DC Area: BS job postings ?

What has been your experience with BS job postings ? I feel like some of these jobs I apply for aren't actually available positions and the company is just testing the waters or posting it up because their required to post.

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Essendon

I cant speak for the US, but over here too I have seen such postings. The same job's posted over and over. A mate's mate is a recruiter and he told him they have a KPI for the number of resumes (fresh or otherwise) they get every week. If you see a job being reposted repeatedly, don't bother applying. Sometimes though, it's possible they haven't been able to find a good fit hence the reposts.

Nersesian

DC resident here. You have one of two things happening (I'm only aware of these two), which unfortunately is par for the course depending on what type of positions you're applying for.

Government sector gigs - If there is an opening within the fed, they are obligated by law to make the posting available to the general public even if they have no intention of hiring from outside the agency. This results in places like usajobs.gov being flooded with these awesome career options you will never get called on. Its been my experience, these are sometimes hard to flag from a seeker's perspective as they all carry the same government formatting. Even if the agency posting the job is interested in external applicants, you're going to have a rough go of it if you're not prior military which will bump you to the front of the line, regardless of qualifications. I'm not taking a position on this issue, but its the truth. This has resulted in me completely avoiding usajobs as I've got a better chance of flinging a handful of resumes out the window on the GW Parkway.

Staffing agencies - These vultures are some of the worst here. They know the skill sets most commonly in demand and prey on that by flooding CL, Dice and Indeed with these fanciful "potential contracts" that will never come to fruition. What they're actually doing is building their base of contacts so they can show whatever recruiting monkey they report to they've done something for the day. Its so much worse if someone doesn't have any experience with these wastes of space and gets drug out to some office complex in NOVA to fill out a profile survey. If you live in the district like I do, you're looking at at least an hour in the car, $10 for parking and burning an entire day sweating up a good suit. Not the end of the world certainly, but if you're job hunting, its going to sting a bit. I don't entertain face to face meetings anymore unless its to fill out tax paperwork. If a recruiter can't Skype me or send paperwork via email (fax, carrier pigeon, whatever) I ain't going. I had one get me about a year ago (http://www.hirestrategy.com/) who was in the district, and had a position that read like it was tailored for my resume. Funny how that works. After two hours and $30 in parking, I never heard from them again.

wolfinsheepsclothing

^What I was going to post (verbatim)

Gorby

I had the same experience with hire strategy! ! Years ago I wasted a day going to dc paying for parking, putting on a suit for a position that was much different than described.

nachodba

I'm in Alexandria, and sometimes you will have situations where the company already has someone lined up for the job but the company has to interview for the position.
Also, they could just be looking for the right candidate. I was the 80th interview for my position, which had been open for 8 months .

Nersesian

@nachodba I sincerely hope you're happy with your employer. That said, 80 interviews sounds like a major red flag, but in this economy I would have probably stuck it out as well.

80 really is a crazy number if you think about it for a second. 80 phone screenings, 80 times coming down to reception, 80 times covering my same set of interview questions. Over a period of 8 months, you're averaging two or three a week for the same open gig.

[Deleted User]

I think he is saying that he was the 80th candidate to interview for the position not that he had 80 interviews.

Edit: Maybe I'm reading your post wrong.. it's Monday.

Nersesian

xmalachi wrote: »

I think he is saying that he was the 80th candidate to interview for the position not that he had 80 interviews.

Edit: Maybe I'm reading your post wrong.. it's Monday.

I assumed he was the 80th candidate interviewing for a position and took the stance of placing myself in the position of the company performing 80 interviews for one open position.

I also could be wrong...its Monday here too.