I felt the need to blog about this as it frustrates the life out of me.
What am I talking about you’re wondering? Well, I will tell you and try not ‘rant’ (But i might)
So, what is frustrating me is this; Recruiters, employers, that don’t hire people based on ‘age’ or for not having certain ‘qualifications’ I am sure they end up shutting out a lot of great potential candidates because of this.
I have seen it so many times in recruitment ad’s ‘A bachelors degree essential’ errr.. why? or ‘Degree preferred’ again, why? Especially in the PA roles, this seems to me ridiculous. Employ someone on their merit and experience, don’t put them in a box of a job advert and then not look at any CV’s that haven’t got that certain qualification.
I’m not just talking about PA jobs either, I have also seen this for people I know that work in finance. They are looking for a new job, they have been a good solid finance job for over 8 years, has over 10 years worth of finance experience, but can’t get a new job due to that fact that he is not ‘ACCA’ or ‘CIMA’ qualified, they don’t care about his great experience, they just dismiss CV or if he is lucky enough to get an interview, because the job spec says the certain qualification is ‘desirable’ he might as well have not bothered as he always gets to the 2nd stage of the interview and then hears he has been unsuccessful because…. ‘They really want someone qualified’ !!!!!! and…. breathe!!! But this is what frustrates me. Why can’t some people look beyond qualifications sometimes. Yes, I know they are needed in some professions but when the job spec is identical to the job you are doing now or very similar and they don’t give you a chance because of those 4 letters above?! It just doesn’t make any sense to me.
The other box is ‘age’ I wish more employers would give over 50’s a chance. There are quite a few out there looking for work, not through choice but they can’t retire due to money issues, or they lost their job just before retirement and need to carry on working. It is such a struggle for them. I have told some older friends that are looking, to take their age off their CV’s as unfortunately it does them no favours. I just wish people wouldn’t look at age and the person that is in front of them or the experience on the CV, before they dismiss them completely just because they think they’re ‘too old’ Makes me cross!
So recruiters/employers out there…Please please please don’t people in boxes and give people a chance. Give someone the precious break they might need so desperately… Look beyond qualifications and age. Hire the ‘right’ people not people that just tick boxes on your job advertisement.
Rant…. over! Told you it would turn into a bit of a rant.
It's all about me! 