how many other people do you think have mass mailshotted their CV?

Businesses are other pressure at the moment. They are cutting staff. They cannot allocate someone to respond to every application they get.



This just adds to the mail problem.

Some people are not just happy with a "No thanks" letter. They stay in touch trying to find out why they were not considered.

It is hugely time consuming.

Brendan


If hotels have no positions open then why the hell do they advertise on jobs.ie,irishjobs.ie,myhoteljobs.ie and so on.Just to get dumbasses like me to send off cv's? i dont think so.
 
Many jobs that agencies advertise do not actually exist at all. It is often used to enable agencies accumulate a list of suitable candidates that they can then get on their books.
They will then send emails/flyers/spam to tons of companies outlining the excellent lsit of candidates they have on ther books.
It is a form of advertising for them as well, makes them look like a big agency with loads of jobs available so that employers may be impressed by them.


Totally agree.caterest ? i think is one agency that comes to mind.I dont uses agents i just seek out the hotels that advertise careers on there web page.
 
If hotels have no positions open then why the hell do they advertise on jobs.ie,irishjobs.ie,myhoteljobs.ie and so on.Just to get dumbasses like me to send off cv's? i dont think so.

Are they advertised my hotels or agencies. I reckon only about 1 in 10 of the jobs advertised my agencies is genuine. Your wasting you time with most of those applications. Looks at the hotel own websites, or places like FAS for a realistic vacancies.

Also as general advice to all. Don't really only on the internet to get jobs. Look at the papers, look at companies, in your field. Often there may be jobs that are not advertised. Hundreds if not thousands will apply to the online jobs.
 
Are they advertised my hotels or agencies. I reckon only about 1 in 10 of the jobs advertised my agencies is genuine. Your wasting you time with most of those applications. Looks at the hotel own websites, or places like FAS for a realistic vacancies.

Also as general advice to all. Don't really only on the internet to get jobs. Look at the papers, look at companies, in your field. Often there may be jobs that are not advertised. Hundreds if not thousands will apply to the online jobs.

Online cant always be trusted. Its too easy to scam. I prefer the personal approach of just getting out there and approaching employers
 
Some people are not just happy with a "No thanks" letter. They stay in touch trying to find out why they were not considered.

It is hugely time consuming.
I don't think it is all unreasonable for an applicant to get some decent feedback that will help them applying for similar positions in the future. In public sector recruitment, the reason for not shortlisting a candidate will always be available. If if they made it through shortlisting, their scores by category will be made available.
 
I don't think it is all unreasonable for an applicant to get some decent feedback that will help them applying for similar positions in the future. In public sector recruitment, the reason for not shortlisting a candidate will always be available. If if they made it through shortlisting, their scores by category will be made available.

Reasonable has nothing to do with it. Its simply not worth the effort and most places wouldn't have the resources to do it. The public sector shouldn't be wasting resources on it either.
 
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