Tuesday, Dec. 9th, 2008 (or: The Zoo)

[JonPorobil]

This past Friday, I applied to work at a company (let's call them "The Zoo"). The Zoo is a multinational corporation, so their recruitment process is, as you might expect, a bit convoluted.

After filling out a brief online application, I was sent an e-mail which told me to call an 866 number to set up an appointment. I called this number (at, like 10:00 P.M. on a Friday!) and a recruiting representative talked to me, asked me a few questions, and then told me to be at a recruiting session at a local Zoo office the following Monday (which, at the time of this writing, was yesterday). I showed up, with about twenty other people, filled out an online application, participated in a simulation, and I must have done pretty well, because they asked me to come in again today for a face-to-face interview.

I showed up for this face-to-face interview, only to have the receptionist tell me that my interviewer had asked her to tell me to reschedule by phone. I asked why, and was not given a reason.

So I called the only phone number I'd been given, which was that 866 number, and the representative told me that I would need to reschedule through the local branch of the Zoo; the call-in recruitment center doesn't handle one-on-one interviews on a local basis like that. I told the rep that I didn't have the local number for the Zoo, and the rep told me that she couldn't access that information. I asked how I was supposed to reschedule if no one would tell me who to call, and she said she would forward my case down the line with a comment on it, and asked me to call again in two days to see if anyone had resolved my issue. Uh-huh.

I'm so mad I can barely see. I'm thinking about dropping by the office again in person. Only problem is, I've already missed six hours of work for this stuff, and if I wanted to swing by their office without an appointment, I'd have to miss even more work. I get paid by the hour, so this stuff really hurts.

Sorry to lay my sob story on you guys, but this is the "Whine about your schedule" page, right?

QotD: Got any frustrating paperwork/red-tape stories?

[Hoblit]

Hey, first of all...be very very suspicious of GROUP INTERVIEWS.

I'll come back with my answer of the day but more importantly... reasons to avoid companies that have group interviews. (especially if you didn't know it was going to be a group interview until you got there)

start here:

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22group ... =firefox-a

[JonPorobil]

In general, you're right, Hobs, but The Zoo is a reputable major corporation that everyone here has heard of, and in fact it's likely that the majority of people on this board are or in the past have been customers of The Zoo. I found the job listing on The Zoo's official website. The office I went to proudly displayed The Zoo's widely-recognizable logo on its exterior, and the the simulation was clearly licensed and administered by The Zoo.

This was no scam. They're just idiots.

I'll tell you all who the Zoo is if they never get back to me. For the meantime, I'm (kinda) giving them the benefit of the doubt.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Sooooo........are you or are you not trying to get a job at the zoo?
....do you get to pet the monkeys?

Wow, I was just reading some of the Google links Hobz posted. What a good scam. I'd have a hard time seeing that one coming, and I'm pretty good at seeing bullshit coming from a mile away. Each step of the scam is so diluted, it doesn't set off any red flags. Then at the end, your lack of success is your own doing. Nice.

[Hoblit]

Sooooo........are you or are you not trying to get a job at the zoo?
....do you get to pet the monkeys?

Wow, I was just reading some of the Google links Hobz posted. What a good scam. I'd have a hard time seeing that one coming, and I'm pretty good at seeing bullshit coming from a mile away. Each step of the scam is so diluted, it doesn't set off any red flags. Then at the end, your lack of success is your own doing. Nice.

I was offered no less than three of those types of jobs when I spent that year in limbo. I always made a habit of looking up any job offer before I committed to returning the e-mail or phone call. (These aren't the ONLY job scams out there I assure you)

Generic, cool. I'm glad that it's NOT a time wasting scam interview and good luck with them sorting it out and your eventual arrest...I mean employment. I'm kidding. I hope that it does get worked out and you get the job man.

[Spud]

Obviously, they need to hire you to help them straighten this shit out.

[JonPorobil]

Obviously, they need to hire you to help them straighten this shit out.

That thought crosses my mind every single time I apply for a job. This is just the most egregious error in a long series of bad employment application experiences.

There are far more applicants out there than there are jobs right now, so it's not like big companies have any real incentive to be nice to the people who want to work for them.

[fluffy]

If employers did a better job of recruiting suitable workers who cared about their customers and business processes and the like, then maybe they wouldn't be in such a big financial mess. (I realize I am oversimplifying and that most of the financial mess is because a large segment of the population is suddenly without disposable income which has led to a ripple effect which affects everyone for reasons I don't pretend to understand.)

qotd: One thing which comes to mind was when I was doing temp work in Albuquerque, I came across a job listing for some defense contractor which was having a large group interview thing. I got scheduled for an interview but it was at a terrible time and after reading up on the company I got a pretty bad vibe from them, so I called in to cancel my interview. A week later I got a letter from them saying they enjoyed meeting me (which never happened) but they were sorry to say they didn't feel I was a good fit for any of their positions (probably true). It's a bit funny when a company tries to make a form letter seem personal.

[Caravan Ray]

If that is the way "the Zoo" recruits - they will only ever have monkeys working for them.

Do not work for that company. That is rubbish. If that is how they treat potential employees, they probably will not treat actual employees much better.

[Henrietta]

What was the "simulation" ?

[JonPorobil]

The simulation was basically a flash program with a lot of voice acting and multiple choices at certain junctures. I thought it was fairly idiot-proof, but judging by my recruiter's reaction, I did better than anyone else in the room. I also finished first by at least fifteen minutes.

So. I finally got in touch with my local Zoo office, and managed to reschedule the interview as requested. The recruiter I spoke to on the phone happened to be the same one who administered the simulation and did the preliminary interview, and he sounded very apologetic about the trouble I've had. The new interview is tomorrow morning, and if the same thing happens again, then screw 'em. If, on the other hand, it goes well tomorrow, then I'd still really like to work for them.

[fluffy]

So I'm guessing it's some sort of call center job? Good luck! I hear that can be a great career for people who have the head for it.

[Hoblit]

So I'm guessing it's some sort of call center job? Good luck! I hear that can be a great career for people who have the head for it.

group interview + group testing = group type job

Yeah, probably a call center and you're article doesn't surprise me as I suspect that the Verizon call center I have to typically call is in Texas somewhere.

I happen to know that Phoenix area is also big on large call or monitoring centers. Something about all that wide open space.

[JonPorobil]

Yeah, probably a call center and you're article doesn't surprise me as I suspect that the Verizon call center I have to typically call is in Texas somewhere.

That's odd, because I'm pretty sure that the Verizon call center I have to typically call is in India somewhere.

To answer Fluffy's question: yes, it's a call center job. Good article, by the way; I was unaware of that trend.

So yes, the interview was this morning. The interviewer told me that they waited until almost a half-hour past the scheduled interview time on Tuesday before giving up on me. I was maybe five minutes late, so I'm thinking maybe the receptionist mistook me for someone else? At least we kind of know what happened.

I'll find out whether I got the job sometime in the next 48 hours.

[Hoblit]

Yeah, probably a call center and you're article doesn't surprise me as I suspect that the Verizon call center I have to typically call is in Texas somewhere.

That's odd, because I'm pretty sure that the Verizon call center I have to typically call is in India somewhere.

And for the win...er...for the record, I used to work at a Verizon call center in Florida...somewhere.

[fluffy]

So yes, the interview was this morning. The interviewer told me that they waited until almost a half-hour past the scheduled interview time on Tuesday before giving up on me. I was maybe five minutes late, so I'm thinking maybe the receptionist mistook me for someone else? At least we kind of know what happened.

I hope the rest of the company has their act together much better than their recruiting/HR department.

(Most companies do, FWIW.)

[Spud]

I was maybe five minutes late.

I seemed to have missed this important point in your original post.

Advice: NEVER be even one minute late for a job interview. Well, unless you're just doing it to complete your unemployment benefit requirements.

SPUD

[Billy's Little Trip]

I was maybe five minutes late.

I seemed to have missed this important point in your original post.

Advice: NEVER be even one minute late for a job interview. Well, unless you're just doing it to complete your unemployment benefit requirements.

SPUD

I was thinking the same thing. We seem to have a 25 minute discrepancy here.

[fluffy]

I think what Mr. Eric is saying is that he arrived 5 minutes late for his interview Thursday morning, and that previously they were expecting him to arrive at some time on Tuesday and gave up waiting half an hour later.

[Spud]

That is not the way I read it.

...they waited until almost a half-hour past the scheduled interview time on Tuesday before giving up on me. I was maybe five minutes late...

Five minutes to you is a half an hour to them. They are more important than you, so that's the way it works.

[fluffy]

I think you're missing this part:

So yes, the interview was this morning. The interviewer told me that they waited until almost a half-hour past the scheduled interview time on Tuesday

[Hoblit]

That is not the way I read it.

...they waited until almost a half-hour past the scheduled interview time on Tuesday before giving up on me. I was maybe five minutes late...

Five minutes to you is a half an hour to them. They are more important than you, so that's the way it works.

I read it as though he were 5 minutes late but someone else got HIS interview. They we're still waiting for him.

He says that they must have mixed him up with somebody else. IF this is true the it must have taken them at least 30 minutes into the interview of this other fellow before they realize he wasn't Jon.

This could have been avoided if say... he were early for the interview. Which should always be the case by rule.

*Hoblit sighs, slowly shakes his head, and crosses his arms like a disappointed father.