for a lot of you who haven't changed jobs in a long time I offer some insight.
Most companies now use online applications. I'm cool with that.

but like the click through agreements for software, you now have to agree to pages of fine print when you apply.
Access to credit reports, check.
Right to contact all previous employers, check.
Access to all criminal records, checks.
Agree to all company policies, check.
Release to all claims of Intellectual property, check.
Release to allow use of social database review, check.

and although you are submitting a resume, they have boxes for you to re-enter all of your education and employment history.
Expand on skills prior employment has provided which are specific to the position you are applying.
As a percentage basis how frequently did you use these skills.
Been working for 25 years? doesn't matter, what was your GPA?
If you can't remember, you can't proceed with the application until you fill it in.
start and stop dates for all previous employers with contact info, try filling that out for a company that doesn't exist anymore.

and of course since these are just web forms, they aren't real friendly and could be described as downright stupid.
make sure you enter reason for leaving in 30 characters or less.


8 pages, 9, 10 pages worth of forms to apply.
some of these can take an hour or two to fill out.

sigh.... I've gotten mortgages with less effort.

 

^ Welcome to the dumbing down of america!

 

And the sad part is, from what I've been told, most are keying in on just one or two key words or phrases and if they don't show up the app is passed over by their computer during the non-human sorting process.

 

Sounds like a PITA Jerry.

 

It's the Human Resources approach of one-size-fits-all. Want a job as janitor? Fill out this form. Want a job as CEO? Same form.

I just did one of these and had the same problem. They wanted to know if I'd received the "terminal degree" from the high school I went to, among other silly things.

Human Resources departments have (partly in response to litigation) become both more rigorous and more dumbed down. I spend quite a bit of my professional time apologizing for ours. HPH

 

I once got an all expense paid trip to Disney World to interview for a position in their new Business Process Reengineering group because I knew to include some key words in my resume. Even though I was grossly underqualified for the position my resume was one of the five or six out of several thousand that earned an interview. Of course once I was face to face with the decision makers it became fairly obvious that I didn't belong there.

 

I really hope my job lasts through this downturn. I've looked for a job once in the last 27 years: sent resumes to two employers, got two interviews and one offer. (It was late 1998 when IT jobs were easy to get.)

I really don't want to have to learn to play the games necessary in today's world.

 

You forgot to wear these to the interview didn't you?

Red, I'm with you. I've been employed at the same place for 23 years next week. I'm kind of set in my ways. Rather stick with the devil I know and hope for the best.

 

Absolutely correct. When I lost my job in the spring, I applied for a few positions via online applications. Nothing like spending 45 minutes filling out an application, hitting 'submit' and getting an email less than a minute later thanking you for applying but saying that you would not be contacted for an interview. And good luck trying to get ahold of someone live to discuss. I actually followed up with one, as the head of the division that had the open position actually used to work for me a while back. He said that, although I was clearly capable and a solid candidate, once the bots scanned the application and reject it, there is little that HR can do to reverse it, since they are the ones that create the screening filters. Sounds like a company I want to work for.

 

I sure hope I do not have to do this anytime soon. Of course up here in ID, we may not be as sophisticated as some of you 'city folk'.