Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - A Word of Caution for Job Seekers: A New Way Employers may be Weeding You Out.

Hektore · 10-28-2010, 06:44 PM

Like so may other folks, I found myself out of work through no fault of my own. I've had a series 3 of jobs where I have received brilliant performance reviews and then 1-3 months later end up laid off 'due to business conditions'. In my desperation I took a position with a temp agency, which I had not done since college. My experience then could be insufficiently described as unpleasant and I was very unhappy to have to go that route again.

Fortunately, it worked out the way it was supposed to. The company previewed my ability as an employee and offered me a full time position after a formal evaluation process. I was told to come in at least one half hour early the next day to take an aptitude test prior to beginning the application process. I was curious about the need to take the aptitude test before the application, but far be it from me to question the ways of my not-yet employer. Upon arrival I was taken to a brightly lit room with several computer terminals where I was directed to their web page and asked to complete the same application available to everyone else visiting their site.

At this point, I became a bit distraught, probably visibly. I was told that I would not be filling out any kind of application (I asked quite explicitly) and had not brought along a copy of my resume or my cheat sheet containing the necessary information to answer every application question I have ever come across. The last thing I wanted to do in starting my new job was look like a dunce in front of the head of the human resources department. I gathered my nerve and calmly explained that I had either misunderstood or been misinformed, but whatever the case I did not have the required information with me.

I apologized and explained that I would happy to complete the application at home as soon as my shift ended. Much to my relief, she said there was no problem. I was the first person to use the web based application and they honestly hadn't expected it to work well enough for me to complete it anyway. I could return the following day to complete the application, but there would be a fellow temp in the room with me doing it as well. I was told, quite clearly, to not complete the application at home.

The following day I returned, sheets in hand, prepared to fill out the application and the other temp who had arrived before me was in exactly same position I was in yesterday. In the midst of my eavesdropping she said 'The area manager must have misunderstood, the application IS the aptitude test.” And why not? This would not be the first dual purpose application I had completed. Another employer, a factory, had you fill out an entire application after you turned in your resume just so they could examine your handwriting. The process there had become so automated that much of what was left to do was record keeping and due to the dusty conditions those records had to be kept by hand.

I was, in that moment (as I had been previously when informed of my hideous handwriting) dumbstruck. My mind began racing with the possibilities; a weak password, session time-out or even hitting the backspace key could be a strike against you. They can add unusual instructions, such as requiring a capital A in your password, just to see if you read them carefully, or even deliberately give you a password mismatch error and clear some random fields (this actually happened with my social security number – not that I'm sure they matched perfectly) to check your attention to detail. The list could go on and on, but it suffices to say that an application is no longer just an application.

So a word of caution for you job hunters out there. There are so many possibilities for these ever more tech savvy companies to find the very cream of the crop and things are not always what they seem. We all know that sometimes a company gives you a task just to throw you off, or to see how you'll react. They can also evaluate you in ways never before possible, everything you do can be a test and used to compare you to your competition. Think about that the next time you decide to go with “1234” for your easy to remember employment login.

Digg

10-28-2010, 06:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
Hektore Junkie Location: Greater Harrisburg Area	A Word of Caution for Job Seekers: A New Way Employers may be Weeding You Out. Like so may other folks, I found myself out of work through no fault of my own. I've had a series 3 of jobs where I have received brilliant performance reviews and then 1-3 months later end up laid off 'due to business conditions'. In my desperation I took a position with a temp agency, which I had not done since college. My experience then could be insufficiently described as unpleasant and I was very unhappy to have to go that route again. Fortunately, it worked out the way it was supposed to. The company previewed my ability as an employee and offered me a full time position after a formal evaluation process. I was told to come in at least one half hour early the next day to take an aptitude test prior to beginning the application process. I was curious about the need to take the aptitude test before the application, but far be it from me to question the ways of my not-yet employer. Upon arrival I was taken to a brightly lit room with several computer terminals where I was directed to their web page and asked to complete the same application available to everyone else visiting their site. At this point, I became a bit distraught, probably visibly. I was told that I would not be filling out any kind of application (I asked quite explicitly) and had not brought along a copy of my resume or my cheat sheet containing the necessary information to answer every application question I have ever come across. The last thing I wanted to do in starting my new job was look like a dunce in front of the head of the human resources department. I gathered my nerve and calmly explained that I had either misunderstood or been misinformed, but whatever the case I did not have the required information with me. I apologized and explained that I would happy to complete the application at home as soon as my shift ended. Much to my relief, she said there was no problem. I was the first person to use the web based application and they honestly hadn't expected it to work well enough for me to complete it anyway. I could return the following day to complete the application, but there would be a fellow temp in the room with me doing it as well. I was told, quite clearly, to not complete the application at home. The following day I returned, sheets in hand, prepared to fill out the application and the other temp who had arrived before me was in exactly same position I was in yesterday. In the midst of my eavesdropping she said 'The area manager must have misunderstood, the application IS the aptitude test.” And why not? This would not be the first dual purpose application I had completed. Another employer, a factory, had you fill out an entire application after you turned in your resume just so they could examine your handwriting. The process there had become so automated that much of what was left to do was record keeping and due to the dusty conditions those records had to be kept by hand. I was, in that moment (as I had been previously when informed of my hideous handwriting) dumbstruck. My mind began racing with the possibilities; a weak password, session time-out or even hitting the backspace key could be a strike against you. They can add unusual instructions, such as requiring a capital A in your password, just to see if you read them carefully, or even deliberately give you a password mismatch error and clear some random fields (this actually happened with my social security number – not that I'm sure they matched perfectly) to check your attention to detail. The list could go on and on, but it suffices to say that an application is no longer just an application. So a word of caution for you job hunters out there. There are so many possibilities for these ever more tech savvy companies to find the very cream of the crop and things are not always what they seem. We all know that sometimes a company gives you a task just to throw you off, or to see how you'll react. They can also evaluate you in ways never before possible, everything you do can be a test and used to compare you to your competition. Think about that the next time you decide to go with “1234” for your easy to remember employment login. Digg __________________ The advantage law is the best law in rugby, because it lets you ignore all the others for the good of the game. Last edited by Hektore; 10-28-2010 at 06:59 PM..