Sydney business owner attacked on Facebook for offering job seekers interview advice

IT’S NOT good form to turn up to a job interview in dirty clothes. But one Sydney business owner has been slammed on facebook for giving some well-meaning advice.

MUST CREDIT: SBS... Housos, 2013. Dazza (Jason Davis), Franky (Paul Fenech) and Kev(Kevin Taumata) Picture: Sbs

A SYDNEY business owner sick of prospective employees turning up for interviews in dodgy clothes while eating food took to Facebook to offer some well-meaning advice.

But he was quickly shot down by disgruntled job seekers who didn’t agree with him.

Gordon Carlsen owns a number of small businesses in Western Sydney and said he was often on the lookout for new employees.

But after interviewing a number of applicants for a position on the weekend, he’d said he’d had enough of people who just didn’t know how to present themselves for interviews.

“In the last couple of years we have done a lot of interviews and I’ve read a lot of resumes and it’s become apparent that there are some people who genuinely want a job they just don’t know how to approach it,” Mr Carlsen said.

“On the weekend I interviewed for staff and there were a couple who came along that you could tell they really needed work and if they had actually presented better or put themselves forward better they probably would have had a better opportunity of getting work.”

One particular man turned up desperate for a job but the way he presented himself made it almost impossible for Mr Carlsen to take him seriously.

“I had a guy turn up who looked like he’d just mowed the lawn with a milkshake in his hand,” he said.

What not to do: Don’t dress like this for a job interview. Picture: SBS.

“He told me he really needed this job to turn his life around and he did everything but beg but he just didn’t present properly.”

Thinking he would use his many years of experience to offer job seekers some important advice, he posted a note to a local community noticeboard on Facebook.

It included the following:

“Probably wasting my time here, but if I can help one person then I will take the risk that I am probably going to get some haters over this,” he started off.

He went on to advise applicants to put some effort into their application and take some time selling themselves if they really want the job.

“Don’t just send a resume with no cover letter and avoid using template forms that simply require you to cut and paste your name”, he wrote.

“And if you do make it to the next step, make it count.”

“Show the interviewer that you give a dam and yes you WANT this job. DONT eat and drink at the interview, talking to someone that is sucking on a milkshake screams to me zero interest,” Mr Carlsen advised.

But some people didn’t like what they saw. And the online hate rolled in.

“I actually took it down because of the haters, unfortunately because it got to the point where it just turned into a manhunt at the end,” he said.

“I got attacked where people were having a go at the employer about their rights and what the employers should be doing for them and it got quite nasty.”

People who been unsuccessful in the past also took the opportunity to tell Mr Carlsen to ‘go f--- himself’.

But it’s not just Mr Carlsen who is seeing this trend.

Jane Lowder, career coach and founder of MAX Coaching, said the issue of poor preparation and execution during the application process seemed to be an ‘odd phenomenon’.

A lack of career counselling in schools that help prepare students for the workforce and a way into it could be partly to blame, Ms Lowder said.

Max Coaching founder and career coach Jane Lowder. Picture: Supplied

“There’s not to my knowledge a specific career curriculum in schools to help people to develop their employability skills,” she said.

“Well they’re still around but they’re the history teacher that has been given the job of providing career guidance so it’s a bit-part of their role and they may or may not be trained in that field.”

Stories such as those experienced by Mr Carlsen were all too common, according to Ms Lowder.

“You hear of people turning up in thongs to interviews, leaving their phone on, touring up somewhat dishevelled or inappropriately,” she said.

Attention to detail and putting in the effort before you apply for a job are key to being successful.

“It really is having a strong grasp of your (potential) employer and what they’re looking for and making sure you show up demonstrating that you have it,” she said.

Attitude is also important and some jobseekers needed to change their view on applying for a job and ensuring they head into an interview knowing exactly what it expected and what is happening in the process, according to Ms Lowden.

“A lot of job seekers make the mistake of thinking it’s all about them but in fact it’s all about the employer and what they’re looking for and you proving that you can bring that,” she said.

A growing infatuation with smart phones and tablets could also play a part in this lack of preparation.

“I think an addiction to technology also has a lot to answer for. We are so attuned to beige connecteds to our smart phones or our devices that they consume our attention and we’re not very got at being in the moment,” Ms Lowder said.

Originally published as Sydney business owner attacked on Facebook for offering job seekers interview advice