I have been job hunting since i graduated in may. I sent an email to the pregnancy center in my town. I asked where do i go to apply for a job positon there entry level or above. I saw no where to apply on the site so i asked her if there was a website i should visit or should i come apply in person. Well i got an email back 2 days later saying this :

Dear TwinkletOes(obviously she used my real name but i sont want to give it outon the forum just yet )

Thank you for your interest but there are no paid positions available except for that of the director of the pregnancy center and that position is currently occupied.

Have a great day
Jennifer The director of the pregnancy center(yes she bolded it)

Now i would not have felt that this letter was unprofessionally rude if she had said that i could volunteer cuz the site said something about ALWAYS needing volunteers. I would have been willing to volunteer for the summer bc that would count as job experience but now after recieving that letter from her i wouldnt want to work for someone like that(especially for no pay). My mama and everyone i have shown the letter to have said the same thing that she was intimidated bc i had a bachelors of psychology and she only has a hs diploma and she was afraid i was gonna take her job. I would hope that a grown woman who prolly has wayyy more job experience than me would not be intimidated by a recent college grad with no relevant job expierence to speak of what do you guys think?

wildandblue

AS a new grad, it's easy to get discouraged. Why don't they want ME? Why won't they give me a chance? As a person just starting out, try not to think like that . Don't burn too many bridges behind you. These people are working in the industry you want to be a part of. They are talking to other people in this industry. An opportunity could arise for them to say to someone, you know, I did here from this one guy....YOU! She actually replied, even though she had no position. Wouldn't hurt to write back asking her to keep you on file if anything comes up, or could she recommend anyone else who might be interested? And thank them profusely for any help they do give!

TwinkletOes26

Quote : By the by, were your contacts with her as poorly written/spell checked as what you've posted? Because they don't look like something someone with your education and experience would be expected to write.

Of course not there is a difference in writting an email to someone to whom you want to inquire about a job and typing on a forum. I know how to properly type (or i would not have made through my psych classes which required a lot of writing papers APA style and the professors were very strict about things like this) but this is a CASUAL forum so i dont care so much aout grammatical errors...i figure no one is grading what i type on here so who cares if i have a run on sentence or miss a few periods(sometimes ill double check after i type and sometimes wont depends on wether i feel like it(i have that right on a internet forum afterall lol)

Scott i felt the email was rude because she went out of her way to asy the only position that is a paid one is that of the director and that it was already occupied and then went on to sign it Jennifer The director of the pregnancy center I mean why take time to bold that title...

Btw i would have been more than happy to volunteer bc that counts as expierence but if she doesnt offer im not going to impose myself upon her any futher by asking her about volunteer positions especially since from her email she seems not to even want me for that...like i said anyone who would take time to BOLD her title"THE DIRECTOR OF THE PREGNANCY CENTER" after saying the only paid position was that of the director. again im just glad she revealed how she was before i decided to volunteer

wildandblue

Well look at Terms of Service, Posting Rules number two. We are asked to use the best English we are capable of, because other people will be searching and reading our questions and answers.

ScottGem

Could be that's a stored signature. I use a stored sig where I use colors or bolding for different things. So its possible she did not go out of her way to bold the title.

TwinkletOes26

This is a public forum folks not english 101 as long as my question can be understood it really doesnt matter if i miss a letter typing or have a few run on sentences. It is really not that serious of an issue. if i decide to use r instead of are you know what i mean ...and i read the terms and sometimes i use txt talk out of laziness or for the sake of not making my question so long. I FULLY understand that when inquiring for a job postition through email or typing a resume make you sure you have no mispelled words and most certainly no run on sentences but again this is just a PUBLIC FORUM not english 101..so the fact that such a big deal is being made about how many grammatical errors one has in their posting is just ludicrous but hey that just my opinon some people are more anal about things like this on a forum than I am .

Depressed in MO

That is what I was thinking. I personally don't like communicating via e-mail because people can misconstrue what the other one is saying so easily. She OP may have taken the tone of the e-mail in the wrong manner, which happens frequently. When situations like this apply, a good way to follow up to see how the director's REAL personality is-would be to make a follow up call and thank her and then ask about volunteer work.

TwinkletOes26

scott & depressed maybe it was a stored signature but I have one myself i use in casual emails to friends and i have never seen a bolded stored signature before .

LisaB4657

There is no difference between writing an email to inquire about a job and writing a question or answer on a casual forum. Anytime you write anything, the quality of your writing is a sign of respect (or lack thereof) for your reader. When you don't take the time to proofread your writing then you are telling your reader that they are not important to you and you don't have much respect for them.


Her response to you was not rude. Her response was straight and to the point. The fact that you chose to perceive it as rude was a result of your having emailed rather than speaking to her in person. In email you don't have the benefit of tone of voice and body language.

Regardless of the information given to you by your college career center, it is never wrong to walk into a prospective place of employment and politely ask for their preferred procedure for applying for a job. While everyone may communicate by email it is still considered the "easy way". Some employers may see it as you not wanting to make much of an effort.

Congratulations on obtaining your degree. Best of luck with your job hunt.

TwinkletOes26

quote : There is no difference between writing an email to inquire about a job and writing a question or answer on a casual forum. Anytime you write anything, the quality of your writing is a sign of respect (or lack thereof) for your reader. When you don't take the time to proofread your writing then you are telling your reader that they are not important to you and you don't have much respect for them.

Well i disagree with you. When i see someones writing on a forum and they use for example dont instead of do not (yes it is improper to use contractions when typing english 101 ) i figure they either ran out of space or they do not feel like typing out the whole word i do not hold it against them and think "well they have no respect for me as the reader" as long as i can understand the question who cares?I cannot believe i am having this conversation about grammar on a public forum so i have said what i am going to say about grammar obviously some of you have a different opinon than i do about it and you are entitled to that so lets just agree to disagree ok its the mature thing to do am i right????

quote : Her response to you was not rude. Her response was straight and to the point. The fact that you chose to perceive it as rude was a result of your having emailed rather than speaking to her in person. In email you don't have the benefit of tone of voice and body language.

Again the fact that she did not bold her signature but BOLDED her title makes me think she was implying "hey there is only one paid position and its mine and you can not have it"

ScottGem

And that is an assumption YOU are making that may be very wrong. I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt.