Job Applications Rant

[Deleted]

depending on which kind of jobs you are looking for i would suggest to arrange a personal meeting. that would be way easier.

[Reg]

So I guess if you only stole or assaulted a co-worker one time, everything's cool!

It's actually kind of funny you say this. There are certain companies (completely anecdotal evidence from people who I know who do hiring/firing) that have the assumption that everyone steals something from the company they work for. If they see someone put a 0, the get rid of the application because they take that as the person not being honest. It just strikes me as odd where a truly honest person who doesn't steal from their job could be potentially punished on a future application lol

[Reeve]

It's actually kind of funny you say this. There are certain companies (completely anecdotal evidence from people who I know who do hiring/firing) that have the assumption that everyone steals something from the company they work for. If they see someone put a 0, the get rid of the application because they take that as the person not being honest. It just strikes me as odd where a truly honest person who doesn't steal from their job could be potentially punished on a future application lol

Wow, I think the only thing I've ever stolen from a company I worked for was a ballpoint pen I forgot to take out of my pocket before going home.

Honestly if a company didn't believe me when I said "0," I think that would be a clear indication that it wasn't the type of corporate culture I'd want to be working for.

[Biggayshammy]

They actually do use the answers from the surveys to try to form a "psych profile" to see if you'd be a good employee. Some of the questions are just stupid and some of them are just obvious in what the correct answer should be.

One was hilarious, had questions like:
1) At your last job, how many times did you steal from your employer?
a) 0-1 times
b) 2-4 times
c) 5-7 times
d) 8 or more times.

2) at your last job, how many times did you engage in physical violence towards a co-worker?
a) 0-1 times
b) 2-4 times
c) 5-7 times
d) 8 or more times.

seriously.. ive never stolen from a job or got physically violent with someone so i answer 0-1 times. i had a interview at a place once who bluntly asked me if i lied about the questions. i laughed and asked them if they were serious... they were

[breadisfunny]

It's actually kind of funny you say this. There are certain companies (completely anecdotal evidence from people who I know who do hiring/firing) that have the assumption that everyone steals something from the company they work for. If they see someone put a 0, the get rid of the application because they take that as the person not being honest. It just strikes me as odd where a truly honest person who doesn't steal from their job could be potentially punished on a future application lol

and in that process they may have turned away honest hard working employees who would actually benefit the company.

[poser765]

The problem is, the amount of unskilled workforce out there that is looking for work, is WAY high. While, jobs in the STEM category, likely to have slightly less of a competition (can still be rather high though). You can stay as an unskilled worker, and compete against God knows how many of them out there, or you can get some sort of STEM qualification, and lessen your competition by a ton, so it is a valid suggestion really, even though you might not like it.

Not my issue at all. Not even in the slightest. What I am tired of is the attitude. Here and other places there is a strong sentiment if you don't have a STEM degree you are a loser in life, an idiot, or wasted your time in college. That I am sick of. To hell with anyone who says my degree is "shit tier." True it may be, pointing it out is elitist.

[Reg]

Wow, I think the only thing I've ever stolen from a company I worked for was a ballpoint pen I forgot to take out of my pocket before going home.

Well I should probably also add that they define "time" as something that can be stolen by employees. Talk for 5 minutes with a coworker while on the clock, you stole 5 minutes of time lol It's ridiculous, but I see their point. They would rather see someone mark down a 1 than a 0.

---------- Post added 2013-01-22 at 11:42 AM ----------

and in that process they may have turned away honest hard working employees who would actually benefit the company.

Meh, shit happens. You know how many hundreds of applications they go through?

[Reeve]

Well I should probably also add that they define "time" as something that can be stolen by employees. Talk for 5 minutes with a coworker while on the clock, you stole 5 minutes of time lol It's ridiculous, but I see their point. They would rather see someone mark down a 1 than a 0.

Yeah, again, I would definitely see that as a type of corporate culture I wouldn't want to get involved with. HUGE red flag. People in my office take personal time at work all the time, and as long as it doesn't interfere with them getting the job done, no one cares. Even being on these forums falls under "acceptable use" so long as it doesn't affect my work.

[poser765]

You may be tired of it, but it doesn't make it any less true.

See above.

I got the impression that the guy was apply for entry level jobs. Unskilled yes. he obviously needs a job. Saying I have a STEM degree and am hot shit because of it really does noting to adress the OP's initial vent. All the person I quoted did, in my opinion, was brag about his STEMiness. Ugh.

[Reeve]

See above.

I got the impression that the guy was apply for entry level jobs. Unskilled yes. he obviously needs a job. Saying I have a STEM degree and am hot shit because of it really does noting to adress the OP's initial vent. All the person I quoted did, in my opinion, was brag about his STEMiness. Ugh.

Well that's fair enough.

[Reg]

Yeah, again, I would definitely see that as a type of corporate culture I wouldn't want to get involved with. HUGE red flag. People in my office take personal time at work all the time, and as long as it doesn't interfere with them getting the job done, no one cares. Even being on these forums falls under "acceptable use" so long as it doesn't affect my work.

I completely agree with you. Just some intriguing things I have heard from friends in other companies.

[Barnabas]

Wow, I think the only thing I've ever stolen from a company I worked for was a ballpoint pen I forgot to take out of my pocket before going home.

Honestly if a company didn't believe me when I said "0," I think that would be a clear indication that it wasn't the type of corporate culture I'd want to be working for.

Having to fill out a survey to even get to the next step would tell me that before anything else.

[poser765]

Having to fill out a survey to even get to the next step would tell me that before anything else.

That's certainly not a deal breaker for me. It MAY have been pointed out, but a some larger companies probably receive thousands of applications a year. Imagine going through a walmarts archive of applications.

[Barnabas]

It's actually kind of funny you say this. There are certain companies (completely anecdotal evidence from people who I know who do hiring/firing) that have the assumption that everyone steals something from the company they work for. If they see someone put a 0, the get rid of the application because they take that as the person not being honest. It just strikes me as odd where a truly honest person who doesn't steal from their job could be potentially punished on a future application lol

Yes there are companies that believe everyone steals from them and they make you bring your own TP to work. I've only seen this in China but it does exist to that extreme.

[Barnabas]

That's certainly not a deal breaker for me. It MAY have been pointed out, but a some larger companies probably receive thousands of applications a year. Imagine going through a walmarts archive of applications.

Pfft you just look at who they worked for in the past, how long they worked at that place and what they worked on during that stretch of employment. If you want the best of the best applicant.

[Reg]

That's certainly not a deal breaker for me. It MAY have been pointed out, but a some larger companies probably receive thousands of applications a year. Imagine going through a walmarts archive of applications.

I've been taking resumes for a secretary. So far I have over 100. Granted, I do live/work in Manhattan, but this is a position for one secretary for one person lol I can't even imagine what the WalMart archive looks like.

[Talokami]

Not my issue at all. Not even in the slightest. What I am tired of is the attitude. Here and other places there is a strong sentiment if you don't have a STEM degree you are a loser in life, an idiot, or wasted your time in college. That I am sick of. To hell with anyone who says my degree is "shit tier." True it may be, pointing it out is elitist.

Thank you!

My BA is in English with a focus on medieval literature. And I knew the English degree wasn't going to guarantee me a career but I don't regret that. The degree has been useful and I had the opportunity to study topics I had wanted to for a very long time. Having a STEM degree doesn't make you "better" than someone who focused on humanities or liberal arts. You made your choice, I made mine and I'm happy with the results so kindly do not tell me how I should have spent four years of my life.

[Deleted]

job applications are getting stupid, for low paid/low skill jobs. my brother recently applied to a small shop in the UK as a basic assistant, pay is a little over min wage and was just for evenings after school. the application online was so freaking long, i understand they only want people who can be bothered to fill in the application, but for such a shitty job it was ridiculous. ask such pointless and unrelated questions, most of the answers could be found on the CV anyway, dont know why they need to know twice. then they ask all these questions in the form on "on a scale of 1 - 5 which of these would you consider yourself to be" and had about 20 questions like that, 80% of which had no relevence to the actual job.

[Dyra]

You know what's worse? Spending 2 hours doing 2 applications, just to be told you're over qualified

Ah this. I'm just getting angry thinking about it. Yes, I might be over-qualified, but I'm obviously desperate enough to be applying for that particular job...

It's the same with 'you need to have experience'. How the hell do you get experience if you won't even give me a job to get myself experience? And it's ridiculous how much experience you're expected to have too. I applied for a simple entry level store worker job at a clothing store recently. Not only was I told I was over qualified ( I have one of these magical STEM degrees that are supposed to open up job avenues everywhere for me. NOT), but that they were only interviewing people with at the very least 5 years experience. I was gobsmacked.

I'm currently exploring the avenue of volunteering so that I can show how much I want to work for the NHS and get a job that way.

[Deleted]

Pfft you just look at who they worked for in the past, how long they worked at that place and what they worked on during that stretch of employment. If you want the best of the best applicant.

probably in the 1000s for a busy store :P

at tesco in the UK when i worked there we had 5 job positions advertised for, and got nearly 800 applications. and this was in a village of about 3000 people. most of the applications probably came from the surrounding towns, but still insane. my boss there said they didn't even have the time to read half of them.