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Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 10 May 2004 08:38 AM

I'm just browsing through Charity Village's job ads, brought on by LukeVanc's post about job hunting for the summer.

Does anyone ever want to call up people who post ads like this one and ask them what the fuck they're thinking?

They want an administrative support/youth worker, with a ton of qualifications, and they're willing to pay the princely sum of...wait for it...$10 per hour, in downtown Toronto. Christ almighty.

From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

oldgoat
Moderator
Babbler # 1130

posted 10 May 2004 10:56 AM

Yikes! That's pretty bad. It's at Scarborough town Centre, just a short distance from my desk. I can't imagine them ending up with someone with those qualifications. It seems to be a strange hybrid between admin asst. and front line service. Wierd.

From: The 10th circle | Registered: Jul 2001 | IP: Logged

Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 10 May 2004 11:07 AM

I know. Did you see the computer skills they wanted? Advanced word processing, spread sheet, Microsoft Publisher, etc. I know people who make $50,000 who couldn't do that.

Ridiculous.

From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

dee
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 983

posted 10 May 2004 04:58 PM

When I first moved to Toronto and was looking for work I remember finding a posting for a legal assistant (my profession in a previous life) at a downtown law firm which paid only minimum wage (then 6.85/hr I think)! The job ad said that was an ideal entry level position for a recent graduate or some other nonsense.

Since I had already decided that I wasn't interested in working for a law firm, I sent them a quick fax telling them I thought their wage was an insult to the profession.

From: pleasant, unemotional conversation aids digestion | Registered: Jul 2001 | IP: Logged

Mr. Magoo
guilty-pleasure
Babbler # 3469

posted 10 May 2004 05:10 PM

quote:
I know people who make $50,000 who couldn't do that.

It asks for knowledge of Office (and while it says "advanced", employers often overstate their needs on notices like this, to give themselves some grounds for weeding out too many applicants, and/or to give themselves bargain room). Other than that, duties include tidying up and helping people use a photocopier. And, quite possibly, helping someone who makes $50,000 use their spell check.

It's no fortune, but for a student, or a recent grad who wants to work today, it's far better than minimum wage. Knowledge of Office isn't exactly an MCSE anymore; I suspect that it's pretty much mandatory for everyone in an office except the custodian.

From: ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø, | Registered: Dec 2002 | IP: Logged

oldgoat
Moderator
Babbler # 1130

posted 10 May 2004 05:18 PM

I'm familiar with the field. What they're offering just isn't competitive. They will end up settling for someone with much less by way of qualifications, and probably not keep them that long.

From: The 10th circle | Registered: Jul 2001 | IP: Logged

Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 10 May 2004 05:24 PM

No, it's definitely true that knowledge of MS Office programs is not a major technological feat; and yet, you'd be surprised how few people are really good at using them. Some people can use one or two of them all right, but most people (including clerical staff I've met) can't use anywhere near all of them, and are maybe only really good at one or two at best.

I noticed it was a weird job in that it kind of combined admin assistant stuff with basic maintenance work. Not that there's a problem with that. But if you're going to expect advanced writing and computer skills, you really can't expect people to be lining up for $10 an hour. As for that being "a pretty good wage" - um, no it's not. I don't care whether you're a recent graduate or not. A recent graduate has student loans to pay. That's a damn sucky wage for the knowledge they want the person to have and the work they want them to do. Actually, that's a sucky wage for any work, really, but that's another story.

You're right, though, Magoo, often people put a lot more into the job ad than what they're really expecting.

Dee, that's hilarious. That's exactly the kind of thing I was thinking - I wish I had the nerve to fax a letter to job ads like this one telling them to feel their heads. But...I'll be looking for work when this contract expires, so no sense in burning bridges.

From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

stell
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5342

posted 10 May 2004 05:55 PM

I've done a job like that (for "adults", not "youth") in a small town -- pretty much exactly the same, except for the outreach stuff. I only made $7/hour, which sucked, but then again my aparment was only $250/month, inclusive (sounds great but you wouldn't want to live there). I knew I was underpaid, but did it for the experience: it was my first job, right out of high school, and given the economy at the time I felt lucky to have it. With inflation I suspect that would be pretty close to $10/hour today... but you couldn't do that in Toronto.

From: Toronto | Registered: Mar 2004 | IP: Logged

Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 10 May 2004 06:00 PM

Yeah, I was going to mention that - if it was in a smaller centre, I could see ten bucks an hour. Say, out in Prince Edward County, where some of my family lives, you could possibly live on $10 an hour. But not in Toronto. Well, you could survive on it, but just barely.

From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

abnormal
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1245

posted 10 May 2004 08:25 PM

quote:
I know people who make $50,000 who couldn't do that.

On the other hand my 12 year old could. I can't. I've never opened a Publisher file in my life and have no desire to do so.

I have to agree with the comment that many jobs will be posted with a higher than necessary set of skills to simplify screening. Downside, it's unlikely the hire will stay for long but at that level it's not generally an issue. And, if it turns out the person has something on the ball they can always be promoted, given a raise, whatever.

From: far, far away | Registered: Aug 2001 | IP: Logged

steffie
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3826

posted 10 May 2004 10:12 PM

Just want to say thanks, Michelle, for the Charity Village link. One more tool in my "get-out-of-hellish-underpaid-job" toolbox.

From: What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow / Out of this stony rubbish? | Registered: Mar 2003 | IP: Logged

Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 10 May 2004 10:31 PM

No problem. A word of warning though: I am the only person I have ever met who has gotten an interview, much less a job (yes, I got my current position through Charity Village) through that web site. The reason being that there are so many people who read it that each job ad generates hundreds of resumes for the employer to choose from.

Not that it's impossible, but I think the reason I got mine was a) I worked in a very similar organization as the one I'm with now, and b) dumb luck. (The dumb luck part played a larger role than you might think, since I was actually the SECOND choice for my position, but the first choice got a permanent job a week before she was to start, and this is a contract position.)

From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

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