Thread: Stop this horrid culture of people getting jobs because of who they know rather than how good a candidate they are

I think it's grossly unfair that so many job vacancies go completely unadvertised to the masses and are only offered to whose who are already working in a certain company. I think there should be a law created that makes it mandatory for all employers to publish job vacancies in the public domain (doesn't matter where - a newspaper, a jobs website, a notice in the local shop), banning them from concealing vacancies from the general public. It is disgusting that nowadays the reality is it is more to do with who you know than how good a candidate you are.

I have been looking unsuccessfully for a job for several months and am sick of hearing stories from people who have been offered jobs and/or promotions "unofficially" by their bosses, without the general public being made aware of the vacancy at all.

I am not talking about last-minute urgent cover jobs etc. - obviously when this need arises a company needs to find someone asap and the way to do that is to get a current employee to do it.
What I'm talking about is genuine vacancies (part-time, full-time, temp, doesn't matter). Especially in a recession, it's all the more disgusting that all these good job offers are being concealed from the vast majority and are being offered exclusively to people who already work in the company, when there are millions of excellent candidates out there who are looking tirelessly and unsuccessfully for jobs and are being discriminated against for not knowing the right people.

It's time to put an end to this shameful culture of unadvertised jobs going straight to people on the inside without even needing a reference or an interview.

What does anyone else think?

I have created a petition on the Downing Street petitions website about this. It is still being checked as I only did it yesterday, but when it hopefully goes online I shall post the link here.

Good luck to all those hard-working, deserving people out there looking for jobs.

I agree with you in the main Tom....however there are certain scenarios where you can't advertise jobs....for example if a person dies, then sometimes they will use another source to get candidates, or if a company need to sack an employee for some reason and need a replacement...and also most companies (albeit larger ones) will advertise a role internally first...

Originally Posted by Jan4a

I recently applied for a job as an Exec Officer at Job Centre - they insisted on external applicants only.

I think Councils, NHS and Universities all advertise their jobs externally and internally. However, I always wonder if they do this because they have to (in accordance with their HR policies) - but I bet they sometimes know before they even place the ad who is likely to get the job if there is a good candidate internally.

Precisely. There's not much that can be done about that, but definitely it should be advertised to everyone, internally and externally, to give everyone a fair chance to present themselves as the ideal candidate.

I don't know about any other universities, but the university I graduated from only ever advertised their temping/part-time/admin jobs externally once they were unable to find anyone internally. By internally, I mean both current employees AND also those who had done work for the uni before but not currently working for them. This was particularly unfair given the number of skint students looking for that kind of work. Once you had been employed once by the uni, you were on their list to be contacted about any vacancy BEFORE it got advertised externally. This I found really wrong. It wasn't jobs where you needed any special knowledge or skills, it was just basic admin/office jobs, always done by students on a part-time basis to fund their studies.

I know one person who got a job with no reference, interview and without even applying, because they agreed to sleep with their boss (from their first job). I know another person who got a job simply because their sibling was a high-ranking staff member. In both these cases, it was people who had worked for the uni before, and they got offered these vacancies without them ever being advertised at all, internally OR externally. Basically, if you didn't know the right people, there was no chance of getting a job. It was completely corrupt. I had a fantastic time at uni but the blatant employment discimination was something I do not miss something I would like changes.

This is why I believe ALL jobs should be advertised in the public doman and everyone, without exception, should be able to apply for them.

I've looked on the NHS Jobs website occasionally in my search for work, and there are sometimes job advertisements that say they are only open to current employees.

Bear in mind a company will advertise to find somebody with the best skills to do the job, if you send a CV or fill out an application, it is likely that there are 100+ other candidates for the job, sometimes companies are not geared up to respond to 100+ candidates who apply for a job, it is time consuming to respond to type letters/send emails....it also has to be cost effective too. And sure if a company were to advertise externally when there was an internal candidate to do the job, why should they waste their time, spending money on an advert, spending time responding to candidates, fielding calls from candidates who might want an update.....

Originally Posted by Jan4a

I think Councils, NHS and Universities all advertise their jobs externally and internally. However, I always wonder if they do this because they have to (in accordance with their HR policies)

Having had experience of most types of local/central govt, they are legally bound to advertise externally

However, you're 2nd assumption is correct in most cases