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Re: FW: Maryland Accessibility Job

for

From: Jonathan Metz
Date: May 27, 2014 11:03AM

I in the process of mentioning applicant tracking systems (ATS), but Karl
beat me to it. I would argue against lying in the ATS, as it will probably
just tick off the human resource (HR) department:

"Most hiring managers have denied interviews to candidates qualified by
their resumes, but disqualified by additional information in their cover
letters" — Lisa Vaas,
http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/getting-cover-letter-noticed (It's
the second unordered list under the H3 "Understanding your cover letter's
electronic journey…")

Rachel:

"Equivalent experience" is a joke. If the ATS finds 50 resumes that have
an MS degree, the ones that lack won't even be aggregated, let alone
evaluated. The problem with organizations developing a pay system based
on education requirements is that it creates a unfair advantage to
individuals who can afford to pay and/or a disadvantage to individuals
with disabilities. This is textbook (pun intended) discrimination.






On 5/27/14, 12:44 PM, "Chagnon | PubCom" < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

><< Unfortunately, those same job classification systems also tend to
>become
>job qualification systems. Some HR systems which run the job announcements
>also run the job applications as well and if an applicant comes by and
>applies and they don't have a masters, their application is dumped
>without a
>chance for human consideration >>
>
>So true, especially in government. And it's getting worse every year.
>
>I'm finding that many federal HR departments don't have a clue about the
>jobs they announce and recruit for, and HR staff are barely skilled in
>office software themselves, let alone understand the technical expertise
>needed for many jobs.
>
>If I could only tell you what I've witnessed here inside the Washington DC
>Beltway! You'd cry.
>
>--Bevi Chagnon
>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>-
>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>www.PubCom.com - Trainers, Consultants, Designers, Developers.
>Print, Web, Acrobat, XML, eBooks, and U.S. Federal Section 508
>Accessibility.
>Taka a Sec. 508 Class in 2014 - www.Pubcom.com/classes
>
>
>>>On 5/27/14, 12:42 PM, "Thompson, Rachel" < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

>I work for a state university with pretty strict degree requirements for
>certain job levels. We usually include something in job ads about
>"equivalent experience" so someone who may not have a
>Bachelors/Masters/Doctorate could apply and be a viable candidate.
>
>In order to offer a competitive salary, we usually have to require a
>Bachelors (with Masters preferred) for even entry level jobs in our
>office, which handles instructional tech support campus wide. Those
>usually pay 30K annually. If we require a Masters, we might be able to
>offer 35K.
>
>In many cases, we don't get to decide what degree is required, only
>applicable fields.
>
>Dr. Rachel S. Thompson
>Director, Emerging Technology
>Center for Instructional Technology
>University of Alabama
>
>On May 27, 2014, at 11:19 AM, "Karl Groves" < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>
>>Sarah,
>>Unfortunately, those same job classification systems also tend to become
>>job qualification systems. Some HR systems which run the job
>>announcements
>>also run the job applications as well and if an applicant comes by and
>>applies and they don't have a masters, their application is dumped
>>without
>>a chance for human consideration, no matter how flexible the organization
>>actually is WRT to the education requirement.
>>The best approach is to lie in the online form so that your info matches
>>the requirements, then as you state, disclose in your cover letter that
>>your level of expertise and/ or experience should qualify you.
>>On Tue, May 27, 2014 at 11:52 AM, Bourne, Sarah (ITD) <
>> <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>>>I am not familiar with the personnel practices in Maryland, but in many
>>>large organizations the classification of jobs, and the salary that can
>>>be
>>>offered, are tied to the qualifications that are needed. A Master's
>>>Degree
>>>may have bumped the salary into a range closer to the actual job market,
>>>for instance. If you are interested in a position where you think you
>>>have
>>>relevant experience that may even be superior to what they are asking
>>>for,
>>>then I think you should apply and make your case. You may find that
>>>they
>>>can be more flexible than it appears.
>>>sb
>>>Sarah E. Bourne
>>>Director of Assistive Technology
>>>Information Technology Division
>>>Commonwealth of Massachusetts
>>>1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
>>>617-626-4502
>>> <EMAIL REMOVED>
>>>http://www.mass.gov/itd
>>>>>>>>>>>--
>>Karl Groves
>>www.karlgroves.com
>>@karlgroves
>>http://www.linkedin.com/in/karlgroves
>>Phone: +1 410.541.6829
>>www.tenon.io
>>What is this thing and what does it do?
>>http://vimeo.com/84970341
>>http://lanyrd.com/profile/karlgroves/
>>>>>>>>>>


>