Employment

I agree, They do a horrible job in replying to candidates. I even have a job agent and still don't get replies. I have seen this ad for new store on here for at least a month and a half. No way for me.

Have you thought about calling or sending a follow-up note to them? Don't slam the company just because your follow-up tactics aren't up to par. Call the HR dept and check on the status of your application.

Umma Dono said: Have you thought about calling or sending a follow-up note to them? Don't slam the company just because your follow-up tactics aren't up to par. Call the HR dept and check on the status of your application.

Since you're in HR and you've opened up this discussion about follow up with HR dept. How can you follow up when there is no information or is a blind ad? For instance, you can hit Apply Now with Monster, Careerbuilder, etc. and get a "Your Resume has been received", but, how do you get the real status?
I've applied for probably over 40 positions over 2 months and 10% of time get a response. I do try to track down company info using google, whitepages.com, etc. Is there any other way (except for one service that wanted $15.99/month) to find the real HR contact? If I respond to the "response e-mail address", does my note even get to the right person or does it just go to the electronic waste basket?
Thanks

I am in HR for a large pharmaceutical company. No longer is the process involving a recruiter and their assistants. Large organizations have multiple layers of HR professionals. My specific role involves screening candidates to decide who is qualified to be called for a phone screening. I do this for positions throughout the United States, accounting for roughly 300 positions. PLEASE do not call me or continuously apply. Do you really want to annoy the people who are screening? Send in your information, if they like you they will call. If they do not like you (as a candidate), consider two options: reformat your resume to make it flow better and easier to understand (avoid long sentences and paragraphs, cut to the chase as you have 15-30 seconds to get your info out there), or reconsider the positions to which you are applying (if your degree is in music and you have no chemistry experience, do not apply to a chemist position).

The most important thing to remember is this is a numbers game. You must apply to as many positions as possible to get an interview, you must interview as many places as possible to get an offer, you must get as many offers as possibly to get what you want. Do not be afraid to apply to 100-200 positions, employment has a direct impact on your life so there is no time for apathy.

Oh get off your high horse! I must really suck to be you. People are desparate for a well paying job. And when you get one, your employer suddenly decides to fire you so they can replace you with someone who will take a lower rate of pay. Try seeing this from our viewpoint, if you please. My husband was "At Will-ed" from a job last year. He had never been written up for anything. Never had a bad review. You could count on one hand how many days he missed in 15 years and still have fingers left over. When they fired him, they wouldn't even look him in the eye! We have two daughters in college and now, after one year of very few callbacks, we have to cut off any aid we would have given them. The only thing the colleges can offer is more loans. Wow! Just what we need, more debt!

Just last week, a prospective employer HR weenie told him that all his references had checked out and he had passed the background check. (Duh!) He needed to be in Dallas on next Sunday so he could start training on Monday. He called his prospective supervisor yesterday to ask a question about the training and was told that they decided not to hire him and didn't the HR weenie call him to tell him??? Good thing he didn't take them at their word that he had a job, huh?

Angela,

If what you are saying is true then you must consider some legal options against your husband's prior employer. The term "At Will" does not mean that an employer can fire someone for ANY reason they choose. For instance, if your husband is over the age of 40 and they released him just to hire someone younger that will work for less money, then they are in violation of EEOC compliance. Person's over the age of 40 are protected.

My advice was not a shot at anybody, or intended to be taken as arrogance on my part. I am very knowledgeable in this field and have seen many people wasting their time applying to the wrong positions or just not building an effective resume. It is really discouraging on this end too. I see so many people wasting their time applying to jobs that are not a good fit (remember, we know what the hiring managers are looking for in a candidate). Please make sure that he has a solid resume, concise and free of errors. It is the best way to get past the initial screen. Then research the company, its products, and its corporate culture prior to any interview, phone or face to face.

Lastly, if the company with the weenie in HR treated your husband so poorly prior to starting, how would they treat him after 5 years on the job? Not a great corporate culture. Please say that he had a formal offer letter. If so, you might have some avenues to pursue. I am by no means sue crazy, but I have seen companies treat their people quite poorly and want to ensure that problems are rectified.

Best wishes.

MB:

Sorry for the "tone." I'm so very frustrated and getting a little desparate. I suppose a re-write of his resume would be in order. We went so far as to have my employer call his former employer to see what kind of reference they gave. My boss was told that they wanted the questions in writing and it would cost $30 to get a reference. Maybe I've been out of the loop, but I've never heard of that before.

Unfortunately, this employer is the only one that is still in business, so other former employers are out of the question.

Also unfortunately, the offer of employment was verbal. This company did three interviews with my hubby and we really believed he was finally employed. Needless to say, this has been a setback for his self esteem. Oh, well, you have a point about their lack of professionalism and scruples.

We continue to apply for positions in loss prevention. He has a great deal of time and training invested, it would be a shame to just trash that. Oh, BTW, he is over 40. We sometimes think that fact might play a part in why he gets so few calls.

Angela,

I might recommend Lowe's as a place to search. They do have a loss prevention team in each store and I have heard that they are an excellent employer in terms of pay, benefits, and even stock offerings. The invest a pretty substantial amount into loss prevention and it could be worth a look.

The key to a foot in the door is a solid resume. I cannot stress this enough.

Instead of: "I worked in loss prevention as a team member to reduce internal losses."

Consider:

Loss Prevention Member
-focused heavily on internal shrinkage
-encouraged employee interaction with team
-etc, etc...

This (albeit weak example) makes it easier for screeners to get to the essence of the job seeker's experience. We like that. Give details, emphasize the the things that your husband was spearheading. Sell the companies on your husband. You want the people to feel foolish for not giving him a chance. If you can do that, he did not just crack the door open, he kicked it in.

I understand the frustration and the demoralization associated with a rejection, I had been rejected for more than a few dates in the past. I stuck with it and eventually married a keeper. With 15 years of experience and no negative reviews, the company with the weenie in HR lost out. It may allow him to kick down a bigger and better door. It is tough, but you guys need to keep your heads high and keep up the search. Opportunities are out there, even when sometimes it does not seem like it.

No worries about the tone, I am in HR... I have thick skin. Please do a google search on resume building, there are many sites out there that can offer ideas for free. Rarely is there a need to hire someone for those services.

One last thing, I am making an assumption, so forgive me if I am wrong, many resumes I have seen from people who are in loss prevention also have a military background. Texas has an excellent WIA program for veterans.

MB, thank you for your encouragement. It's just what we needed. I'll look at his resume and see if I can refresh it. I wrote it for him many years ago and we've just updated it with each new employer, but no real "sprucing" up. There has been WAY too much "life" going on with us lately and this was just the cherry on the top. He really is a good regional loss prevention manager and even taught himself how to make some pretty complicated Excel spreadsheets. I should know, that's what I do for a living. LOL

Worst company I ever worked for,management is very poor,culture is like a prison with big brother over your shoulder,stay away from this company.

One thing that got more responses on my resume was to use the job with the product used.
Compiled mothly reports, exported excel results into powerpoint, etc.
Having just that change, and down to 2 pages helped get more results.

OMG, this have to be the worst company to work for in America. I work at Marshalls here in Memphis,TN for about 1.5 years. I was 16 at the time. Man-o-Man.....talk about strict budgeting. These store sales volume ranage from $4-$7 Million. I do have to say they run there stores like a overseas sweat shop. I don't know about there Store Managers, but there Assistant Store Manager (Customer Service/HR ) & Assistant Store Manager (Merchandising) are so under paid for the job they due. There pay range from about $34000-$36000 yearly. But the thing about it is....they don't have enough staff to work there sales floor and push there merchandise out. They make there schedule and start with monday cutting hours..it is so funny. You may be schedule to work 28 hours....but at the end of the week you end up with 12-15 hours. They really need to improve the way they treat there employees. I can't believe stuff like this can happen and is ok in America

I worked for the company for 3 years ...It is a sweat shop...The negative comments above are true . It is not in your best interest to work for this company, iwas in managment they will promise you the world and send you to hell.

Has anyone worked for the corporate office in Framingham? I am kinda interested in their corporate supply chain positions.
Any comment would help.
Thanks

Angela in San Antonio, Texas said: MB, thank you for your encouragement. It's just what we needed. I'll look at his resume and see if I can refresh it. I wrote it for him many years ago and we've just updated it with each new employer, but no real "sprucing" up. There has been WAY too much "life" going on with us lately and this was just the cherry on the top. He really is a good regional loss prevention manager and even taught himself how to make some pretty complicated Excel spreadsheets. I should know, that's what I do for a living. LOL

Other loss prevention places that may be worth considering:
K-Mart/Sears
Target (pays $43k in this area for folks who just have a bachelors's degree and NO experience.)

There's a website - www.lpjobs.com - that lists ALL recently posted jobs from a lot of major companies. Might find something there!

The TJX Companies claim to have superb culture and diversity, but in the truth is they strongly lack both. I am a former employee of their company and believe me, anyone even considering this place should really re-think things through. If you do get hired in, make sure you check your thoughts and ideas at the door, because they don't matter. This was the absolute worst company I ever worked for. It's great for people who just want to be robots and do what is asked of you no matter if it is good or bad for the company. Believe me you don't want to be in that type of situation. Just stay patient something else will come along that's much better.

yoho said: Worst company I ever worked for,management is very poor,culture is like a prison with big brother over your shoulder,stay away from this company.

Amen yoho that is so true, keep it real.

If people knew how they treated the employees, they would not shop at TJ maxx , marshalls ot any of the stores ir operates.

I was an OPS manager for one of tjx stores- for over 3 yrs-
I never saw any online apps.
In fact we were so desperate at times we hired every walk in we could.
If you really want to work for them walk in and apply.

I have been working for Marhalls for aprox. 3 years.I am a merchandise Coordinator and let me tell you, you are soooooo right. This company do not care about their employees. Bussines are great but hours are cut. You have to do the job of at least 3 people. Follow rules from a District Manager that does not know anything about how to run the floor. Work with Managers that are sooooo affraid of the District Manager ,they can't make any decisions. Follow stupid rules from coorporate that compromise sales!!!!!! Wages are sooo low we cannot keep the employees. How you like $7.00 an hour to start for a cashier?????

Probably the worse company in the u.s and probably worse than Walmart for sure. This is a non-retail store and the abuse that goes on this job place is horrific. When i mean abuse i mean verbal abuse towards their employees. Assistant managers are under so much stress that they need to vent there frustrations out on the employees. Customer service people have it the worse and are very underpaid..