The tight labor market is a curse for more and more employers and a blessing for job seekers who previously had difficulty finding a job. People over 50 and applicants with disabilities are increasingly participating. In the podcast ‘Am I still counting? Three colleagues from Omroep Brabant experience what their market value still is in the vacancy world, because they are going to apply for a job.
All three applicants have a small technical frailty. Reporter René van Hoof, like desk editor Hans Janssen, is over 60. Colleague Femke de Jong will soon celebrate her 25th anniversary as an MS patient. Until recently, these were facts that did not automatically end up at the top of the ‘invite for an introductory meeting’ pile. Is that different now?
“My personal experience with MS was actually seen as an advantage”
To find out, they started applying for jobs. Because it has been years since they last did this, they receive help from experts along the way. In the first episode they received tips to make their CV more up to date. In addition, various vacancies were examined and what type of vacancies they have the best chance of obtaining.
These tips are followed up in the second episode. For example, Femke calls MS.nl to ask whether the ‘medical editor’ vacancy is still available. The answer is positive and she has a conversation about the work and workplace associated with the vacancy. In addition, her MS experience appears to be a plus for the job.
In the meantime, personnel recruiter Relinde Gronert from Van Mossel Automotive is impressed by the application letters of the three colleagues. She receives 90 applications in her email every week, but there is rarely a ‘letter’ among them. “I only receive CVs. I select based on that and if I think I have a suitable candidate, I call him to see whether he is also motivated. If that goes well, I invite someone for an introductory meeting.”
“Anyone who arrives late or shows up in a tracksuit has some explaining to do.”
Relinde expects applicants to arrive on time and not in a tracksuit. “Those are really turn-offs. Then you first have some explaining to do. A mechanic can also look neat.” She also expects that the applicants have prepared themselves. “If you really want the job, you find out what kind of company we are, how big we are, where we are and what we do. If you don’t take that effort, then you are not seriously interested.”
Click on the link below to watch the first episode of ‘Do I still count? to listen to. Press follow immediately so you don’t miss an episode.
Waiting for privacy settings…