Margaret Says

Lord love a duck.***(***Stupid English i.e. not British, specifically English… expression uttered when nothing else will fit… often used when stunned or dismayed.) We sit here day and night searching for candidates and clients and suitable jobs, try to put everything together in order to make a few pence, keep the wolf from the door, stop us ending up in the poorhouse. And what thanks do we get? In no order of importance, here are some observations about the rôle of staffing services, what we do, what we shouldn’t do, what the candidates should do, what the candidates shouldn’t do….

Of course, we’re all total angels at Merit and would practicallynever dream of criticizing candidates’ behavior….. No, it’s just supposed to be a headline that grabs your attention. What my colleagues and I thought might be useful to y’all would be a blog letting you know what the recruitment process is like from OUR side of the eyeballs. Any comments are supposed to be helpful to you – the fact that I might find it cathartic to write them is purely a bonus. How often should you contact us? Not too often and definitely not too infrequently either is the

 A statement like that does wonder for the old self esteem. NOT. We all have to face it in life at some time, though. If it’s in the singular, you’re not what he/she wants, it could be rejection, major bummer, by the person you want to be your life partner if only the feeling were reciprocated. It could be that you can’t get into a particular club, college, society, branch of the Military, let’s not depress ourselves further by thinking of more examples.  What I’m thinking of is rejection by a company which you had hoped would offer you a

In March 2013 I wrote about cover letters and how to impress with a really good one. On re-reading, I notice that two years ago I was fantasizing about Ryan Gosling. Still am. And he still hasn’t called. The thought occurred that in the previous blog article I didn’t answer the initial question, “Why do I send a cover letter?” I could therefore usefully have called this blog “WHY do I modestly cover myself?” but I didn’t think that was as amusing a heading as the one I have chosen. Either way, you knew immediately from the title that I

If you think this is going to be a helpful article to help you get over the rejection from your actual/potential boyfriend, you’re reading the wrong blog. Sorry. I made passing reference in a previous article about not getting the job. Let’s pick at the scab – I speak metaphorically. You have been rejected. “What does it all mean? What can I do about it?” You’re allowed a moment – whole evening, in fact – of wallowing in self-pity. That’s it, though. Life is what happens while you’re waiting for life to happen, so you have to get over it

I totally made that number up. As my regular readers (of course, I think that may just be colleagues) will know, these articles with numbers in their title annoy me, so I came up with a silly number.  “I’m not supposed to remember 124 things to do/not do in interview, am I?” Nope, you’re safe. But there are some useful tips on non-verbal communication in general, and body language in particular, that could improve your interview chances. Hand up to cover mouth/ brushing imaginary lint from trouser leg or skirt/ crossing your arms in front of yourselfas you answer a

I have some swamp land in Georgia to sell you for residential housing development Don’t believe everything anyone tells you. Well, I mean, have SOME trust in people or you’ll end up a miserable, friendless old cynic. What I’m referring to are reviews on the Internet, possibly biased friends, potential future colleagues, company websites ….expounding on jobs, companies, salaries… Company websites: I may be stating the obvious here (never stopped me before) but companies want to portray themselves in the best light, for future business, public relations, attracting the best staff. Even if it’s on the whole pretty good, and

Why is it that these articles, about making yourself a fortune, improving your love life, sticking to the diet, landing a new job, keeping your existing job, things to say in interview, things not to wear during interview, ALWAYS have numbers in the title? Not that it matters, really, but my theory is that the writers of course want you to read their articles, and somehow they have to make it look as though it’s easy for you to remember what they say. If there are actual numbers of things to do, say, not do, not say, then it’ll be

“How did I blow it? Let me count the ways”. It’s all about THEM, not about you. Shocking, I know, and possibly even unfair, but there ya go. The company has a position it wants to fill. “What made you apply?” “What do you have over other candidates?” It’s either HR that’s asking, in which case they’re thinking bigger picture of whether you’ll fit into the company culture, as well as their wanting to make the line manager happy that they found someone for the department. Or it’s the department interviewing in which case all they care about is filling

If I see that phrase “time out of your busy schedule” one more time in a thank you letter to potential employers, I shall SPIT. It is such a cliché, there is no excuse for using it ever under any circumstances. Whatsoever. Remember, this blog on the Merit website is called “Margaret says” and this is one of those times when Margaret says and isn’t going to listen to any “Yes, but what if”s”…Please don’t ever use it. Actually, if I had ten dollars for every time I’ve read it in a thank you letter/email, I’d be sunning myself on