Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Job application stupidity and incompetence of the day

Greetings.

The site I am trying to apply to a job through is acting very stupidly and incompetently, so I have decided to document the stupidity and incompetence as I apply in order to have an outlet for my annoyance:
  1. I click “Click Here to Apply Online”. I get told that I have to have pop-up blocking off. This alone is a no-no, since the point of pop-up blocking is keeping malicious Web-sites from popping up unwanted windows with ads the user does not want to see. The site has just joined the ranks of the malicious.
    I turn off pop-up blocking and click “Click Here to Apply Online” again. I get told I need to have pop-up blocking off. The Web-site’s author has just joined the ranks of the thoughtless.
    After getting rid of the pointless notice, I get a log-in window, which audaciously takes over my screen.  I shrink the window down to a modest size.  My browser automatically fills in a user name and password, but the site rejects them.  Go figure.
  2. I click “Forgot User Name or Password?”.  I get another window which asks for my first name, last name, and (probably illegally) the last four digits of my Social Security Number.  It still has never heard of me.
  3. I decide to pass myself off as a first-time user and lie about the last four digits of my Social Security Number since they are none of their business.  If they cannot figure out “0000” translates as “you have to hire me to find out” and live with it, they do not deserve to get applicants.  I also give a fraudulent answer for the security question, as the answer to that question is none of their business either.
  4. The site complains “Password must be letters or numbers only, can not contain spaces and must be at least 6 characters in length.”  Good thinking!  Not only does the programmer not know English grammar, but he/she just gave malicious hackers a clue how to make their lives easier compromising the system!
  5. I go back and give it a password highly unflattering to the programmer.  The site tells me the obvious “Please remember your user name and password and keep it secure.”
  6. The site gives me a choice between uploading my resume and completing an application.  If I upload my resume, it will allegedly auto-magically extract all the data Human Resources wants from it.  I am expecting the auto-magic to have no understanding what it is doing and put lots of stuff in the wrong fields.  Let us find out...
  7. The auto-magic ran out after filling in my name and basic contact information.  My CV got dumped into the “Resume” field.  Hurrah.  And some idiot decided it would be a good idea to ask for my Social Security Number in full and make it “Required Information”.  They’re getting 000-00-0000 until they decide they want to hire me.  And look!  They make “Work History” have required fields, despite all that information being in my CV.  Why bother asking for a CV if they want a form filled in?
  8. Attempting to submit with a minimum of information raises complaints, such as the Social Security number, both copies(!) do not match.
  9. The site refuses to accept copying and pasting of my pseudo-Social Security Number, so I try again, copying from a different source.  And they want to know how I heard about this position.
  10. And they want me to sign off on a background investigation.  Lovely.  I think I need to start using a sarcasm mark of some kind, e.g., “(!)”.  And they want me to make their lives easier doing so.  My!  Isn’t whoever decided to do this doing a great job making applicants feel welcome?(!)
  11. This form, too, complains that it does not have all the information it needs.  Even when it got the information.  Don’t you just love these people?(!)
  12. After all this, the site gives me an “Application Summary” to fill in, asking questions that should have been largely or entirely answered already.  I deliberately avoid filling in complaints in the “Comments” section, no matter how well deserved.
  13. I now get a request for data relevant to affirmative action.  Very unsatisfied with the entire experience, I prefer to not answer, even if it does dilute the usefulness of the statistics they collect.
  14. I am congratulated on finishing the application.  I feel happy that there have been no fatalities.
Are you also being aggravated by job application systems which make no sense?  Let me know so all of us suffering from the recession can commiserate.  You are not alone!  Maybe if enough of us complain, the people who create these human resources perversities will get the message and change their ways

Aaron

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