₦airaland Forum

OfficialAPCNig:
I thought we are done with this?

Are you sure you know what a top level position is?

Sorry, where I work, we won't invite such person. It is a standard practice and we are not going to change it because you don't like it.

Please tell me why someone applying for a top level position won't have an email signature?

Don't you sign your letters?

Like I said before, qualification amounts to just 60% of things we check.

We look beyond qualifications.

I sign my letters, and send them. But applying an e-mail signature to an application for a job? Nope. It may be standard practice within your own organisation, but it is not standard practice in several organisations, that I know. For top-level management positions, we use more of head-hunting exercises. People that have easily verifiable performance track records, do not need to go through that route, you listed up here. If you have the skills, qualification, experience and ability to get the job done, and we have proof you have done so in other organisations, we would not ignore you, simply because you didn't attach an e-mail signature to your application. So you are now checking for signatures, too? Abeg, let me laugh very well in my native dialect.....

mightguy:
usu. Gworo chewing Moose

Are you referring to yourself, perhaps? Were those the names you were baptised with, at birth?

OfficialAPCNig:
Email Signature

Using email signatures depict high level of professionalism.

This is a standard practice for those applying for top level positions but an advantage for those applying for entry positions.

If you are applying for a top level position with an email without signature, we won't invite you even if you are the only person that applied.

Fortunately, it is very easy to create one. Just go to HubSpot or google email signature generator.

Create a catchy signature, copy it, go to gmail settings and paste it, then Save.

Send your CV and your chances would go high.

You won't invite the person, 'even if he is the only person that applied?' What if he is more than qualified for the post, but just didn't attach an e-mail signature? How arrogant and myopic, is this? Do you even know how pompous, you sound?

fineboynl:
a nairalander doesn't mean they have id

So how are they Nairalanders, if they do not have IDs??

OfficialAPCNig:
LaudableXX I am done with you.

Guys, do whatever that suit you about your email, but as a HR with 6 years experience working in Nigeria, I would advise you use your surname and first name in your email.

You are done with me? Why? Because I exposed your myopic, subjective, illogical e-mail criteria? Ok, no problem. I am done with you, too.

OfficialAPCNig:
Boss you don win.

Thanks for your time.

Ok. Have a nice day.

OfficialAPCNig:
So the platform doesn't flag down spammy emails?

Keep deceiving Nigerian youths.

Anyway that is not how transnational recruitment works. Lying is allowed sha.

The platform does not get spam e-mails. Applicants register, then log their details online through the platform, in addition to uploading their CVs & scanned copies of their certificates directly on that platform. It is a cumbersome process, that takes over an hour to complete. And we have received applications and CVs, from e-mail addresses, that do not carry the applicants' name. So what is your point, exactly?

OfficialAPCNig:
And you are that person and your software don't flag down spammy emails.

Interesting.

Spam e-mails? You are really trying to make me laugh, aren't you?

OfficialAPCNig:
Seriously, I wish I know you personally.

If you work for a top company, then are possibilities in that 6 years we had recruited for your company.

Keep running your mouth and keep deceiving youths.

No, you have not recruited for my company. We have our own online global recruitment platform, and it is handled internally. All the deceit, is being peddled by you, with your selective myopic screening methods....

OfficialAPCNig:
I wish I know you personally. So you are teaching us how to do our jobs.

Keep running your mouth on Nairaland.

I am not running my mouth. I am giving you practical facts. You just have 6 years experience in one HR consulting firm, and you think you know everything? You need to get off your high horse, and learn!

angelbulksms:
Seriously?

Well, except I'm running an entertainment business, I will never ever employ someone that could be dumb enough to use a ridiculous email address to submit his résumé irrespective of his academic performance. I see such as someone that can cost me a business deal when eventually employed.

That is your own ideology. Like I said before, my own personal e-mail address does NOT bear any similarity to my real name. And I have worked in 3 multinational organisations, ranging from financial services, to telecommunications, as well as oil & gas.

OfficialAPCNig:
Most of you talking rubbish have never seen an application before or know how a HR Software works.

Let me ask you again, all your life have you ever received 11,000 CVs for just one position and there are 9 other positions to be filled and only 25 for each position would be cleared for interview.

If you have not, then take back seat.

I do not know how a HR software works? Oga, let me laugh very well in my native dialect. Your pompous myopic assumptions will be your undoing, one day. So, you have only ever received 11,000 CVs and you are complaining? What about those that receive 25,000 CVs in 1 day? From different parts of the world?

larkz:
OfficialAPCNig is saying it "as is". Just the way it works in his/her firm. Not best in class HR practice in Nigeria or the world. As is.

LaudableXX is saying that it could be better. That recruitment could be less subjective than it currently is in OfficialAPCNig's firm.

Thank you!

elwhizzy:
I disagree with you totally, you think its bias and laziness, i think not. Who would you prefer if you were a recruiter? bigboss4you@gmail.com or tony.Umufo@gmail.com. Seeing these two mails alone will likely tell you the state of mind of the applicant. There are too many mails and CVs to go through, so recruiters who seek out people with above average reasoning. The ones with formal email addresses are thought to be more thoughtful and better prepared. Its basic practice, . will Aliko Dangote use an email address like brosaliBillionnaire@gmail.com. We need to start being reasonable. Put yourself in the shoes of the recruiters, what would you do? Your email address is a sieving process in itself.

_(sigh!) Another person who missed the point totally. If I was seeking to hire the best candidate for a particular role, I would not even start by looking at their e-mail addresses. I would start by screening their CVs or resumes. From there, I would be able to drill down to those who have the qualifications & ability/experience, to do the job. If I finally find a suitable candidate, would I disqualify him, based on an e-mail address? No. I would probably question him/her about it during the interview, because I am not hiring emails, but people!

Recruiters use all these flimsy excuses about mail addresses, to make life easy for themselves, and not the firm they are recruiting for! Recruiters are not meant to please themselves, but to satisfy the company seeking to hire a qualified candidate.

K0y3:
Hey! Man just shut it. You got several good jobs at different stages of ur life doesn't mean you did the right thing. In life there are always exceptional cases, ur argument is invalid. What worked for u might not work for others. It's like saying a poorly behaved student was exceptional means all poorly behaved students will be exceptional likewise it is wrong to assume all well behaved student will be exceptionally successful. But I'll always favour a well behaved student over a poor one like and most people will too. In rare cases poorly behaved student might be favoured due to a factor or more (exceptional cases)

Now you wrote 3 jobs in space of 3 years meaning you got your first job 10 years ago, don't you think you might have acquired some experience which stands you out from today's applicants even if ur flaws were overlooked 10 years ago. The OP wrote to modern applicants and his choice of screening is modern not someone that got lucky 10years back.

Plus it wouldn't hurt to take these precautions instead of heeding someone that just want to criticise for no just reason.

No, you need to actually take your own advice and shut it. Nigeria is in the poor state it is today, because people like you swallow any gibberish fed to them in the name of information over the internet, without bothering to question anything. And that is how mediocrity gets entrenched in the public space, because everyone is running a track, based on his subjective reasoning, rather than applying truly objective criteria. Any candidate worth his salt, who has added value to himself and has great things to offer, would not recycle the crap, you just did.

The OP's choice of screening, is totally flawed. That is why some companies who are able to actively mine info, and use truly objective means to hire great talent, instead of using subjective ones like e-mail addresses, will continue to excel. If my e-mail address was classified as a flaw 10 years ago, I might not have been able to acquire the experience you recognise that I now have, and that is why I am against the hazy illogical method, being deployed by the OP.

Finally you claim: "You got several good jobs at different stages of ur life doesn't mean you did the right thing." Really? If I had done the wrong thing, do you think I would have gotten those jobs? Those jobs came due to the mercy of God Almighty, and also because seasoned recruiters who knew their onions chose to focus on my CV, instead of illogical criteria like an e-mail address. So I remain grateful for this.

OfficialAPCNig:
Oga, I don't owe you any apology in the way I chose to pursue my job. Call it bias, your business.

We have recruited for a top oil servicing company 3 times and 1st quarter next year, we would be doing that again.

I have been doing my job for 6 years and I am the Lead for my team.

I am appraised based on the performance of those I recruited. If Team A recruits Mr B and he failed, I would be queried and investigated. If there is any form of relationship between us, I am a goner.

Every query enters your file and that is something nobody wants.

If I employ you, I am betting my certificate and career on, so I don't owe anybody any explanation.

Thank you.

I never asked for your apology or explanation, because I truly do not need your apology. It makes no difference to me. I only exposed and debunked the shallow, crafty, flawed, underhand criteria (i.e. e-mail addresses, interview timings, coming in first or last,) you deployed in screening applicants, and depriving potential candidates, of getting jobs.

If truly the appraisal system in your company was fair, transparent, objective and not skewed, then you shouldn't even be retained in that post, based on the subjective methods you have been using to carry out your job.

You started elevating your subjective myopic criteria, as if it is the gold standard for carrying out recruitment exercises. And that is where I disagree with you. I am glad another seasoned HR recruiter, was able to spot your biased methods. Try and change, because one day your methods will unravel, and you would bear the brunt of your illogical exercises.

hollywater:
I should be saying that. If it pains you,go and jump into Lagoon. Busy body.

Everyone can see that you are the one in pain here. I am glad you mentioned the lagoon. Take a dive into it first, before asking others to do so....

OfficialAPCNig:
It seems you have comprehension issue.

I can recommend an adult class for you. It is not expensive.

You should take those classes first. You truly need them. It might help you get rid off your illogical bias and crafty methods of handling recruitment exercises.

souljaboi51:
You are a recruiter and you are handling 11,000 cvs when there are applications and algorithms imbeded in websites that can narrow it down for u. Lmaooo is this a joke?

Continue giving yourself unecessary headache in the 21st century. Smh

Thank you, again. Please continue educating him, until he sees the light!

OfficialAPCNig:
Go back and read, but now gently.

Thank you.

I read it. You would accept a firstname & last name with 2 figures, not 3 figures. So the 3rd figure, is the one causing you nightmares, ba? You are a big fat clown.

OfficialAPCNig:
Like I said before, I work for HR Agency, we recruit, train and appraise for top companies.

As a recruiter I handle thousands of applications for each position and it is a standard practice in my organisation to invite only 25 people to the interview for each position.

So how do you eliminate to get the best 25 if you 11,000 applied?

We import into our system and it will start the eliminations.

First, by emails.

Second, by checking if the Subject complied with our adverts. It filters by Keywords.

Just this 2 will reduce that number to 5000-9000. I don't know why our youths keep making this mistakes.

The remaining ones would be forwarded to the Team handling the recruitments.

That is where we start checking cover letters and CVs.

Even dots where it is not supposed to be can disqualify a CV, your state of origin can even disqualify you. That is why it is advisable never to put it your CV unless you are asked, a single page CV are discarded, and a maximum of 4 are discarded for entry positions.

But once you adhere to the standard practices, nobody would reject you.

Personally I love tiny fonts, Verdana 11, this is not a standard practice, so whether you use it or not, but it doesn't matter. But if I see it on a CV I would take a second look at it, but won't do shit if the person doesn't meet the basic requirements.

So what I am saying is that we don't disqualify because we love or hate something, but because we are following an established standard practice.

A situation we couldn't get those 25 without being biased, then we run tests. At this point there is nothing we could do to reduce them because their qualifications are just similar and hard to differentiate.

Sometimes, we send invite for the test at night while the test is tomorrow morning by 8. We use this to disqualify a lot of people.

Those that made it would be tested in areas they won't even imagine.

Sometimes we run an endurance test where we pack them into a room with CCTV and monitor them without attending to them and then conduct a test late in the afternoon.

We might give them a simple task to do and submit or start looking at their Social Media.

But one thing is we must get at most 25 for the interview.

Oh my lawd...I no fit laugh again! After talking about e-mail, he is now lamenting about fonts. Verdana11? What about Arial10? Or Trebuchet12? You this guy, you are a standard, pompous, illogical joker!

hollywater:
You paid her school fees.Are you happy now?Busy body.

He did not pay the school fees of all his other daughters. It is public knowledge. If that fact pains you too much, go and hug the nearest transformer! Nobody cares!

Heemcelph:
Uhm! You get change to spare
Just kidding.
Any per time slot for a graduate waiting for NYSC?

Lol! First, get a skill and some good certifications, preferably in an ICT field. Learn as much as you can, about the career field you wish to specialise in. Then volunteer if possible, on different projects. Add value to yourself, by reading and taking free online courses, or trainings if you can find any. It helps you get prepared, for the future.

majekdom2:
what is professionalism? How are you contacted? With name or email. Google this thing and see responses from international recruiters. Op's advice is to be on th safe side. Why the argument really??

majekdom2:
how did you get your UN job? You have zero attention to detail. He said he will not allow figures for email as this lekan18 but will allow for lekanidris18. Go back and read

I got it by sending them my CV and a cover letter. In fact, I applied directly on their online platform. Anything else?

majekdom2:
your email address says something about your person. Take for instance bigbutt@gmail.com... what comes to your mind first. Take away the sentiments. If you have worked in a multinational company as claimed, you should know what process is. Screening out un professionalism is not in anyway mudane. Personality is something recruiters look out for aside your qualifications and experience. If you are to be an Hr personnel, you will be trained more about this. So let someone with experience in this field advise people. You can advice people in your field. You don't need to tell people how to do their job. And the email address is not just a Nigerian things!

majekdom2:
email depicts professionalism and personality. Are you a HR personnel? Don't tell people how to do their jobs when they have been trained on how to do it!

Don't be silly. And stop arguing blindly. The only thing that should concern a HR person, is the candidate's CV or resume. End of story! Only lazy HR recruiters major in minor inconsequential rubbish, like e-mail addresses. Was he employed to hire e-mails or to hire candidates, like someone asked earlier?
And I keep repeating that the first thing that shows up when you receive an e-mail, is the person's name and not his e-mail address! Do I have to repeat this in your native dialect, for you to get it? Any recruiter that goes hunting for an e-mail address, to disqualify a candidate is just shallow!

Your e-mail address has very little bearing on your ability to do the job!

OfficialAPCNig:
I will respond to the mentions later, but before that I would love to address the issue of email address.

Every Recruiter knows there is something we call preliminary screening. It is a standard practice. In my organisation, we start with email. We are very strict with email.

For each position, we allow a maximum of 25 applicants for the interview. So imagine a situation where you are dealing with over 500 applications for just one opening.

Anyway, we believe that applicants that ain't serioud with email, won't be a serious contender. It is a fact. We have proofs.

As for acknowledgement, please tell me why you shouldn't acknowledge an invite?

Finally, there is difference between working as HR for a company and working as a HR for many companies.

We are responsible for who we recruit and I am not responsible for training and appraising a candidate I recruited.

My personal rating is based on the performance of those I recruited, trained and appraised.

To be on a safer side, avoid stupid email addresses and try to acknowledge properly.

Our system will even filter out those emails before they get to me. If they survive the Filters, they won't definitely survive me or any of our Recruiters.

About numbers on email addresses, I said avoid it if you could, but if you think you can't, just 2 digits will do. A digit or more than 2 is spammy. Our system is so good in filtering that.

KanuIdris2@gmail.com
KanuIdris25@gmail.com
KanuIdris253@gmail.com

The second one looks better and that is what I accept.

Sorry!!!

Look at this pompous joker! Were you not the same person that said you would not accept figures in an e-mail address before, in your previous post? LMAO!

larkz:
If this ain't the truth. When you have 17,000 people applying for an entry level job where only 25 people will be taken, that's when you start doing yaga yaga gymnastics to eliminate people.

When you are recruiting for a highly specialized role which you know only 30 people in Nigeria can effectively handle, then come and tell me about email address.

The OP probably works for a company where they handle 20 CVs per position advertised. I mean, how else will you be able to check the number of dots and numbers in a candidate's email address?

And then going in first or last? Lmao. If you don't stop that joke

You are too correct, my brother. In fact the last multinational that hired me, I was the last candidate to be interviewed and I got the job!

thewritingtodo:
And that's where you fail to understand the process. It is not whether a LAW permits the use of certain email addresses or not. Your email handle speaks volumes about you, just the way your hair or clothes do. Cyberspace has become part and parcel of our identities in this generation so it is easy to read a person's character from the kind of mail he/she uses.
Me I'm with OP on this sha... recruiters have a whole lot of sieving to do, so if they use th strictest criteria, then so be it.

Using a myopic irrelevant excuse like an e-mail address, to discard potential candidates or disenfranchise applicants, is wrong! Companies like Amazon, Vodacom, and many top firms were able to get the best people for the job, because their HR people looked past such irrelevant stuff, to hire the best candidates to fill their job roles.

You cannot read anybody's character from an e-mail address, sir! The applicant might have been in a humorous mood, when he selected that e-mail address years ago. How can you now use that to discard his application, simply because you are too lazy to scrutinise his CV? Apart from that, a person name appears in the sender's field of an e-mail sent to you, before his e-mail address even shows up in the body of the mail. So what are you talking about?

boladez:
You are limiting yourself by the email you use. No one will teach you professional emails in school but it is common sense. I will not bother with a chizzylove.Bleep or superboyxxx......it is a sign of immaturity, unseriousness and irresponsibility to use that mail for a job interview...rant all you can it will not change the business ethics of today's world.

This is one of the shifts between the old generation and new generation to whom nothing matters and nothing counts

Oga, wake up and smell the coffee. Only lazy recruiters insist on using a myopic, irrelevant criteria like an e-mail address, to disqualify a potential candidate. It shows the level of their irrationality and thinking. It is not business ethics, it is just a lazy unethical approach to addressing a HR situation.

EdoBoy90:
In an economy where we don't have a lot of industries or companies, recruiters find flimsy excuse to disqualify to qualifiable candidates.

Can I ask the recruiter a question? Remember in the good old days, people were employed without a mail address. CV and Cover letter should be the first prerequisite for employment it is because there are no jobs in Nigeria some recruiters treat graduates badly or unfairly.

I don't blame some of you recruiters, I blame the economy and bad leaders we have in Nigeria.

Nigeria we be great again when graduates will be begged to work. Nothing last forever. Nothing is permanent.

You don talk am finish!

souljaboi51:
I am a HR officer for one of the Top 100 companies to work for in Nigeria (jobberman ranking) and i can say for a fact that alot of your excuses are just crap (excuse my language).

This email of a thing is not important and i have come across alot of funny emails and they eventually get the job. Its not a requirement.

As for acknowledgement, what else are you looking for? You want the person write an epistle to confirm attendance? Oh please. One time someone had an issue with distance and would be able to make it. Guess what, i scheduled a skype interview and another time, i told the person to visit one of our branches and i scheduled a Tele-presence (video call) interview.

Furthermore, i have on different occasions had candidates who are running late. Guess what, i call them to ask if they will be able to make it or they want to reschedule.

This is how HR is practiced and not the unnecessary bias you preach

It is people like you that give HR practioners a bad name. You need to check yourself

I wish I could dash you 10,000 likes for this post. May you live long. I once applied for a UN agency job, with my personal e-mail address which does not contain my name at all, o! Guess what? I was called up for an interview in their Abuja office, while I was still living in Lagos. I explained the difficulties of getting to Abuja via a short e-mail to them, and they offered to reschedule the interview.

Lbrasi:
My email address falls under the category of the type you ld discard but I have gotten invites from multinationals and I have worked with one before using the same email.I got an invite from Amazon using the same email address,I didn't land the job though but it wasn't because of the email.
I ld rather be focused on competency of the candidate than his or her email address.

God bless you!