Calling when ad says "no calls please"

coupla points gand:

because i have a system that works for me -- one you obviously disagree with -- doesn't, for a second, describe what it's like to work in my department. have some people through the years thought i was a prick? yup, but that goes along with actually asking some total fucking burnouts to actually earn their pay checks. but i still have friendships with folks i've worked with -- some dating back many years -- in different time zones across the country ... talked with two of them this morning as a matter of fact. stop with the 'tom's an asshole because he doesn't take phone calls' shit because it truly does make you look like an utter fucktard because you're, essentially, talking out of your ass about something you know nothing about.

second, yes, buy me a double vodka at a titty bar and your stock rises ... dramatically, as long as you're smart enough not to tell mrs. petty about said location drink was consumed.

 

greatness...I'd still probably work for you, you no call taking son-of a bitch.

Regards,

Fucktard

 

so i'm doing a phone interview today with an out-of-state applicant and the guy keeps referring to pudunk hills, instead of podunk. i can look past once, maybe twice, but this guy does it like 10 times during a 20-minute interview. needless to say there won't be an in-person interview.

not five minutes later, i get a phone call from another applicant, saying she'd sent me her resume this week and and what did i think? i tell her i've received about 50 resumes and haven't looked at hers, which seems to take her aback. of course the ad said "no phone calls."

thank god, the fresh-out-of-college kid did well in a two-day trial and the interview coming in thursday sounds like a keeper because the two today weren't.

 

You know, it seems simple enough that when it says no calls, you don't call.

But when i was searching for a job last spring, basically all of my professors told me that I needed to be aggressive and call to show interest, even if it said no calls. Told me it showed ambition and that I was actually interested in the position and not just mass mailing my resume...

kind of conflicting messages there.

 

and when's the last time that professor was in the job market.

 

It's been awhile, tx, which is why I generally ignored that advice and stuck to emails.


but if there's other professors out there spinning that "sell yourself aggressively" doctrine, then that could explain why some of us younger whippersnappers have trouble following instructions in ads...

 

Fellas, this is the exact reason journalism faces such a crisis. A decent and aggressive journalist should make an inquiry call for a job. It does show interest and if someone is brave enough to make the call, they certainly should have a plan as to not waste any time on the call. It's shows the process of building a relationship.

Tx, it's incredibly arrogant to assume that tenured professors are out of the game and don't understand. Perhaps it's you that has been in the game too long...ever consider looking at yourself in the mirror. If you are posting a job, that means that you need someone to come and work for you. On the level you are describing, it sounds as if you are hiring for an entry level position. Those hires may be the most important and the process deserves real attention on all 50 resumes. We are discussing young peoples lives and most of the young ones are still under the spell that journalism is a noble profession.

In my industry, we too place no call labels on ads. However, it is to weed out the individuals that don't call and the ones that do who fly by the seat of their pants. I'm always looking for the individual willing to take a risk, dig deep to find the proper contact and make the call. Then, once I'm on the phone, look to make a positive impression in a short amount of time. To me, these are the people that not only want the job, but will work and think outside the box and give us the creative diversity we need to succeed. The same can be said for a sports journalist. The one who's prepared in making the call, is likely the one who can build lasting relationships and is likely to break stories long before the competition.

In your defense, it sounds as though your two callers were unprepared and I can appreciate that assessment.

 

Couldn't have said it better. People who called me up with these kinds of inquiries without even asking whether I had a minute to spare could immediately be classified as clueless inconsiderates.

 

Not under any circumstances.

Back when my shop was still hiring a full-time reporter, I INSISTED that my boss include "no calls please" because the last thing I want is for someone to call me to schedule an interview if I have no intentions of interviewing him or her.

You have no idea how off-putting hearing someone call to schedule an interview is when you post an e-mail address and leave explicit instructions to e-mail resume and clips.

 

Exactly. It's much better when they just show up at your house.

 

that's pretty funny.

 

A phone call is an interruption while an e-mail isn't. Simple as that.