an AI resume screener had been trained on CVs of employees already at the firm, giving people extra marks if they listed “baseball” or “basketball” – hobbies that were linked to more successful staff, often men. Those who mentioned “softball” – typically women – were downgraded.

Marginalised groups often “fall through the cracks, because they have different hobbies, they went to different schools”

  • bane_killgrind
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    119 months ago

    “qualified” is a loaded term. Industry or product knowledge go a long way to succeed in quite a few businesses.

    As an example “Unqualified” for sales might just mean the applicant doesn’t have an MBA or whatever other degree, even though they have dealt with break fix service and other solution oriented work.

    Similarly, if a sales rep went into installation or project management they would have a leg up.

    • @Aceticon
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      9 months ago

      The worst project management I’ve ever seen was done by salespeople, probably because they’re laughably unrealistic about what is actually possible and how fast and how well it can be done, so overpromise all the time thus condemning a project to fail for the start (want to see a guaranteed deathmarch project: go look for any were a salesperson got put in charge), tend to expect that problems get solved with fast talk and change the requirements everytime they speak with customers/stakeholders as if it one could just, say swap the foundations of building half-way done add some more floors on top.

      That genuine optimist that comes from not examining something so close and in depth that you start seeing enough detail to spot the potential problems and start grasping the true scope of the task, which is maybe the best quality for selling stuff, is pretty much the worst quality for actually making stuff or lead those who make stuff (in this latter case because of being shit at setting and managing expectations).

      Theirs is the last kind of personality you want managing the creating of anything in any way complex.

      • bane_killgrind
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        29 months ago

        Yeah absolutely.

        The best sales will actually understand their product in depth and will be able to educate their customer on it, though. They also won’t waste their time with unrealistic expectations.

        • @Aceticon
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          9 months ago

          In the area I’m in (software engineering) were there is no product to sell and it’s all tailor made to fit or heavilly adapted solutions, the closest to what you describe are called “consultants” who have a technical background.

          My experience with pure sales people trying to manage a project was always pretty bad, maybe because custom software is just too open ended and unique, so lacks the kind of references and past usage history that a good salesperson can use as guidance.

    • FaceDeer
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      19 months ago

      OP said “Of course I don’t make it past 1 or 2 interviews in such cases.” So it seems pretty straightforward that he wasn’t qualified, as in he wasn’t going to succeed in those roles.

      • bane_killgrind
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        69 months ago

        Not making it through the interviews doesn’t indicate job success, it indicates job attainment. I’m saying job success is less related to listed qualifications than you might think.

        • FaceDeer
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          -29 months ago

          Step one in succeeding in a job is passing the interviews and getting that job.

          OP was just wasting everyone’s time, both his own and the interviewers.

          • bane_killgrind
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            69 months ago

            No lol

            The job is producing usable work

            The interview is getting the opportunity to get paid for producing usable work.

            • FaceDeer
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              -29 months ago

              And I’m pretty doubtful that OP would be capable of producing usable work. He says it himself, he’s being deceptive about his abilities.

              • bane_killgrind
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                49 months ago

                No that’s your prejudice about what he says.

                He doesn’t comment on anything past interviewing. You don’t know his opinion on if he can produce usable work.

                You haven’t said anything to rebut my statement that attaining work and completing work are different thing.

                Idgaf what you doubt unless you can give some narrative that lends it credibility.

    • Rentlar
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      9 months ago

      Yeah, I already said what I wanted to the other commentor, but the situations had to do with titles, years of experience, degrees, visas variously. With a bit of training and a lot of effort on my part I could fulfill a role just fine but it could be one level higher than expected paygrade for someone like me.

      My interview skills aren’t the best. How I got the job I eventually got was not just more practice but because the questions that were asked of me were actually about what I know of the industry itself, which is something I could just talk and talk and talk about that with them all day if that’s what they wanted.