Am I unemployable? We’ve been running this job vacancies blog now for some time and, to date, there are over 600 posts on the site. In this time, we’ve covered a wide range of jobs – from being an entertainer on a cruise ship and a Santa Claus to working in a bank and decommissioning North Sea oil platforms . We’ve offered advice on things from working abroad to knowing your rights about the Royal Wedding Bank Holiday (our most popular page).
We’ve had some really incisive responses from you, too. Some very valid questions about employment contracts have been raised and we’ve had gritty and riveting first hand accounts from people facing redundancy or battling against (to them) unwanted supermarkets which will provide jobs for others.
Recommended: How to Avoid Working – Top Tips To Be Unsuccessful At Your Job Application
However we’ve also had more than our share of truly daft comments. Now, normally, these would just be deleted, however, I think they give an insight into why some people really are unemployable. So, if the cap fits, maybe you should think very carefully before you don it.
I’m putting these comments into three different categories – falling into any of which is more than enough to queer the pitch for a potential jobseeker. With a ratio of up to 60 to 1 chasing a job vacancy, any negative element is likely to immediately disqualify your application.
Remember we are a jobs website. We advise people about getting jobs, keeping jobs and all jobs-related problems. We do not represent the companies whose job vacancies (or redundancies) we discuss.
Spelling, grammar and punctuation
Submitting an application with bad spelling and grammar is inexcusable. Not only that, it can make your writing hard to understand and, with a big heap of CV’s and letters to wade through, yours will go straight into the ‘Cranks’ heap.
Here are some examples of what we’ve received (they aren’t edited except where clearly indicated). These messages are not spam, by the way.
- “need a jobs any great people help me my child pray for u always please help me”
- “So now we want to supply worker in foreign. We are doing work with legal ways. So if we got a chance to work With your company then we will be happy to listen from your side. And we will do work with your company to consider your rule and regulation. We will always attention to take work punctuality. So we request to you give to us chance to work with your company. We will provide to you best service from our side and our company will do work with you proper manners.”
- “Inform you that I was café coffee day worked 4years . I think will go want job the Costa coffee please inform to me Reply me”
If you think any of those are OK, then save yourself a lot of trouble and don’t apply for any more jobs.
Incorrectness
Some people just don’t get it – we are clearly not the companies we review (nor do we pretend to be). Therefore anyone writing to us about a job vacancy just hasn’t bothered to read what we do.
- “How will we apply?”
- “There does not appear to be anywhere to apply!”
- “I am very interested in applying here, does anyone have any ideas how I could?”
- “Please could u send me details on the new café in please”
These just scream sloppiness. Why give a job to someone who is already telling you that they can’t make the effort to first engage their brain?
Etiquette and manners
These are just plain old-fashioned attributes but they still count a lot (thank goodness). If you are going to write to someone, especially someone you don’t know, have some courtesy about you. Simple greetings and an expression of gratitude for services to be rendered cost nothing and make the world of difference. The following quotes are reproduced in full (i.e. there was nothing before or after them).
- “Looking for job in CONSTRUCTION/project management”
- “there is no number for for me to contact for job vacancies”
- “I am looking for job at ”
- “Food assistant and Visual merchandising assistant“
- “Job interest”
- “want to know about work type and salary”
Am I unemployable? If you would also think about writing anything as ‘bald’ as these on a potential employer’s website, forget the job – you won’t get it.
People have also posted all manner of personal information which we’ve had to delete. If we didn’t have a moderator approval system, these snippets of data would be all over the internet with potentially dire consequences.
The internet is undoubtedly an invaluable tool but it doesn’t mean that being ill-mannered, ungrammatical, illogical or just plain careless will put your name in the frame for your chosen job. To many of you (hopefully), it may be stating the obvious but any message should contain a:
- Salutation
- Polite request
- Gratitude
… in that order.
The message should be grammatical with no spelling mistakes, fully compliant with any stated instructions, and be directed to the right organisation/department/person.
Remember, if you don’t comply with this, you might well find your message being deleted – in just the same way as the samples we’ve put here are going to be.
Not only that, you are almost certainly making yourself unemployable.