Simone Janson - Recruiting Knowledge for Job Seekers: Criteria of applicant selection & procedures, writing unsolicited applications, recruitment tests & references, online reputation & interviews

Criteria of applicant selection & procedures, writing unsolicited applications, recruitment tests & references, online reputation & interviews

Simone Janson (ed.)

Published by Best of HR - Berufebilder.de

Recruiting Knowledge for Job Seekers

2nd edition, 08.02.2022

2022 Publisher Simone Janson | Best of HR Berufebilder.de

Duesseldorf, Germany

Concept, editing, graphic design & layout: Simone Janson

Cover design with Canva

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We give you the information you really need and are committed to a better and ecological working world. As Publishing Company Best of HR - Berufebilder.de with a Unique Book Concept and eCourses, we offer over 20 Years of Experience in Corporate Publishing - with Clients such as Samsung, Otto, Government Institutions. Publisher Simone Janson also heads the Institut Berufebilder Yourweb, which awards scholarships, among other things, and was one of the top 20 German bloggers, referenced in ARD, ZEIT, WELT, Wikipedia.

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ISBN of the German eBook edition: 9783965962361

ISBN of the English eBook edition: 9783965962378

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Application processes are becoming more and more unclear: those who have jobs to give, more and more often shut up and keep silent, why he wants to win who for which jobs. There is a reason for this: the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) - an expression of a trend toward prescribed equal treatment and hysterical anti-discrimination will drive absurd flowers in the application process.

Candidates have to struggle through endless procedures, even though the advertised position has long been taken internally. And they sit petrified, smiling faces who claim that "everyone has the same opportunities with us" and do not come up with the reasons why you can not get ahead in the application. Although that would be a help ...

An extraordinary dispute before the regional court of Stuttgart caused 2010 to look into German personnel departments: one applicant had not been invited to the interview and had subsequently sued a window builder for discrimination.

The reason: The woman from East Germany had received her application folder back in the mail with the cancellation of the employer. The word OSSI was written in bold on the documents - next to it was a big minus sign.

In her claim for damages, the attorney of the rejected applicant appealed to the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) - a law that has decisively changed the work of the staff and their dealings with candidates in talks in recent years.

In 2006 the AGG entered into force. Prior to this, discussions had been taking place for many years, because its effectiveness in practice was, to put it cautiously, controversial. Specifically, the AGG considers the AGG to be naked. They even think that it hurts applicants. Why?

Let us first take a look at the exact wording of the General Equal Treatment Act: The aim is to prevent or eliminate disadvantages on the basis of race or because of ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual identity.

In practice, this has the consequence, among other things, that in job advertisements it is concealed whether one wishes for a woman or a man for the job to be filled. There is no information on age or what you have to physically do to get a job done.

So as not to burn their mouths, employers say: "Everyone has the same opportunities here!" We know that this is an AGG white lie. Because in the end they pick exactly the applicants they want.

When researching our book, a human resources manager told me that it was clear to her of course in advance: "Only a woman can do this job!" or "A man will do this corporate department good!" But she would never admit these considerations publicly. However, the decision is often made based on the gender or age of an applicant.

Unfriendly rejections or no reactions, curious job interviews undecided employer: Annette Gerlach knows them all from their own experience, the curious situations in the job search. The Diplom-Betriebswirtin and personnel officer wrote at their best times eight to ten applications per week, across Germany.

And remembers successes. For example, the job interview that only lasted 27 minutes. At that point, she was not very convinced of the course of the conversation: "The personnel manager simply cycled through the questions and I talked all the time," reports Gerlach. At first you wonder why you actually drove 565 kilometers!

When the positive feedback came, the applicant was surprised: she was one step ahead in the application process, so you have to wait and see what comes up. "Because HR personnel often rate a conversation better than you do!"

Annette Gerlach has been surprised often enough. Once she worked for four days as a rehearsal for a municipality, for a job as a job coach: "But nobody could tell me whether the job was available at all."

In the end, the HR specialist, annoyed, withdrew her application. The position was advertised again in early September. Another interview was held in a DB lounge: "As an applicant you have to deal with the background noise," she reports. And a few days ago Gerlach received documents back - from a two-year-old application.

But the business economist tries not to take the negative experiences personally: "HR managers are only people - and often only small cogs in the company," Gerlach knows from her experience from the other side of the desk. Often they simply had too little time to process the large batch of applications appropriately. Or too little influence on the job politics in the company.

Nevertheless, she admits that many colleagues are rather closed or show no appreciation for the applicants - for example, by looking for candidates with a fictitious profile in online networks. "As a result, applicants do not feel taken seriously and demotivated as a person," warns Gerlach. Ultimately, this leads to companies being negatively rated on relevant websites.

Annette Gerlach is therefore open to the dialogue between applicants and HR staff: she tweets and blogs about her application experience at. Since 2005 she has been in charge of the group Arbeitslos na und !? Don't make yourself smaller than you are on the Xing online network.