1 job 312 applicants

41 comments on “1 job 312 applicants ”

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1. shorts 1

   4 July 2012 at 1:23 pm

   if they’ve schemes up their sleeves I’d prefer they tabled them now… take ownership of them and allow this govt to take them on (if it has the courage) – the country and people need jobs now not in 2014

   do it for the country and all that
   • prism 1.1

     5 July 2012 at 10:51 am

     shorts – You want Labour to do what NACT is being paid big bucks to do? They take the money, and NACT should be doing a better job, even trying to serve people’s needs would be a boost to their non-existent mana. What sort of employment do you think we should be promoting in NZ – appointing proxies while the supposed worker slopes off to the beach or bar?

     That would be a trick, tender for a job and when obtained auction it on Trademe and make a nice little middleman profit. Sounds disgraceful? That’s sort of what elder care homes do – get grants from government for wages and then pocket their percentage and pay the rest to the workers. Sounds like corruption when it gets written in plain English, but no it’s ‘good business practice’.
2. Pete 2

   4 July 2012 at 1:40 pm

   It’s tough being on the other side too. I was on the interview panel for a couple of jobs recently and reviewing nearly 200 applications to whittle down to a manageable number to interview is not easy. Especially when there are multiple applicants who could perform the roles. We ended up with superb people, but it doesn’t feel good to reject so many – especially those with potential but little experience (the ones you’d want to give a chance). I’d be confident in a more bouyant economy they would be sure to get their foot on the job ladder somewhere.

   Edit: if my experience is like any other organisation, it would be sure to temper any desire to impose a 90 day trial. Recruiting is quite time consuming.
   • Rosie 2.1

     5 July 2012 at 11:32 am

     Pete, it is interesting to hear it from your side – the one doing the hiring. It sounds like you have some empathy for the multiple folks who could have done the job.
     Can I please ask, and you may or may not know the answer to this, why it is that employers won’t even respond to applications? Theres no point telling you how hard it is getting an interview let alone job, despite applicants skills and experiences, as you already know this but why is it that employers don’t even follow up with a “Thanks for your application but we have hired a suitable candidate for this role” type of thing. They could even do a bulk email to all the applicants. The number of times I’ve phoned and left messages and emailed follow up for job applications and have not heard anything back. Its really demoralising job hunting now days and if employers were a bit more thoughtful they could communicate with unsuccessful applicants, just to show a bit of human decency.
     • xtasy 2.1.1

       5 July 2012 at 12:31 pm

       Rosie: The attitude of most employers is to get someone to perform work for them to achieve their business outcomes (production, sales, turnover, revenue and PROFIT).

       When job hunting myself years ago, I asked the same questions.

       I was told by personnel agents and other “experts” in the field, that for most employers it is considered too “time consuming” and “costly” to respond to every application or inquiry. Some get them coming in every day (in multitudes).

       Hence they do not bother.

       That is what NZ has become like, the same as any other country in the world, virtually all focused on commercial activities and success. If you have something to offer, they court you. If they see no need for you, they could not care less, whether you rot away on a benefit, live in the street or else.

       They even complain about having to pay taxes for maintaining those out of work, saying they would possibly employ more, if the minimum pay was not so “high”.

       I hope this will assist you to understand the harsh reality.
     • Pete 2.1.2

       5 July 2012 at 4:41 pm

       I don’t know, Rosie. I’ve been on panels twice – once in a government department and this most recent one in a university. Both have quite large human resources deparments to send the “thanks-for-your-application”, the “thanks-but-no-thanks” and the various other responses. I think smaller employers would have some trouble if there are a lot of applicants. You’re right that it wouldn’t be difficult for the technically minded to set up a form email, but a lot of employers are in the dark ages when it comes to that sort of thing.
       • Rosie 2.1.2.1

         5 July 2012 at 4:59 pm

         Thank you both Pete and Xtasy.
         Two points: Pete it worries me that it a standard bulk email repsonse, which so super duper easy to do, especially in regard to an advertised position, isn’t just a norm regardless of the industry, and whether it be private or public. Have our manners slipped so badly in our society?
         Secondly, Xtasy. yes the harsh reality is harsh. Having done Union work and having done sales work and getting to listen to those arguments from employers that they can hire more people if our minimum wage wasn’t so “high” and then slagging off the unemployed in the same breath has always made me angry. Part of the harsh reality is that so many employers, especially smaller ones that havn’t got a flashy company statement about treating people like humans, just treat people as disposable necessary evils for their own ends, and often in a grudging way. NZ employers get away with a lot of bad behaviour every day. I think alot of that comes back to them lacking social skills and good manners therefore they don’t know how to behave in the workplace. And itsn’t it always the worst A-Holes that get to be in charge of others? Its a strange phenomenon when bad behaviour is rewarded with power.
3. Georgy 3

   4 July 2012 at 1:41 pm

   There is only one way to create jobs – investment in real business activity that employ people.

   There needs to be a long term strategy of investment and development and there needs to be an immediate strategy to assist people into jobs – eg the Labour party’s plan of putting young people into apprenticeships instead of paying them the dole.
   • Uturn 3.1

     4 July 2012 at 3:00 pm

     Not wanting to cheer-lead for Labour, by any means, but once you have a situation like we do here, where we are told we can’t make anything ourselves (in some case actively stopped from making stuff ourselves) and the best we should hope for is to make profit off the shuffling of paper, arguing with each other, transporting containers and charging more for old, recycled and reconditioned materials; and because a high profit can be made from such things at this time because there is no longer a stable connection between money and the value of resources; the idea of taking some of that artifically inflated high profit and redistributing it seems, at face value, quite a logical progression. Labour call it fairness, but in reality it’s just them highlighting the next obvious step within a much larger problem. We’re all bundled into an ambulance, then the ambulance drives off the cliff.

     (Gosh, this isn’t very uplifting is it? I’m usually a upbeat person in real life 😆 )

     What exactly is “real business activity”. The activity of “real business”? What business isn’t “real”? Are sustainable business practices “real business”? The sad conclusion is that many of the jobs that we do now are going to become obsolete over the next 50 years, or sooner, if the Cassandras are right. Neither Labour or Nats have any long term anything from that point of view. The extent of their long term is 3 – 9 years, maximum. If the only measure of “real business” is that people are compensated with enough to eat, then there’s not much point calling it business anymore.

     The fact is none of us need to be working/paid for 80 hours a week and if all signs are correct, it may become somewhat impossible anyway. All it is presently doing is fueling a consumer culture in electronic trinkets and consumables that don’t do anything long term for us as a people or solve any of our stubborn social issues. Long term thinking would turn business as we know it, and society, on it’s head. Almost no one wants that. Everyone wants the American Dream. Using current thinking on the matter and taking into account the cultural beliefs of people, in general, I don’t know how any party could plan to employ all the people who will be out of work by 2014. I’m sure someone will figure it out in time.
     • Georgy 3.1.1

       4 July 2012 at 10:58 pm

       By real business I was thinking of a business that involves the production of a real product – jam, steel girders, furniture, lettuces, computer programmes etc etc etc, as opposed to make work schemes where people are put into “work schemes or programmes” by WINZ brokers, such as giving a school a few thousand dollars to employ someone for six months.
       • Colonial Viper 3.1.1.1

         4 July 2012 at 11:50 pm

         Its important to have make-work schemes to pass on skills and good work habits, when we have so many youth going down the gurgler.

         Free market private enterprise is shit at creating jobs, great at shipping jobs overseas.

         And its not really “make-work”: there is a shit load of work which needs to be done caring and building in our communities right now.
         • prism 3.1.1.1.1

           5 July 2012 at 10:58 am

           CV
           Thanks for saying that. We should have PEP schemes, initiatives of all sorts. Councils have lots of practical, useful things needing to be done. What about helping out Kaipara in their time of hardship, after all they were trying to build a waste water or sewerage scheme not a rugby stadium for fatheads to sit around.

           I like the idea of tree planting native species or other than pine, that would provide hardwood for the future in concert with farmers with labour as a subsidy. Good for green environmental input too.
4. dd 4

   4 July 2012 at 2:12 pm

   National will say this is a strong economy which is good for business.

   Look at it this way.

   With 312 applicants they can pay that work minimum wage no problems.
5. Akldnut 5

   4 July 2012 at 3:26 pm

   We recently advertised on trademe for a part time worker, earning peanuts and got over 200 emails applying for a piss-ant job working 12hrs a week.

   Welcome to the Mexico of the Pacific!
   • Vicky32 5.1

     4 July 2012 at 3:35 pm

     We recently advertised on trademe for a part time worker, earning peanuts and got over 200 emails applying for a piss-ant job @ 12hrs a weeks.

     On Monday, I had an interview for an admin  job at a school, and the woman told me that I was one of 49 applicants, and she’d whittled that down to 10 she was interviewing. Interestingly, she said that most of the men had misunderstood the job, and thought that it was a higher paid and higher skilled one than it really is…
     I’ve been waiting all day for her to phone me and let me know what gives. I don’t have any high hopes – although I would be brilliant at it, I fear that any one of the other 9 is much better!
     Alkdnut, depending on what kind of worker you want, one of those 200 might have come from me…
     • McFlock 5.1.1

       4 July 2012 at 3:52 pm

       Good on you for getting into the top ten [he said with annoying optimism]. It’s a good sign that at least some of your applications are in the right area.
                
       From what I’ve seen, it’s often just a lottery when you get down to interview level, looking for who likely fits best into the team more than anything else. Although unlike a lottery, the odds of eventually winning are much higher. 
              
        
       • Vicky32 5.1.1.1

         4 July 2012 at 4:05 pm

         Good on you for getting into the top ten [he said with annoying optimism].

         Thank you! 🙂 I am trying to be optimistic… I am pleased. All digits crossed!
     • Akldnut 5.1.2

       4 July 2012 at 4:15 pm

       If you applied for a job in a storage facility, you may well have applied for a job with us.
6. Blue 6

   4 July 2012 at 4:02 pm

   Plenty of jobs in Northland in Fisheries and Forestry, IF the applicants can pass a drugs test.
   • Dv 6.1

     4 July 2012 at 4:24 pm

     Trademe has 4 in forestry Blue
   • Zorr 6.2

     4 July 2012 at 4:35 pm

     Wow… so we can bash and type at the same time? Or was that already on your resume I assume? Retired to become a full time hater?
   • Dv 6.3

     4 July 2012 at 4:38 pm

     Oh and 0 in fishery for Northland.
     • Kotahi Tane Huna 6.3.1

       4 July 2012 at 4:47 pm

       Four jobs. And your point is? Everyone knows four rounds up to ten, and then becomes “tens of” and then can be represented as “hundreds” in right-wing-nut-job land.

       Fact-based argument? You’re too PC.
     • QoT 6.3.2

       4 July 2012 at 10:11 pm

       You mean … Blue is lying? Just to make some smarmy point about gross poor [probably brown] Northlanders and the drug problems Blue psychically knows they all have (what with being poor and brown)? I find that entirely easy to believe.
   • mike e 6.4

     4 July 2012 at 10:08 pm

     Blue you’ve made a blue there maybe you could get Shonkey to open a casino in every major town.
   • xtasy 6.5

     4 July 2012 at 10:52 pm

     Blue: With the crap pay offered these days, to do physically hard and demanding work, many may only be able and willing to put up with it, by having some residual THC or alcohol in their blood.

     Is it not one of the phenomenon of high altitude mining in countries like Bolivia and Peru, where the miners resort to chewing coca leafs, just to bear the painful work expected of them?

     Drugs and alcohol are shit, if used and abused, especially once a person is hooked. But does anyone ever ask for the reason for the problems?

     NO! According to Bennett, Key and so, it is all just a “lifestyle choice”, like being on the benefit itself.

     What a load of f***ing crap.
   • Colonial Viper 6.6

     4 July 2012 at 11:53 pm

     Plenty of jobs in Northland in Fisheries and Forestry, IF the applicants can pass a drugs test.

     Its actually a real problem.

     What Blue doesn’t get of course is that you cant leave people unemployed for many months (or years) at a time and not expect them to badly decondition.
7. vidiot 7

   4 July 2012 at 4:37 pm

   “About 40 per cent of applicants were returning university students looking for part-time work during their break, he said.”

   1 job / 312 applicants – 125 of them not understanding it was a full time position.
   • Colonial Viper 7.1

     4 July 2012 at 11:46 pm

     Desperate people will give it a shot; fuck all chance is better than no chance.
8. Andy-Roo 8

   4 July 2012 at 4:48 pm

   3 open testing jobs at my current place of work in CHCH…

   If you can find somewhere to live!
   • mike e 8.1

     4 July 2012 at 10:43 pm

     AL a port a loo
     • prism 8.1.1

       5 July 2012 at 1:25 pm

       Sounds like ‘any port in a storm’.
9. adam 9

   4 July 2012 at 5:57 pm

   Until we once again start making what we consume (cars, Tvs, computers, clothes, etc etc) and protect those local manufacturers with quotas and tariffs, no much will ever change in the labour market here because low paid, part-time, service sectors jobs (read: coffee shop and supermarket jobs) will not soak up the huge pools of available labour here.
   Neo keynesians need to ifiltrate the neo-liberal agenda of the IMF, WB and WTO so that individual countries can continue to trade their surplus production internationally whilst protecting local production from low wage economies such as China, India etc while still having access to funds from the international institutions to set up sectors of the economy that are in dire need of investment funds.
   Why are such simple economic policies not being advocated on any media platform? Supression of alternate views I presume to stifle opposition and any meaningful debate.
   • R 9.1

     4 July 2012 at 6:48 pm

     +1
   • Colonial Viper 9.2

     4 July 2012 at 10:57 pm

     Your views don’t take into account energy depletion, peak oil, and peak debt.

     Forget “Neo-Keynesians” we need to focus on Minsky and Schumpeter. Oh yeah, and Marx.
10. just saying 10

    4 July 2012 at 6:02 pm

    Labour and the Greens need to be ready with a real job creation programme – ready right now so that they can hit the ground running in government in 2014.

    I wish.

    The only possibility that I can see, is that the Greens/Te Mana (and possibly even NZF) boldy develop and promote such a plan, and despite National’s best attempts to convince us that it would lead swiftly and directly to NZ going down the gurgler and taking the jobs of those currently in work with it, gain some political traction with it. Then possbily, and only if the strategy of committing to bugger-all action and otherwise making waffly, meaningless, aspirational noises continues to be less than inspiring to the electorate, the focus groups might grudgingly agree and Labour might propose a trial of timid, watered-down, business-approved version of it for a few souls only.

    I’d like to be more optimistic. I think this is such a vital thing for the opposition parties to argue emphatically and in unison. The Nats, treasury, business, and the media would fight the idea tooth and nail and insist that business in NZ would be slaughtered , and we’d be punished in hell with the handcarts we’d arrived in, if the unemployed had another option than endlessly competing for a perishingly small number of jobs with shit pay and shit conditions in the private sector, right now.
    • R 10.1

      4 July 2012 at 6:46 pm

      completely, totally agree. Well said.
11. lcmortensen 11

    4 July 2012 at 6:26 pm

    We had a new FreshChoice supermarket here in Greytown as for applications for 60 positions in April. Over 1800 people applied! And the town’s population is only 2000!
12. xtasy 12

    4 July 2012 at 10:34 pm

    HA! Hone Key shouts loudly!

    This is unjustified and not representative criticism. It does not stick and sell, he would say.

    Those many applicants for that bar job in Whangarei are not really jobless. Many will have other jobs already. All they want is to get a chance for free booze after work. Others want a lifestyle choice, working on the sly and earn a little on the side, getting freebies after hours, while still collecting the bene.

    Right? Wrong?

    Well, choose your side.

    Teflon PM always has an answer. I am looking forward to the next one.
13. ak 13

    5 July 2012 at 12:22 am

    Wee johnny won’t give a spit. His handlers will ensure that the numbers never reach the crucial 10% and he’ll continue on his way: a nobody filling in for a defeated vacuum.
    The only question that remains is what will the owners do? March? Organise? Distribute Truth? Anythimg?

    Maybe. Or possibly just let the world’s leader in social progression bulge into fat lazy acceptance.

    Of misery for milllions
    .
    Once were leaders.
    From the best possible conditions
    Now wankers.
    From better

    Fuck off.

    Do something you bustards

    Anything.
14. dd 14

    5 July 2012 at 9:43 am

    We need to rethink what a full time job is.

    If you enforced a 20 hour working week you’d have a job shortage over night.

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