Your advice seemed very helpful and caring.  I think I'll pick up a copy
of that book for my students.

Take care, and good luck Vanessa!
Sam

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003, Todd E. Melander wrote:

> I am a statistician/stat recruiter in the US.  This is the first time
> I've seen a "glut" of statisticians...most are recently graduated, and
> they face experienced competition with nearly every interview.  One
> candidate with no experience has so impressed a client of mine that they
> keep asking her back to interview when they have new openings, but in
> the end they decide to go with the experienced statisticians.  It's a
> bad market here, too.
>
> For Vanessa, I have a few suggestions, though they might be US biased:
>
> 1.  Chances are decent that your negative feedback on your one interview
> is not an isolated case.  Most potential employers shy away from
> negative comments, so most would simple say "your qualifications are
> impressive, good luck..."
>
> It could be something negative about your personality, or it could
> simply be a communication problem, a confidence problem, or a perceived
> intelligence problem.  As harsh as that is to say, my suggestion would
> be to get unadulterated feedback from trusted professors and former
> classmates, if possible.
>
> 2.  Eat, drink, and sleep the interview book "Knock 'em Dead" by Martin
> Yate.  I make sure all my candidates get a copy.
>
> 3.  In the US, it is much more difficult to get a job without permanent
> residency.  No employer uses that excuse for not hiring, but I haven't
> seen one yet that seems to put non-permanent residents on equal footing.
> And I believe that's the way our gov't sets it up: to provide
> opportunities for non-perms only if residents cannot provide the
> technical skills.  I'm not sure whether it is the same in the UK or what
> residency status applies to Vanessa.  But that may be an easy underlying
> reason for what is happening.
>
> 4.  For the candidate I mention in the first paragraph, I finally came
> up with an alternative idea that appears agreeable to both the candidate
> and the somewhat interested client (who has periodic openings).  My
> candidate has agreed to an "internship" with the client for a few
> months.  No benefits, low pay (about $15/hr), but she can continue to
> look for a job, and meanwhile she'll gain the experience she is
> lacking--not to mention the foot in the door.  Granted, my candidate has
> benefits from other sources that make this somewhat easy for her, but
> this type of deal is something Vanessa might consider.
>
> 5.  Finally, back to the interview...the most importants things for a
> candidate to possess: supreme confidence in her abilities to handle any
> statistical problem (not necessarily solve it or solve it alone) and a
> gleam in her eye that says she is excited about being a statistician and
> working for this company.  My experience is THAT person usually gets the
> job.  Tough for a non-experienced person to pull off, but that is a key
> to getting the job in a tough market.
>
> Hope this helps, Todd
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: A UK-based worldwide e-mail broadcast system mailing list
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Vanessa Narayanassamy
> > Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 6:21 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: no experience, no jobs
> >
> > I have made lots of application for the post of statisticians (around
> 90-
> > 95) and I had 56 interviews. I have attended all these interviews and
> I
> > could see myself getting a job. I have asked for feedbacks for all
> these
> > interviews I have been attending. I will give some examples of the
> > feedbacks:
> >
> > For example the interview I have attended at UCL:
> >
> > She said to me that I was very impressed by you as a good interviewee,
> > unfortunately we cannot proceed your application further.
> >
> > An interview I attended at the University of Bristol:
> >
> > We were very impressed by you as a good interviewee, but unfortunately
> you
> > have been beaten up by somebody who have got the experience.
> >
> > The interview I attended at Roche as a Safety Data Analyst:
> >
> > She said that thare is something to do with the personality and that
> one
> > of
> > the person who interviewed me would not be able to get on with me and
> > obviously you will not be able to get on with us. When I asked what's
> > wrong
> > with my personality, she said that she will not be able to tell me
> more
> > about it. She even said to me to re-apply for jobs at Roche whenever
> there
> > are any advertisement. But I do not feel like applying for jobs at
> this
> > company again.
> >
> > The interview I had at Smith & Nephew said that I had all the skills
> but
> > somebody had the experience.
> >
> > Today I had another rejection at NIBSC and thay said that they would
> not
> > be
> > able to take my application any further.
> >
> > I had an interview at The University of Cambridge and I am still
> waiting
> > for their response. I do not know what the response will be.
> >
> > I will not be able to mention all the feedbacks. Actually the
> feedbacks
> > were approximately the same. Actually, I do not know where is the
> exact
> > cause. I do not even know if the employers are being honest with me.
> Or
> > they do not want me to work with them just because of my ethnic
> minority.
> > I
> > feel that I do have all the necessary qualifications and skills and if
> > they
> > do not take give me the chance where I am going to get the experience.
> I
> > feel that I have been wasting a lot of money and time to study for
> these
> > qualifications and gaining all these skills and in the end I feel
> there is
> > no jobs for me.
> >
> > Vanessa
>