1. Spam emails which offer positions that have not bearing on your skills whatsoever.
2. Agencies who contact you without reading your CV.
3. People who send out emails with 'smelling pistakes' in them. Despite having a tool geared towards this. The PC with spell checking and a plethora of tools designed to make your life easier. (thank you Firefox for including the wonderful spell checker for online typing. Even though the dictionary is American it is gradually learning that not everyone spells words with a 'Z' (organize, organise) and some of its interesting little quirks).
4. Agents who send out 'magnificent position with an outstanding salary' with no consideration of the general cost of living or an understanding of what minimum wage is about.
5. Agents who, despite having a huge database of highly skilled people, have such appalling databases themselves that are incapable of matching the skills a candidate has with positions on offer. Duh!
I could probably go on with many examples of this. When you are dealing with people it is useful to include the human factor in the whole equation and getting to know their 'user' base. Sometimes, despite all of the requirements of Data Protection legislation, some sites simply excel themselves in their general lack of proper processes and procedures to manage the valuable assets they have.
In this regard I will give a gentle nod to 'iProfile'. I signed up with them because, at the time, it seemed like a really excellent means of putting myself out into the world. Many complex and poorly thought out input forms later I had created my profile. Next? Nothing. Nada. Ziltch. No contacts whatsoever. I was somewhat surprised as my skill and experience set is very much in demand. In a typical day I normally receive 2 or 3 pertinent approaches (excluding the many mentioned above) via email and at least one phone call. So I went back to iProfile and carefully ensured I had ticked all of the appropriate boxes. It was then I noted that my listed contact phone numbers were incorrect. I moved from Munich to Spain and had updated my records accordingly... THREE years previously. No wonder I was receiving the "I was unable to contact you regarding the position in Barbados as the 'spritzer' for the December issue of 'Hot Babes' paying a gazillion dollars an hour as your phone number appears to be unlisted" emails. No worries I thought. Minor roll back of an entry to the database. So I fixed it. Over the following years until recently this happened several times. Eventually I had to contact them and say, "Thanks, but no thanks. Your system is not keeping my data correctly and not only is my number incorrect but you are storing an old (>5 years) copy of my CV. Goodbye."
But that debacle is in the past. What I want to rant about today is the email I received today from Monster. To be exact, it was from Monster.be, so in fairness to other country sites it is the Belgian site I am talking about here. Maybe other people have had a similar communication from these sites but it is this one I refer to. The title of their email?
"Your CV is in danger! Adjust it now."
The content?
 |  |  | Your CV is in danger ! | |||||||||
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| If you do not want to receive any more emails, please click here Privacy statement |
Wow. No wonder I am in danger. There is a monster in my email.
Seriously though, look at the aggressive approach near the end. "Save your CV and your future career". What is that all about? How insulting and presumptive of them. Additionally, the reason my CV is in such 'danger' is that they are making modifications to the structure of their database and have failed to have a proper Change Control mechanism in place to take into account the impact upon legacy data. IF they had emailed saying 'We are changing our database and we would like your help to ensure that the integrity and accuracy of the information is maintained, and while at the site you might like to enhance the information.... blah blah blah', perhaps I would have reacted differently. I do not think I am being too sensitive here and I have not had a bad day either. I just think their approach was totally inappropriate and insensitive. It seems as though, these days, you have to make people scared in the style of GW to get people thinking your way.
My response...
Dear Monster,
Which IDIOT in your marketing department decided that it was appropriate to send out an alarmist spam email to me, and I am sure many others, stating that my CV was in 'danger'. Additionally it indicated that by saving my CV I would be saving my career. This is a direct insult to my many years of experience and my reputation within the contracting community. I am very insulted by this.
The inappropriateness of this is just beyond belief. Why is my CV in danger? apparently you are restructuring your database in such a way that it fails to take into account historical data. Whoever was in charge of the project there should be fired for a lack of consideration for proper Change Management controls and failing to initiate proper controls over what is a valuable commodity for yourselves, peoples CVs. As well as sacking them you should also consider sacking the idiot who came up with the not so smart approach to one of the principal reasons for your existence, people like myself.
Now that I have vented that, perhaps you will now find the time to consider this. Take a look at my record, look at my CV, look at how many times I have been contacted with regard to potential positions. Tell you what, in the whole time period your 'service' has accounted for ZERO approaches from anyone offering a position. In the intervening period, from signing up with yourselves and now, I have been gainfully employed, and highly valued, by many companies (e.g. Ericsson, Nokia, large EU institutions...). Where have these positions been found? Through being contacted by other job sites in relation to contract roles.
Given that your approach to me is so insulting, and that I have found your service to be ineffectual to the highest possible standard, I would ask that you remove my details from your system and do not bother to contact me further.
Your approach is unprofessional to say the least. Your track record in providing a job service is pathetic.
I shall be providing nothing but negative feedback regarding your site to the many contractors I know (note that I am a Senior Project Manager with a significant contact base) as well as writing most scathingly on my blog regarding this. I am sure a search for 'Monster Rant of the Day' will get a hit or two...
Goodbye.
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They win my 'Flying f..carpet' award of the day. Give me Jobserve, Tangent International... and any of the other good sites any day. They get on with what they are good at, offering a good quality service without resorting to ill thought out tacky 'gimmicks'.
Monster.be Consider yourself scathed.
Rant over.
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