redblueamerica.com

Twice in the past two months an ATT recruiter has called me about an open position in their company. I am a software engineer holding two degrees and more than 15 years experience, including technical management positions.

The salary ATT had set for the job was about half the market rate for the position. The recruiter informed me it was not negotiable, and the extent of my experience did not matter. Essentially, I could take it or leave it.

The recruiter also required me to provide my social security number in order to continue my candidacy. I told him I believe it is illegal to require an SSN as a condition for recruiting and refused to provide it.

The combination of the two ATT recruiting policies I've described caused me to eliminate them as a potential employer.

In ATT's case perhaps it's not so much a shortage that prevents them from finding appropriately skilled labor as it is their HR policies.