Thread by @jodiecongirl

I've noticed that a number of jobs I've applied to have reposted their job listings, so I'm becoming more inclined to name and shame (well, not always shame) in case it's helpful to others

first one's not a shame so much as an example of how things should work, since I'm basically a wuss...

so I applied for an economist position at Zillow, since hey, I'm an economist, it says economist, that seems to make sense...had a conversation with the recruiter that went fine.... linkedin.com/jobs/view/econ…

the next step was to send me an assignment to complete that basically sent along a data sample and then asked some reasonably open-ended questions...now, I've learned that some people are super opposed to this on principle but I think it's fantastic

like, I absolutely, definitely think I learn more about someone via this type of process (analytical abilities, motivation, meeting deadlines, ability to communicate) than from conversing with someone about their resume talking points

I also think it is more fair to people who can actually do things but haven't for whatever reason had fancy sounding education or job titles, since they have an opportunity to prove themselves

spoiler: they decided I was overqualified after I turned in the assignment =P BUT...they were very upfront about saying as such and kicked me over to another job, which is another "how things should work" part

I do worry though that they would have just rejected me outright if there wasn't a place to kick me over to, which wouldn't really be fair to someone that needs a job and showed interest in the position

that said, if you know any junior-y people that could benefit from being given an opportunity to prove themselves, you should send them the job listing

I do wonder, however, what on earth is going on when my actual competence is rated higher than my initial perceived competence- am I that bad at writing resumes? (probably, honestly)

oh another funny thing- I got asked multiple times whether I was ok with public speaking, and I figured it was so obvious that I was eventually like "do you even google bro?" turns out that some companies have policies of not googling potential employees, so I was the jerk =P

I see the logic of this policy, but it seems more reasonable to google and only look at things that are within the purview of a professional profile or whatever

also, to those warning me...if a company doesn't want to hire me because I talk about stuff on the internet that's probably a filter that is for the best =P

you seem to be getting some value out of this, so I'll keep going...the next one I"m not giving the company name but you can probably figure it out if you really want

remember this?

https://twitter.com/jodiecongirl/status/1012428649067368449

allow me to be more clear on the logistics

I had a number of very good conversations with the company, and I was explicitly told that I was being moved on to the next round...then, instead of that I got a call saying I was rejected instead because they misread my resume and hadn't realized I was ABD

1. why not at that point do one more phone interview and then reject in order to save face
2. way to make it clear that you literally only care about the degree for the sake of the degree
3. I'm pretty sure that the job posting didn't say Ph.D. required

anyway I was told by a friend they were moving forward with someone else but then they reposted the job...with the Ph.D. requirement of course (the exact words were "our other economists don't have Ph.D.s so we wanted you to have one" which...doesn't come across as intended)

current mood:
me: I need a job
also me: ugh it's so hard to schedule this interview because of my work schedule

oh wait one other thing...I actually said on the phone with Company that the rejection didn't come as a total surprise bc I saw the reposting....the response was basically something something tech glitch but then it kept getting reposted so that was fun

excellent, this is kind of the point, aside from it being sort of fun to rant

here’s one where I’m actively asking for your advice, Twitter, so buckle in...so there was this job listing for “AEA Writer” (yes, that AEA)

I thought it would be fun, since it basically involves writing digest version of papers and making fun charts...also the posting said I could work remotely, so I figured it would fit nicely with trying to finish my damn dissertation

the person doing the hiring emailed me to set up a phone call and specifically said that said call was not an interview (this becomes relevant later)

me: to clarify, I’m not applying for jobs, I’m applying to for this job
him: well it’s kind of entry level
me: that’s fine and here’s why, also that’s doesn’t make sense in a team of two people

I then get the form email about other candidates being more competitive, which is some fun gaslighting but not why I’m sharing

in speaking with a friend about this, I learned that a few things were sketchy:
1. the job posting was active for exactly 2 weeks, which I’m told is the minimum required by law in PA (the AEA main office is in Pittsburgh)

2. the rejection email specifically acted like I had a formal interview, which, like I said, I specifically hadn’t...friend said there were requirements about minimum number of interviews as well so now I feel used in a shady way

2. the job posting specifically said hat they wanted the new person to start in June but that doesn’t seem to have happened (the funny thing about bylines is that they convey information)

I’ve thought about it and I kind of do want to register some sort of complaint, particularly since as economists we call out labor market bullshit and so I feel like we should hold ourselves to a higher standard

I don’t actually expect anything to come of it for me personally, but that’s not the point...like, where do I go with this?

I'm particularly irritated in this case since I thought it would be super fun to help share others' research while I was finishing my own, and it was one of those "omg you'd be perfect for this job" kind of things