WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: FW: Maryland Accessibility Job

for

From: Thompson, Rachel
Date: May 27, 2014 11:38AM

In some cases, we have successfully lobbied to hire someone based on his or her "equivalent experience", so I do think it can be a useful inclusion in the application process.

When applicants complete our HR forms, they are asked something like "Do you have a Bachelors degree or equivalent experience?". If their response is No, we (the department who is hiring) do not see their application.


Dr. Rachel S. Thompson
Director, Emerging Technology
Center for Instructional Technology
University of Alabama

On May 27, 2014, at 12:04 PM, "Jonathan Metz" < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> 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/
>>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >
>
>
> > >