I posted a job on Gumtree last night...

[adrianh]

I'm looking for another pair of semi-skilled hands so I posted an advertisement on Gumtree last night. I got loads and loads of responses and here are some of the highlights: (These are the full responses , not just bits n pieces) Also, the responses are from all race groups.

good mornings sir/madam my name is *** and im a very fast learner im willing to work in a team im a hard working guy i know a little about engineering and im looking for a general job i stay in *** if u can send me ur cantact details so i can forward my cv to u my number is *** please let me know and i know a bit about the gilotine and thb hydraulic press and the sheet metal work

Goodmorning!
Im looking for a job,I came across this advert then Im interestest on it Thank you!

Sir/madam look no further because I am your guy but I would prefer to let my hands do the talking.
I can be reached at the above email or at *** your immidiate response would be much appreciated thank you !

Hlw im *** im 20 yrz old im hard wkr im desparate fr this job bcz i knw to use my handz i think i wl knw if the way you wrk my cell no ***

Would like the opportunity I'm and worker and a gud listner

Hi there I see ur ad on gumtree am very good with my hands and am a fast learner can do anything am a nice person don't drink and smoke and looking for a job,can u please let me no?

hmmmm.....lets see, I'll give them all a miss....

[AndyD]

If these were replies that were typed into the 2 inch square text box on the Gumtree page I'd by tempted to cut them some slack with their txt spk.

[HR Solutions]

And that is exactly the reason why some companies use agencies like ours. We take all that hassle away from you, short list and send you the top 5 for you to have a relaxed look at and then decide

[adrianh]

I don't agree, it doesn't stop them from writing properly and that text box has lots more space. I got numerous good replies too.

[HR Solutions]

If these were replies that were typed into the 2 inch square text box on the Gumtree page I'd by tempted to cut them some slack with their txt spk.

Are you serious ??

[AndyD]

Yep. Look at it this way, if I was a spelling Nazi or a member or the grammar police I wouldn't have clicked on a thread that had 'Gymtree' in the title.

[HR Solutions]

Yep. Look at it this way, if I was a spelling Nazi or a member or the grammar police I wouldn't have clicked on a thread that had 'Gymtree' in the title.

Sure but why pick the illiterate rather than the ones that are fluent and have one or two more brain cells ?

[adrianh]

Ok, so I got 30 responses. 20 were from people who do not put any effort in whatsoever, should I bother to interview those 20. I think there is a vast difference between misspelling a word because of typing too fast versus applying for a job using a one liner typed in cell speak.

A number of people attached nice CV's and one even included a photograph of himself. Andy, there is no excuse, there are many good people who put a bit of effort in and they should be rewarded.

[AndyD]

I guess over the decades of being in this country I've come to realise that the correlation between perfect English grammar and spelling and the ability to be an asset to a business is a pretty loose one.

Probably 80% of the applicants will be English speaking only as a second or even third language and I find it difficult to hold sombodies 3rd language to the same standard that I speak my first. Don't get me wrong, accurate communication skills are very important but I don't think minor spelling and grammar mistakes are a particularly accurate indicator of a persons communication skills.

Finally txt spk, annoying as it may be to older people, is basically a legitimate language to most people in their 20's. I could certainly see that the format of the Gumtree reply box would lend itself or be seen as an appropriate venue for txt spk.

I would certainly concentrate on the content of the post. Id firstly remove anything that looked generic ie it was from someone who was blanket copy/pastying into hundreds of job applications. Anything that was obviously taylored to my specific job offer would certainly survive the initial culling.

[HR Solutions]

Then I'm afraid we will disagree. If someone is serious about looking for a job, they will put some effort into an application or a Gumtree reply. We have also tried advertising on gumtree and have come up with no good results at all. There are more people out there that are wanting a job and are prepared to go the extra mile, spell correctly, not use mixit talk when they know that it will affect their prospects of getting a job. At the end of the day if you have 30 applicants, you certainly don't have the time to interview all, therefore you short list to the ones you feel are going to be suitable.

[adrianh]

[adrianh]

It's amazing how a mail and CV just jumps out at you. I read his mail and CV and then spoke to him on the phone. The guy seems to be young, bright and keen so we meet tomorrow.

[HR Solutions]

Good for you. If he is going to deal with money at all - do an ITC check. If he is going to just be working with your equipment etc - do a Crim check. Don't leave it and regret it later.

[IanF]

Have you asked your employees if they know anyone, that has worked for me better than ads.

[adrianh]

I prefer to bring in outsiders because having little cliques is also a bad thing.