HR professional
is the biggest fucking oxymoron out there.

HR exists solely to employ people whose only skills are gossip and backstabbing.

Edit - and your last point isn't true, takes about an hour to whittle 200 CVs down to the 20 that you might consider pissing on if they were on fire, let alone employing.

If an employment agency sent any CVs, that saves even more time, as they can just go straight in the bin.
(loutre I've said too much, been too unkind, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 12:52, archived)

ha
why does anyone even bother using an agency? I haven't heard much good about them from either side of the deal.

Still, don't you think employers are a lot more fussy than they used to be? Presumably because now they DO get that many applicants.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 12:57, archived)

Mrs HoodButter works in HR...

( Wicca'd Witch needs ideas for a new sig on..., Thu 12 Jun 2008, 12:58, archived)

does she gossip and backstab?
I'm sure there are some lovely people in HR. Sadly, all the ones I've ever met have been arseholes. And I've met a lot.

I just think there is some mental shortcircuit somewhere that would make you want to work in a job which is essentially nosing round in other peoples problems. Not massively generalising or anything.
(loutre I've said too much, been too unkind, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 13:03, archived)

see also: civil servants.

( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 13:08, archived)

Presumably it'd take even less time to whittle twenty CVs down to two?

( Newington, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 12:59, archived)

I think once you've got it down to 20,
you could probably just as well pick one at random, phone them up and offer them the job there and then.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 13:01, archived)

Nah
20 would be those I'd consider talking to. I might interview 5. I agree it's possible that by missing out the other 15, I might miss someone brilliant who happens to have a shit CV. but, if you're that good and you can't even do a CV properly, why would I want to employ you?
(loutre I've said too much, been too unkind, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 13:05, archived)

unless the job is writing CVs,
I don't see why it matters.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 13:07, archived)

because it matters if you want the job or not
if you produce a poor CV, then you either aren't bothered enough about the job to adapt your CV for it, or you don't know how to write a CV for a specific job, which is a fairly basic skill (and if you lack that fairly basic skill, what else do you lack)

It's not rocket science. Even for a basic admin job as you mention, all else being equal you'll take the applicant that actually looks like they give a shit. So if you lead your CV with your education details or whatever, who cares? put the relevant stuff first. Experience, office skills, etc etc.
(loutre I've said too much, been too unkind, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 13:14, archived)

It's possibly a bit subjective as to what constitutes a "good" CV,
but all the same. If people weren't expected to apply for 100 jobs a week, they might only apply for the ones they actually wanted and thought they'd be good at. People only waste so much paper because of the constant accusation that they're not making enough effort unless they're making as much or more than everybody else. And of course if you're sending off that many, you can't possibly be putting that much care and attention into each of them.

It's not always easy to know exactly what the employer wants either, sometimes the job descriptions can be very brief. It's a bit of pot luck a lot of the time.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 13:18, archived)

I suppose that's a point, certainly

(loutre I've said too much, been too unkind, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 13:24, archived)

Possibly.
Chances are that if the job is worth having there will be double figures number of applicants who are worth serious consideration, and the rest are just wasting trees. But, it does vary a lot.
(loutre I've said too much, been too unkind, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 13:01, archived)

for really basic admin work
that pretty much anyone who can write and count could do, I don't know why they have to make such a meal out of it. But even those jobs involve a second round of interviews these days.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Thu 12 Jun 2008, 13:03, archived)