[rescue] Do you remember when? Security software.....

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

On Mon, Aug 11, 2003 at 03:20:12PM -0400, Curtis H. Wilbar Jr. wrote:

> I don't know... but I've been thinking about putting certifications
> I don't have on my resume' (with some little sidenote somewhere about
> "in process") to see if I get more responses.... I'll be pretty friggin'
> mad if I do....  only closeminded morons operate this way....

This is actually pretty common now.

With most hiring (it seems) moved to search engines, either on the web
or internally with scanning resumes into a big database, HR has lost all
pretense of doing its job in most companies.

They scan for buzzwords.  If you don't have them, tough luck.

Just earlier this year I was talking to an HR-droid about a position
running SunOS 5.7.  She said, "Oh, I'm sorry, you don't have that
skill."

I tried to tell her that SunOS 5.x is the same as Solaris, but
she insisted it had to be different or it would not be in their
requirements.

Another shop would not hire me because I had Solaris 2.6 listed, and
they said I was too outdated because they wanted Solaris 8 people.  I
was "several revisions behind".

It is completely lost on these morons that any good UNIX hacker can
use most any other UNIX, usually in very short time periods.  They
don't seem to understand the concept of "professional" as being someone
trained to figure things out.  The idea that you can RTFM to do a job is
beyond their understanding.

Most of the products shops want to use really are not hard to learn,
and I mean within a week or so, a month to become an expert.  If they
aren't willing to put that much time into an employee, then they have
some serious problems.

> Besides how would an HR dept check to know that you really had the certs ?
> 
> All this upsets me... I hope I'm wrong in that that is why I am not getting
> interviews.... errr.... 

I hate to tell you this, but you might have to lie to get a job these
days.

I am thinking of changing my resume to have a line of keywords in it,
just to trigger their search engines.  I have checked several places
that I know had my resume, and they told me straight up that it was
nothing but having the wrong keywords that cost me the interview and
very probably the job.

It sucks, bad.  But I feel like I'm being dishonest if I alter my
resume.  I've pretty conservative in my resume, even leaving out things
which I've just not done recently enough to be proficient in, or where
my learning curve might be a bit long.

Around here, its rare to find a company that will take a resume that you
send them directly.  Try showing up in their office to turn one in or
ask about employment, and they think you are a wierdo or something.

Local employers bitch about not finding good people all the time, but
they do the following:

* they don't advertise their positions... I mean, duh!
* they won't hire direct
* they offer crappy salaries that attract bottom-barrel people
* they do almost zero technical screening
* they try to use a search engine to do their hiring
* they require a security clearance which most of the workforce doesn't
  have

Sheesh...



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