Haven't asked a question in a while so today's the day!

I just emailed an application for a job and received a reply shortly afterwards - great, or so I thought. The reply (emailed only to me) reads "if you could print this Alice" (my name is not Alice or anything like Alice). My thoughts are that the person meant to send my application to an admin assistant, not reply to me. I am afraid that when they are compiling their short list that I won't be considered given that 'Alice' didn't print my cover letter and CV as she wasn't sent them!!!!!

Should I contact the company?:-(

======= Date Modified 03 Apr 2012 10:53:23 =======
I would but keep it simple and to the point.

Oh and good luck!!!

Agreed.

======= Date Modified 03 Apr 2012 11:03:28 =======
'Apologies but I think your email was intended for another recipient. However, I would be most grateful if you could send me an application pack for the post of...

Many thanks.

Kind regards,

Ady'

If you're not in you can't win:p

thanks guys:-)

Right, so I phoned, asked to speak to 'Alice', explained the situ to her and sure enough it was meant for her. She assures me she is printing off my CV and cover letter now!

Just found out a job I applied for but didn't get shortlisted for had over 150 applications, nearly all of whom had PhDs - the job didn't require anything higher than a primary degree:-(

It's tough out there folks

It is tough out there Ady but strangely enough I find it comforting (or maybe I kid myself) to believe the volume of rejections is down to the circumstances (surplus of PhD's and very few jobs) rather than my personal attributes.

Anyway, good luck with this job application.

Yes, be polite. "I'm sorry if you're busy, but it seems you sent my application to the wrong address."

There is the chance your application has gone astray and you need to make sure this hasn't happened.

Handled correctly, if the person you contact is involved in the selection process it could work in your favour. You could be seen as efficient, organised and polite.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

I found myself trying to convince someone on another forum that there was an oversupply of PhDs. The person commented that the Pharmacy PhDs he was working with had no problems obtaining a job.

I believe that's one area where there is less of an oversupply problem due to demand (which I pointed out to him) and that does not apply to the majority of other subject areas. I don't think I really convinced him, despite posting up two links.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)