received a phone call from the recruiting office asking to set up a time to schedule a phone interview. the interview itself was very textbook and it felt as if the interviewer was reading off a script, absolutely no emotion.

Both the woman who scheduled the interview and the actual interviewer I spoke with on the phone were amiable, and the latter suggested I apply for a Relationship Banker position. However, the hiring policies are ludicrous and defy common sense, not to mention that, after spending hours prepping for the interview, I got four minutes on the phone and was rejected because I did not have enough recent cash handling experience. I suppose they mean physical cash, because, even though I have a college degree specializing in Marketing/PR/Promotions/Communications etc., have more than two years of experience as administrative assistant, have managed several budgets and filled out purchase requisitions, have served as a representative payee for a disabled relative, and, yes, have done retail, cashier and sales work, I did not "qualify" for an entry level teller position. I handle cash better than 90 percent of the people I know, yet, since I have not had recent retail experience handling cash, I don't qualify. This has been the most counterintuitive reason for not getting a job that I have come across yet. That kind of backwards thinking will hurt M&T, because a ton of overly qualified people who are hard working and have proven track records, though they may be so slightly off of M&T's beaten track, will be passed over for kids who have worked retail for half a year. By the logic presented to me, I would be applicable for a position of higher authority at that bank without ever having worked at a bank, which suggests that teller jobs are not integrated career or education-wise with relation banker jobs. If I weren't qualified to count out money, why would I be suited to tell people which accounts they should have? These requisites make no sense.