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 position 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 because the site said something about ALWAYS needing volunteers. I would have been willing to volunteer for the summer because that would count as job experience but now after receiving that letter from her I wouldn't 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 because I had a bachelors of psychology and she only has a hs diploma and she was afraid I was going to take her job. I would hope that a grown woman who probably has wayyy more job experience than me would not be intimidated by a recent college grad with no relevant job experience to speak of what do you guys think?

I would call her back and tell her you do not wish to have a paid position but that of a volunteer. I bet her attitude will change

Im afraid hat if she's this rude in an email how would she be if I worked for her I am in shock a person in a job profession would act like this?

I believe you asked her where to send a resume for a job, she told you there were no jobs, seems professoinal to me. Not friendly, just very exact with the facts.

What I would say was that if you had wanted a job there, the proper thing to start was not the email, but to go down and visit them and send them a resume or apply in person.

FR I figured it was more unprofessional of me to just show up to a job site with my resume with out knowing whether or not that was the proper channels (besides I asked what should I do to APPLY not where to send my resume). Some places like verizon for example have it where you can only apply online whilst others do not. I had no idea which to do and after seeing no place on the website where I could apply I took the next step which was to send a email inquiring about ANY position(this is actually quite normal I was taught in college at the college career center to do this before just showing up). The part that makes me think she was rude was that she took time out to BOLD the phrase "the director of the pregnancy center" and did not offer any volunteering positions and I know for a fact that they are always looking for volunteers but like I said I wouldn't want to work for much less volunteer for a person who would respond so rudely in an email... imagne how she would act if I was actually on the job

I don't see anything wrong with what she wrote. Perhaps YOU could have asked about paid positions AND volunteer ones in your email (and using email was a little unprofessional). Better would have been to knock on their door and drop off your resume.

There was no indication on the web site that it's a non-profit? Most of the time, non-profits have few or no paid positions, depending on the size of the municipality they're in and what they do. At our cat shelter, for instance, only the manager is paid because the shelter is in her house and she's on call 24/7.

As far as job hunting, are you in a small town? Do you have a vehicle? How far are you willing to travel for a job? With a bachelor's in psych, there should be all sorts of possibilities for you. Have you investigated those possibilities at the public library?

Quote : I don't see anything wrong with what she wrote. Perhaps YOU could have asked about paid positions AND volunteer ones in your email (and using email was a little unprofessional). Better would have been to knock on their door and drop off your resume.

Again I don't want to work for anyone who would send such an email anyway so I'm fglad she let me know what kind of person she was before I even wasted my energy with them :).

I keep telling you guys I asked her where/what should be done to APPLY for a position (entry level or above) and I was only following the steps given to me by the CAREER CENTER at my college (which they are suppose to be up to date on the correct way to ask to apply for a job) they said first step is find out about the company by looking them up online second step is the check their webpage(almost all places have one) to see where/how to apply... if you do not see a place to APPLY online... send an email asking(which we were told is not considered unprofessional because that is how everyone communicates now) where/how to apply for a job position... finally if there is no response to an email THEN show up at the place and ask in person how to apply DO NOT DROP OFF YOUR RESUME YET they told us wait until you are told how/where to apply then send in your resume with the application. I was only following what I learned(what is suppose to be correct) in a semester long course for seniors in college.

Wondergirl I do live in a small town (I hate the town to be honest nobody here mostly but a bunch of ignorant small minded people... seriously there are people who hated me in high school because they said "ithought I was white because I spoke correct english and studied and I see them yrs later and they STILL hate me for it lol) but I have plans to go to the nearest city to apply to a place called Babies Can't Wait. They are already familiar with how hard a worker I am because I worked there (no pay) as a intern for a school course in college. I and my partner even made a information board that they use as apart of an awareness fair that they use to inform mothers about free programs if they have a developmentally delayed child.So I am going to apply there and I KNOW they have a place to apply on their webpage.

She should have told you about the volunteer needs but that wouldn't have changed anything because I don't think you were interested in a volunteer status.

I think she answered your inquiry and maybe if she hadn't bolded her title, this issue would not have developed. The bolded "THE" was definitely over the top.

Yeah, it's rare to hear anything from a prospective employer if they don't want you. They usually just ignore you. Maybe it was her way of saying, this is a one woman show, we don't have any other openings but me here. 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.

I have to agree with the others here. I'm finding a hard time figuring out how she was rude. You asked for the process of applying. Apparently there is no formal process (not all organizations have one). So your e-mail was referred to the head of the organization. She let you know there were no positions available, so resume were not being accepted.

Why do you think that was rude or unprofessional?

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, 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!

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 writing 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 don't 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 won't depends on whether I feel like it(I have that right on a internet forum after all 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 because that counts as experience but if she doesn't offer I'm not going to impose myself upon her any further 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 I'm just glad she revealed how she was before I decided to volunteer

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.

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Originally Posted by TwinkletOes26

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...

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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.

This is a public forum folks not english 101 as long as my question can be understood it really doesn't 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 are instead of are you know what I mean... and I read the terms and sometimes I use text talk out of laziness or for the sake of not making my question so long. I FULLY understand that when inquiring for a job position through email or typing a resume make you sure you have no misspelled 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 :).

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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.

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 .

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Originally Posted by 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 writing 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 don't 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 won't depends on whether I feel like it(I have that right on a internet forum after all lol)

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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.

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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 because that counts as experience but if she doesn't offer I'm not going to impose myself upon her any further 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 I'm just glad she revealed how she was before I decided to volunteer

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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.

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 someone's writing on a forum and they use for example don't 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 it's 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"

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Originally Posted by TwinkletOes26

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"

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