Too much experience for this but too little experience for that, rock - hard place
Posted by testcrunch on July 1st, 2008
An agent phoned up about a position needing security clearance, which is becoming more and more the norm these days.
Agents always think I have good security clearance as I worked for the MOD recently on an army barracks. Oddly I didn’t actually need security clearance for working on an army barracks but if you want to be a janitor for a company that does work for the MOD you do. Go figure. Anyway they asked whether I had a British passport and whether I would be willing to undergo security clearance. I said yes as I don’t think I have any skeletons in the closet.
The agent emailed me three job specs and asked me which one was the most suitable. One was for a basic tester, then there was a senior tester and lastly a team leader. I replied that it had to be the team leader position as if I applied for and gotten the slightly more junior positions I would almost certainly have way more experience than the team leader or even possibly the test manager.
I got an email response later that they couldn’t put me forward for the team leader position as I didn’t have enough team leading experience. Huh! I phoned them later and she reiterated what she had emailed me. When I said that I had 10 years, at least, team leading experience in a total of 18 years testing experience and that could be more than the test manager she responded ‘our test managers are expected to have at least 15 years experience’. Good answer. He-he.
I’d never heard of this agency so said it might be best if they removed me from their database, as I had not much confidence in their ability to read resume’s. Though I didn’t mention that bit.
Fat chance of them removing me from their database, they’ll just make a note not to contact me for 6 months hoping that by that time I will have forgotten I asked to be removed. Good point, how do you enforce the Data Protection Act?
I saw a job advert for MI6 (British Secret Service) the other day and they were after staff. It said if you applied for a position with them don’t tell anyone. True.