Job applications - a rant!!!

gettingready

FBaby - or perhaps they already have blisters on their hand from writing up 100 of applications and lost all the motivation after doing so and never hearing back from prospective employers?

Or perhaps good candidates can not be bothered to apply to company that still uses those methods of selecting potential employees as they prefer to work for someone who is more in tune with year 2015?

Move with times, CV not pages and pages of application forms.. better for everyone involved

gettingready

FBaby wrote: »

Why? Because it demands a bit more effort? Do you make sure your cover letter comes across as if it's been written specifically for the job? If not, good luck being shortlisted if applying for a competitive job.

Competitive jobs do not go by pages and pages of application forms....Effort shows in experience, up-skilling while in previous job etc etc - easily shown on a CV but lost in tedious application forms.

richdeniro

I don't bother with jobs that require application forms either.

You spend 2-3 hours doing one and then don't even get a interview.

What's wrong with CV and Cover Letter to decide if they're good enough to interview?

skintpaul

Did job ad specify what form applications had to be in? Maximum pages for a cv, etc?

downshifter

No ours didn't specify how many pages it should've been. No application forms, just cv and letter. It was all the attachments that caused the problem, and the lack of apparent interest in what the actual job entails or the organisation does.

...and you're right robatwork, I noticed I'd said rant over twice, I should proof read my posts better shouldn't I!

Interesting responses, thanks folks.

agrinnall

SuzieSue wrote: »

I agree. When I was recruiting, I expected to see a covering letter highlighting how their experience was relevant to the job spec I had posted. However, very few people wrote a covering letter/email and when they did, they did not tell me why I should to consider them for the post.

If you expected it then presumably the job advert said exactly what was required, and you could simply bin anything that didn't match that requirement without needing to waste your time reading it. Or are you blaming applicants for your poor advertising?

SuzieSue

agrinnall wrote: »

If you expected it then presumably the job advert said exactly what was required, and you could simply bin anything that didn't match that requirement without needing to waste your time reading it. Or are you blaming applicants for your poor advertising?

It was a few years ago so I cannot remember what the advert said. But I would not want to employ someone who thought it was sufficient simply to forward a CV especially when the website we used to advertise the job encouraged people to submit a covering letter with all applications. It was actually a very good way to separate the wheat from the chaff as we had hundreds of applications and there is no way I could have gone through them all.

FBaby

FBaby - or perhaps they already have blisters on their hand from writing up 100 of applications and lost all the motivation after doing so and never hearing back from prospective employers?

mmm, I can see a new disability coming out. Seriously!

Or perhaps good candidates can not be bothered to apply to company that still uses those methods of selecting potential employees as they prefer to work for someone who is more in tune with year 2015?

If that's the opinion, then why bother applying at all?

Move with times, CV not pages and pages of application forms.. better for everyone involved

No one said that pages of pages of application forms were the way to go, however a CV alone can be written by anyone and certainly can't provide much insight on the person's motivation, communication style, or dedication. A well written cover letter or personal statement in an application form can.

In the end, the only people losing out are those who are interested in the job, but give themselves no chance to get it.

CrowCrow

SuzieSue wrote: »

It was a few years ago so I cannot remember what the advert said. But I would not want to employ someone who thought it was sufficient simply to forward a CV especially when the website we used to advertise the job encouraged people to submit a covering letter with all applications. It was actually a very good way to separate the wheat from the chaff as we had hundreds of applications and there is no way I could have gone through them all.

Equally I'm less likely to hire someone who repeat themselves or thinks I care about their motivation, both of which the cover letter does.

If I'm reading your CV and there is something that raises an eyebrow, perhaps an employment gap or whatever, then sure add an explanation to a cover letter. Don't tell me how you longed to work for this company and youre such a team player because you play in a fiveaside.

[Deleted User]

Oh well, so long as you're allowed a rant!


One company interviewed me 5 times without acknowledgement of it ever being a repeat over 2.5 years - and I hadn't changed my name and neither had their 'HR' department. I never wanted the job (2 roles over time) any less, quite shocking files clearly not kept 6 months forget 6 years. The interviews were kind of creepy.


CV applications to me is now starting to just mean higher chance of wind up possible.
Though I would feel sorry for the person wading through any of my application form if it came to it! not a job for the faint hearted.