I really hate filling in job application forms
I despise job application forms, I really do not like them at all! Does anyone else out there hate filling in application forms as much as me? Having the same job for over six years and therefore not having had to fill them in makes you forget just how annoying they are.
My daughter is just one year old and I am now in the process of looking for a part-time job for a bit of extra pocket money. I didn't go back to my original job as I felt it was made difficult for me to go back part-time, and I didn't want full time hours so I stuck to my guns and quit.
There is no big agenda here, I really do just want a wee bit of extra cash and I'm not ashamed of that. But it seems that I'm not allowed to 'just want a bit of cash'. No, its not that simple at all and getting a little part time job isn't exactly a walk in the park any more. Instead I have to explain why I am interested in the company (a card shop), what I know about them (they sell cards), and what qualities I will bring to the company (I don't steal things). I have to do personality quizzes to determine my suitability.
I have to TELL LIES and pretend I'm actually really interested in the company and it has always been my dream to work there.
Who the hell makes up these stupid generic application forms anyway? I am a mother now and I don't have time for crap like brown nosing for a job where I just stand on a till and make the bar code go 'beep!' I don't want to provide a scenario in my life where I showed the following skills:- bravery, dedication, hard work, confidence, and most importantly excellent envelope sealing skills - blah blah blah...
I work hard every day of my life, it is called being a parent. I am clean, tidy, nice, friendly to other people and I smile lots. But do you know what? I JUST WANT A BIT OF CASH, I don't want to spend half a day filling in job application forms full of pointless questions!!!
By: MissusHill
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I agree!, the worst thing about them for me is that they seem to want to know exactly what I`ve been doing since I left school, & I`m 58!. I`ve moved around a lot, & have had a number of temporary jobs since I left school in 1968, so you can imagine what it`s like when they ask this question, they only give you a tiny space to list them.
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My sentiments reproduced from someone else's mouth. It's difficult to fill out any application form if you're not a compulsive and obsessive liar.
Most of it is just beseeching you to write a load of turgid nonsense such as "Yesterday I showed I was determined by forcing a s**t out whilst suffering from chronic constipation."
We should start a campaign to destroy applications forms and reinstate the righteous CV or resume as the yanks like to call it.
Expired but not forgotten the good old times of the one wonder CV, attached to an email and forwarded to 20 different positions. Shame.
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Most of it is just beseeching you to write a load of turgid nonsense such as "Yesterday I showed I was determined by forcing a s**t out whilst suffering from chronic constipation."
We should start a campaign to destroy applications forms and reinstate the righteous CV or resume as the yanks like to call it.
Expired but not forgotten the good old times of the one wonder CV, attached to an email and forwarded to 20 different positions. Shame.
.
-2
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I couldn't agree more with what you are saying, I too am looking for a job and application forms fill me with dread. I need a job not a career I am too old to be thinking of a career, I just want a simple job to support myself. They even want a career cv for doing a bit of cleaning, what am I suppose to put down that I know one end of a vacuum from the other, Mr.Sheen can give me a glowing reference and I am really kind to animals ask my toilet duck. Its all gone crazy, but anyway good luck to you hope you manage to get your wee bit of extra cash.
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karen lizzie - 27-Sep-10 23:20
I've not long submitted a very detailed application form with excellent references for a job which to be honest was being paid 60% of what it should have been paid. I was also more than qualified and experienced for the position. Genuinely, I was massively suited to the job through my academic and relevantly experienced background. I had high hopes of at least an interview.
The 'HR Assistant' couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge the app form's receipt and further I got a letter saying I wasn't shortlisted - also that feedback wouldn't be given. I now wonder if the position will be filled with a post doctorate level candidate who has over ten years experience!
I'm not saying I had the job in the bag, but genuinely I was an extremely strong candidate indeed. I didn't even get to interview which is very disappointing.
I'm now thinking of telling lies on application forms just to see what response I get. This would enable me to 'learn' the mysterious ways of HR application form sifting so that I can modify my real applications.
What do you guys think? should we blanket lie on app forms to find out what application formula really works? Just an idea.
The 'HR Assistant' couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge the app form's receipt and further I got a letter saying I wasn't shortlisted - also that feedback wouldn't be given. I now wonder if the position will be filled with a post doctorate level candidate who has over ten years experience!
I'm not saying I had the job in the bag, but genuinely I was an extremely strong candidate indeed. I didn't even get to interview which is very disappointing.
I'm now thinking of telling lies on application forms just to see what response I get. This would enable me to 'learn' the mysterious ways of HR application form sifting so that I can modify my real applications.
What do you guys think? should we blanket lie on app forms to find out what application formula really works? Just an idea.
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I completely feel your pain! ARGH! Who on earth reads these forms.... is it just so that HR managers and recruitment can justify their positions..
+5
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thank you!
i now know im not the only one that feels this way. I just want a bloody job! ive been at this for so long im going mad. im 19 and ive still yet to have my first "proper" job. sure ive been on training courses earning £50 a week for putting in 30 hours of slave labour but not a real job. I dont even care where I work anymore. I feel terrible. I feel like every hour I spend filling out a single application is a waste of time and paper because they never bother to reply let alone offer me an interview. for gods sake somebody just give me a chance to prove myself!!!!
i can see it now, 30 and still living with parents. im sick of living here I just wanna move out. but I cant because I need money and to have money I need a job
honestly im starting to give up. I feel like im going down a really dark path now.
i now know im not the only one that feels this way. I just want a bloody job! ive been at this for so long im going mad. im 19 and ive still yet to have my first "proper" job. sure ive been on training courses earning £50 a week for putting in 30 hours of slave labour but not a real job. I dont even care where I work anymore. I feel terrible. I feel like every hour I spend filling out a single application is a waste of time and paper because they never bother to reply let alone offer me an interview. for gods sake somebody just give me a chance to prove myself!!!!
i can see it now, 30 and still living with parents. im sick of living here I just wanna move out. but I cant because I need money and to have money I need a job
honestly im starting to give up. I feel like im going down a really dark path now.
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I feel your pain exactly and I am an engineer with no children.
Who are these wierdos who dream up this put your life in a box please stuff. Basically I avoid any company who acts like this which is pretty much all of them so I'm still unemployed also.
They just don't like people and prefer not to employ any I think. They are just waiting for the day when they are the only human left on earth and all the gift cards are dispensed to the population who will by now be rubber doll type robots.
I feel a little better now but I still don't hold out any hope that these people will dissapear.
Who are they, who are you? why are you such morons and why are you employed???
Who are these wierdos who dream up this put your life in a box please stuff. Basically I avoid any company who acts like this which is pretty much all of them so I'm still unemployed also.
They just don't like people and prefer not to employ any I think. They are just waiting for the day when they are the only human left on earth and all the gift cards are dispensed to the population who will by now be rubber doll type robots.
I feel a little better now but I still don't hold out any hope that these people will dissapear.
Who are they, who are you? why are you such morons and why are you employed???
-1
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YesIdispair! - 15-Feb-10 12:00
I feel your pain exactly and I am an engineer with no children.
Who are these wierdos who dream up this put your life in a box please stuff. Basically I avoid any company who acts like this which is pretty much all of them so I'm still unemployed also.
They just don't like people and prefer not to employ any I think. They are just waiting for the day when they are the only human left on earth and all the gift cards are dispensed to the population who will by now be rubber doll type robots.
I feel a little better now but I still don't hold out any hope that these people will dissapear.
Who are they, who are you? why are you such morons and why are you employed???
Who are these wierdos who dream up this put your life in a box please stuff. Basically I avoid any company who acts like this which is pretty much all of them so I'm still unemployed also.
They just don't like people and prefer not to employ any I think. They are just waiting for the day when they are the only human left on earth and all the gift cards are dispensed to the population who will by now be rubber doll type robots.
I feel a little better now but I still don't hold out any hope that these people will dissapear.
Who are they, who are you? why are you such morons and why are you employed???
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YesIdispair! - 15-Feb-10 09:19
An extensive hiring process is a direct result of a high volume of applicants. You have to weed people out somehow and having an extensive hiring process ensures you get the people who want the job the most. The ones who DO think it is worth their time. The ones who don't think they are really above the position they are applying for.
You would be surprised how many people do anwer, "yes" to the "have you ever stolen from work?" question. Not everyone is as smart as you, apparently.
My suggestion is to make yourself qualified for the position you DO think are worth this kind of time.
You would be surprised how many people do anwer, "yes" to the "have you ever stolen from work?" question. Not everyone is as smart as you, apparently.
My suggestion is to make yourself qualified for the position you DO think are worth this kind of time.
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A Recruiter. - 11-Feb-10 17:20
This is one of the best pieces I have read on the internet in a LONG time! Thank you! I applied for a job recently in a well-known British pharmacist chain, and was bombarded with a 20 minute multiple choice questionaire which tried in not so subtle, but slightly differently worded language whether I thought a) it was wrong to steal, and b) whether I would undermine my managers if I thought I was smarter than them... How ridiculous! I mean, even if you were planning to steal from work (which I neither condone nor plan to do obviously), you would have to be pretty thick to admit so on a job application! You really do wonder about the people who design these forms sometimes...
-6
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Metro ran two particularly annoying ads the other day: one was for an administrator for the Methodist Church. There was a tiresome and time-consuming application form to fill in and a disclaimer saying that if you were not shortlisted, you would not be contacted due to "lack of resources". So much for a church which proclaims all sorts of warm fluffy guff like "our only religion is social" on its web page and can't even be bothered to get a volunteer to write a standard email and hit "send". The other one was for parking attendants in a West London borough and it was headlined "Passion" - of all things. This apparently means a passion for pleasing "customers" ???!!!
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I totally agree, its so insulting. I am filling out an application form which requires every scrap of information about me, not more or less when, but the actual days. It even says in the supporting information pack that you need to fill in all dates fully including days to assist with the shortlisting process.... Er I don't quite remember the exact start date of term when I embarked upon my GCSEs 16 years ago. Does that mean I can't get a job? I have been temping recently and spent a good deal of time shredding chunky application forms which had been painstakingly filled out and skim read for 'essential criteria' and binned in 5 minutes. Surely there is a way of giving equal opportunities to candidates without punishing them with hours of trawling and patronising 'supporting evidence' which may as well just say 'Beg:'
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I totally agree, its so insulting. I am filling out an application form which requires every scrap of information about me, not more or less when, but the actual days. It even says in the supporting information pack that you need to fill in all dates fully including days to assist with the shortlisting process.... Er I don't quite remember the exact start date of term when I embarked upon my GCSEs 16 years ago. Does that mean I can't get a job? I have been temping recently and spent a good deal of time shredding chunky application forms which had been painstakingly filled out and skim read for 'essential criteria' and binned in 5 minutes. Surely there is a way of giving equal opportunities to candidates without punishing them with hours of trawling and patronising 'supporting evidence' which may as well just say 'Beg:'
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Very funny and I agree! I've been sitting on an application form for voluntary work (would you believe it) for a week! I have a well written CV but avoid applying for jobs with charities, local authorities and central government because they all require you to wade through various documents and complete the mind numbing application form. Why is my CV not enough. Why must every application be in an identical format?
I think my dislike of ApForms has become a phobia!
I think my dislike of ApForms has become a phobia!
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No to Application Forms - 15-Jul-09 12:06
The whole point of HR departments is to: Make themselves indispensible. A short application form wouldn't achieve that because anyone could knock one up. Q1. Why do you want the job? Answer: money. Make application forms so annoying that you daren't leave the company if the job turns out to be a dog Otherwise, you have to repeat the whole process again. Make sure you really do want the job or will be too exhausted to turn it down - otherwise why spend half a day filling in a bunch of questions that have no relevance to why you want the job.
Make you so exhausted and demoralised you'll take any old ob, with dreadful pay just to avoid more application forms.
Make you so exhausted and demoralised you'll take any old ob, with dreadful pay just to avoid more application forms.
+5
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This process just about makes me boil over, it's demeaning, phoney and frankly necessitates dishonesty. I am very keen to find a new job but feel so resentful of the need to present myself as some feisty go-getting airport novel heroine simply to get myself considered for a fairly junior admin role. All HR people want is some glossy impenetrable Stepford corporate image - one of them recently admitted as much to me. So that's what you have to present if you want to eat and pay the rent. Then you have the stress of trying to live up to it. I have a lot of useful qualities, I am helpful, conscientious, accurate, but I am quite shy and my confidence is pretty low right now. And I've been told any glimmer of self doubt is the kiss of death in interviews. And when did working because you need money become such a taboo concept?
The other thing that makes me see red is when companies make you fill in these excruciating time consuming forms, then say that because of "lack of resources" they will only be contacting shortlisted candidates and everyone else should just assume after a month or so that they have not been shortlisted. Exactly how much effort does drafting a standard rejection email and hitting "send" take?
That Legal & General videotape interview surely takes the biscuit.
Better stop now before my blood pressure goes off the scale!!
The other thing that makes me see red is when companies make you fill in these excruciating time consuming forms, then say that because of "lack of resources" they will only be contacting shortlisted candidates and everyone else should just assume after a month or so that they have not been shortlisted. Exactly how much effort does drafting a standard rejection email and hitting "send" take?
That Legal & General videotape interview surely takes the biscuit.
Better stop now before my blood pressure goes off the scale!!
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I once applied for a Job with a French company where a sample of my handwriting was a far more important required qualification than my skills, knowledge or experience.
Another sick joke: that same year I also applied for job with Legal & General. I was invited to an interview. I spent an afternoon travelling to their remote country site, only to find that they weren't prepared to interview me in person, but I was subjected to "interview" by video tape. I had to record myself on their TV camera.
This disgusted me beyond belief. They didn't even compensate me proper travel expenses. Filthy crooks.
Another sick joke: that same year I also applied for job with Legal & General. I was invited to an interview. I spent an afternoon travelling to their remote country site, only to find that they weren't prepared to interview me in person, but I was subjected to "interview" by video tape. I had to record myself on their TV camera.
This disgusted me beyond belief. They didn't even compensate me proper travel expenses. Filthy crooks.
-4
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Where on Earth do we live? - 27-Feb-09 22:21
Hi yes I know I need to do this, in similer position as you really.
My son has dyslexia and finds these forms very off putting.
You do make me laugh but I know its not funny!
It has been like this for years, I mean high qualifications needed to pack stuff, or label stuff in a factory for goodness sake! We used to laugh at it when we worked there.
My son has dyslexia and finds these forms very off putting.
You do make me laugh but I know its not funny!
It has been like this for years, I mean high qualifications needed to pack stuff, or label stuff in a factory for goodness sake! We used to laugh at it when we worked there.
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my partner has been searching and applying for jobs, sometimes you don't even get an application form sometimes its silly little questionaires online you have to fill in or personality tests to see if you are the right person for the job I think it is terrible
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Ditto all the above and below. I think job applications are a universally hated process. Moreover, I cannot STAND the lingo used in job descriptions, in fact many of them (including those within my company) are so incomprehensible that you cannot actually work out what the job involves on a day to day basis. Lots of help when you want to apply for a job - NOT!
I think we would all just rather they told it like it was and allowed us to be ourselves rather than lying corporate clones. Where is the truth in all this????
I think we would all just rather they told it like it was and allowed us to be ourselves rather than lying corporate clones. Where is the truth in all this????
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