Devil's Refugee

4 ***** sake!
I have (well, had!) and interview in an hours time.
Was for a Business Analyst position with a major Bank in Edinburgh.
Just received a call from the agency advising that the interviewer has just mentioned that an accountancy qualification and ability to read a P&L account is essential for the role and whether I had this experience.

Well, if the interviewer had READ MY ******* CV she'd know I don't.
In fact, she assumed that because I'd worked in a Bank before, I'd know everything there is about financials.

Talk about waste of time.

So, apart from an 11th hour mess, I wear civvies at work.
What's the problem ?
Well, I'm in my tin flute today so every ****** knows I'm going for an interview !

Gaaahh!!!
I need to punch someone!

carl

Surely you could have mugged up on how to read a P&L account? It's pretty easy, IMHO.

Devil's Refugee

Anyone can be taught to read a P&L (in fact I did so 10 years ago at college)
However its a prerequisite to have this experience, rather than have a basic understanding from a text book for this job.

The point I'm making is that they should've
1: revealed this fact before
2: READ MY CV to find out I don't have this experience

Another point is that I'm a contractor, and this role could've been anywhere in the country.
Imagine your reaction if you had spent a few quid and spent some time travelling to an interview only to be told an hour before that they've only just read your CV and you're not suitable !

carl

Can't you wing it? If you impress them in your other abilities, they may forget about the accountancy qualification bit.

It's a ****-up, but par for the course with most agencies IME (and have you seen how much they charge for this crap service?)

Devil's Refugee

Oh aye. I managed to find a spreadsheet once at my last job and they charged £2,500 for a "finder's fee"
I'm in the wrong job

Yeah, I could've winged it no problems, but I think with it only coming out now and I think the agency is trying to save face as well, I'm not going to bother too much.

It's early in the year and there'll be more jobs better suited.
Budgets will be getting signed off soon, so more projects will be kicking off.

carl

Most agencies I know of charge 15-25% of either a contractor's rate, or a permie's projected first year earnings. If you're putting people in for £40k pa jobs, or £40 p/h contracts, that's a tidy sum.

There was a time (long gone now, I think) when some agencies were charging up to 40%.

GarnetFox

I posted my CV online and an agency rang me three days later with the offer of a job. Trouble is, I'd already worked in that place but they hadn't bothered to read my CV fully. They felt very silly after that.

polarbearit

My advice is always to wing it

Though not when I'm interviewing

Actually - for the last position I hired someone without the qualification in the advert in the end - bloody employers eh?!!