Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2012. This is a news item: the more than 1,300 applicants for eight jobs at a new Bershka store and the mention of the rise in employment in April 2012 refer to that time.
There’s a Spanish saying that goes “whoever has a love has a treasure”. In the current circumstances, and despite the rise in employment in April, it could be changed to “whoever has a job has a treasure”. Some people try to hold on to theirs at any price, while others, in their search for work, apply for every job offer they find.
That’s the case of the more than 1,300 applicants for the eight jobs that Inditex advertised through its Bershka brand for a new store opening in a few months. The ad was posted on an online job portal and, secondarily, on the company’s own website.
The ad
The pulling power is incredible, and running a selection process with such a huge number of options is difficult. Whether they succeed or fail in choosing the best 8 out of 1,300 applicants will depend on the published ad, designed from the job description.
The published ad asked for:
- Motivated people
- An interest in fashion
- Communication skills
- Flexible availability
In return it offered:
- Job stability
- Opportunities to grow within the group
And its requirements were:
- Experience
- Completion of compulsory secondary education (ESO, in Spain’s school system)
Analyzing the ad
Let’s think about how Bershka’s staff will pre-screen the applications, so we can work out how we should have applied for this job.
There are more than 1,300 CVs, and the only elimination criteria are secondary education and work experience in similar jobs. We don’t discriminate by sex (men or women are equally fine for the position), nor by age.
This first cut is easy to make: simply go through each CV and look at the education and experience. Let’s say we’re left with A THOUSAND candidates. What do we do next? Because it’s clear we can’t hold selection interviews with such a large number of candidates.
We’ll have to look at each CV and assess it against what the ad asks for. But how do you measure an interest in fashion in a CV? Perhaps by presenting a document that is neat, meticulous and different. Using the colors that are in fashion right now, and reflecting the candidate’s tastes and interests in this area through the design, the cover letter or the format.
How do you measure interest in Bershka? In a CV, it’s impossible. In a personal interview, by asking questions about the business group and what the candidates know about the company where they’re looking for work. So, initially, this requirement doesn’t help to screen candidates out.
How do you measure communication skills? Fine, the candidate says they have friends, hobbies and passions. Is that communication? Does that mean knowing how to talk and strike up a conversation with every kind of customer who walks into the store? From the point of view of screening by CV, with all due respect, I think they’ll find it hard to screen for communication skills, unless there is complementary training in sales or communication techniques, and so on.
Can we screen out by availability? Hardly, although there will be a small number of CVs that do mention it in their notes.
Conclusion
In all modesty, I think the ad as framed in this situation brings some added difficulties:
- It requires an excessive amount of work in elimination-stage selection tests.
- The wording of the ad should have aimed to be more selective.
Candidates need to find some way to stand out from the large number of applicants, so that the recruiters take a careful look at their application and it isn’t dismissed as one of the many that don’t meet what they’re looking for.
Do you agree?
Featured image: FlyJacob, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
