Online Job Hunting and My Conspiracy Theory

So, here is how NOT to recruit online.

So I get this email from Name I Don't Recognize that reads very much like spam.  The subject line starts with FYI, for one thing.  It seems the status of my job application for TEAMsomeoddnumber is changed.  This email didn't end up in my spam folder, so I opened it to find it contained very little information, as well as an attachment and a link.  This is all looking very spammy to me.  I check the full header, and it actually appears to be from a place I applied to months ago.  I plug the name into my inbox box to be sure, and find this email looks like most of the others I have received from said establishment.  OK, fine.  So I go to find out what has changed about my application, only to find out that either I've forgotten my password or my account no longer exists even though they can still send me emails (I'm now thinking that's what this change in status was, because I was not allowed to use the lost password option).  I won't go into all the infuriating details, but in conclusion I find that obscure language, mixed signals, and general over-automation is not a great strategy for online recruitment.

Seriously, I have to wonder how well this actually works, even for big corporations in a weak job market.  It seems like an awful lot of resources to put into the process of elimination.  They must be sure that all these hoops to jump through really will narrow the field down to the ones who can do the job best.  Perhaps they've calculated it all so that only a specific type of mind can actually make it through the application process.  I've made it to the interview stage a handful of times, but I have yet to actually acquire a job that I originally applied for online.

Some would argue that comparatively few jobs are actually gained by responding to any type of advertisement, and my own job experience would seem to back that up.  Very often it's about who you know and being in the right place at the right time.  This makes this shift toward online recruitment even more mysterious.  Seems like an awful lot effort to put into something that won't do the bulk of the hiring for you.  Some places don't even give you the option of applying any other way except online!  What are you doing collecting hypothetical employees in an online database if only a fraction of a fraction of them make it to your team?

One alternative explanation occurs to me:  information.  This is the age where corporations want to know about you.  Your likes, dislikes, gender, age, beliefs, politics, and anything else they can use in order to sell their product to you.  Most privacy statements will say that they would never share your information with a third party, which is the prevailing fear.  But if the company you're applying to is a big retailer, why would they sell your information?  They're the ones who need it in order to sell you stuff!

Seriously, I've talked about this before:

Sketches and Swatches: Do I really have to sign up for everything?

I give more information to these online recruitment sites than I would give most places, unless I'm filing my taxes or renewing my passport.  What bugs me, if this theory turned out to be true and online recruitment sites are just consumer information banks for corporations, is that I could tolerate this if I actually got a paying job out of it!  That's why people sign up for Vindale Research, and other "Surveys for Cash" sites.  We all know that corporations benefit from our information - why not sell it to them directly and reap some fringe benefits?  Sadly, it doesn't work that way, because there are enough ways to get our information already, that nobody has to pay you for it.

Maybe this isn't news at all.  It certainly would explain the psych-test style questionnaires and the recruitment engines using other recruitment engines to recruit.  I have to say that my job search has gone better of late.  I've had 2 interviews this past week.  One did result from an online ad, though I delivered the actual application in person.  The other was one I'd heard about through word of mouth - in fact, a friend of a family member offered me an interview.  It was at a place where I'm kind of a regular, which is nice.  The whole "it's about who you know" thing isn't as superfluous as it sounds, really.  It's good to have a real-world idea of who you're hiring and who you're being hired by.  It's not a bad place to start, at least.

This post took a turn I hadn't anticipated.  Funny the things that will occur to you when writing/wild-goose-job chasing/venting.  Thanks for reading, Blogger world!  Until next time!

PS:  Having given no time to art-talk in this blog, I feel like I should at least include some of my recent work:

Inkblot Seraphim by ~Eseopia on deviantART

Seraphim - the highest order of angel.  Covered in wings because they can't be seen by mere human beings, though that's probably an oversimplification.  I must say, angels are more interesting and diverse than they appear in pop culture, even going by what research I've done on my own time.  I've put together a calendar containing my drawings of angels that I've done over the years.  It is available through Deviantart...


Angels and Shades Calendar by ~Eseopia on deviantART

and Cafepress:

http://www.cafepress.com/robynmackinnondesigns.756626980

Enough product placement?  :B  I thought so.  Later!

Do I really have to sign up for everything?

February 16th 2013:  Priorities... by ~Eseopia on deviantART

February 15th 2013:  Another Day... by ~Eseopia on deviantART

February 14th 2013:  Wriggley Oversees... by ~Eseopia on deviantART

Hello blogger world!

I'm trying to edit this entry to make it sound more civilized.  I am writing today with regards to the amount of signing up that is involved in job hunting these days.  Some places still accept a resume and cover letter and let you let that be that.  Others, as I may have mentioned before, have full-on psych exams to fill out so they can make a profile of you, to go with your resume of course.  Ideally, this makes it so that if you want to apply for multiple jobs, you can just select whichever ones you want and they do the rest.  What really bothers me is the number of passwords I have out there.

There are a number of things you may have to sign up for during your job hunt.  With some places, you just have to create a profile with the company itself.  This on its own can lead to quite a few profiles depending on where and how many places you apply.  Some companies hire through job search/hiring sites like CareerBeacon.com.  This can potentially cut back on the number of passwords you need to create, but only when applying for jobs at places that hire through the site.  And of course, you have to sign up for the site itself.

One thing that has become a little bit irksome for me is when I find a job I want to apply for on one of these sites, only to find that it's been posted by another, similar site, who is doing the hiring for said company.  In theory it's good to have profiles on 2 sites instead of one, but I've often found the second site to be a little more weakly structured, and honestly, it's just one more layer of 'security' I don't feel comfortable being compelled to deal with.

Beyond that, I recently discovered a new potential layer of password-guarded security.  While applying for jobs at Michael's (arts and crafts), I was required to create a profile with PeopleAnswers (the site that created the questionnaire I had to fill out for my Michael's).  Granted, this ultimately made it easier to apply for job openings, but it occurs to me that my information is getting spread around quite a bit in an age where information is a hot commodity.

So let's review:  There's the company itself one may have to sign up for, and the job search site that lead you to that company (and potentially the job search site that posted on that job search site on behalf of that company), and even, potentially, the company that created the questionnaire you must fill out in order to create a profile on the original company's site.  So far I haven't run across that many levels of passwords, but in theory, it could very easily happen.

On that note, it's easy to feel gypped when job searching.  I can't help thinking someone out there (probably a few someones) are making money on my efforts to find gainful employment.  I'd like to be making money too here.  Every site I have to sign up on starts looking like a password guarded information eater.  Maybe I should ditch the job hunt and start an internet job search engine.

So that's been my pet peeve of late.  Thanks for reading!  :)

'Till next time, blogger world!

Catch Up and Job Hunt

Good Day, Blogger world!

(I started this entry a while ago, so bear with me.  Most of it was written earlier today, and only edited just now.)

I actually just got back from Cayo Coco, Cuba.  Hadn't counted on having zero internet access for most of the week, so I am REALLY playing catch up now.  At this particular moment in time, I have gotten caught up on another online job application process.  Wasn't the first thing on my to-do list, but I have to grab these things as they go by.

Job application in the digital age is always more time-consuming than you think - kind of a series of nesting-doll steps, where you don't know where or when the process will end.  Time was you just passed in a resume.  These days you have to create a site profile just to apply to work in a store.  That's how this all started.  I saw the ad on Facebook:  The Home Depot, looking for workers.  Sounds not bad.  I go to the site, from which I can apply to any Home Depot in the country. With some business you can apply to locations in other countries, but I guess The Home Depot is more of a down home type of outfit.

At first it looked pretty straight forward:  Create a profile, upload a resume, write a little cover letter...discover my references list is crooked because one 'tab' is off, even though I've corrected it repeatedly >_<.  Hit back, find that the information I entered just now has disappeared, (had intended to copy the fresh new cover letter I was typing, so of course that didn't happen), get frustrated, give up, go back to the resume screen, submit it as is and hope the original cover letter made it too....I'm currently at the part where the "machine" has tried (unsuccessfully), to fill in my work history from my resume.  This might take longer than I thought.

Now I've gotten to the "Education" section.  Better try on the part of the machine.  I must fill in the name of the institution, then the "Subject or Area of Study", "Qualification", and grad year.  The term "Qualification" threw me just a bit.  The machine had chosen the word "BACHELOR" for this slot.  Just "BACHELOR".  So I'm going to assume they mean the qualification I achieved (ie, what I earned).  Sometimes you have to interpret.  I think they'll understand, though sometimes I wonder if there's any "they" to "understand".  The way the machine has interpreted my resume, I must think (and hope) that there is.

There is the constant reminder that by pressing "next" I am submitting the Home Depot Privacy Policy.  That's another potential time sink - the Terms and Conditions, followed by the Privacy Policy.  I generally give these a look, but not much more.  It is ever so slightly infuriating when certain sites (so far not this one) feel the need to tell you that you "MUST" read these terms to know what you're agreeing to.  Terms that could easily take at least an hour to read.  Terms not designed for the human mind to take in and process in one, two or even three tries.  There must actually be that many people out there looking for a loop hole, or else we are all just hopelessly entangled in a web of fine print.  In the meantime, I have a job to apply for.

OK, on too...a questionaire.   What kind of employment am I seeking.  Full Time, Part Time, Temporary/Contract, or "Flexible".  Since I can only choose one, I'm taking a chance on "Flexible".  I'm hoping this is similar to "All of the above", because I'd like to keep my options open.  Now they want to know how effective their recruitment techniques are.  How did I hear about this job?  The list is lengthy - The Home Depot is not one to be left out of the loop.  They have a list of possibilities beginning with "Online".  "Online - JobBoom.com", "Online - Monster.ca", "Online - Workopolis",...I'll have to go with "Online - Other (banner, ad, adword)".  OK, almost done, I think.  Yes, I do, once again, consent to the Privacy Policy.

"Please Answer a few additional questions".

It's a survey, and it's optional.  *Procrastinates on Deviantart*

I'll bite.  It's an equal opportunity survey.  Questions pertaining to my gender, ethnic background, whether I am disabled or otherwise challenged... and that's it.  Short, which is nice.


Overall, the Home Depot application process was not bad.  They have me on file now, so hopefully that'll make other applications easier.

The new job market can be by turns amusing and infuriating.  It's convenient to be able to do some much online, but harder to know where one's information is going.  Some of the recruitment techniques out there seem a little extreme, like the veritable psych test that began the last Chapters/Indigo/Smithbooks application I filled out.  Then there are those ads that are big on pep talks but never quite get around to telling you things like the name of the company or what, specifically, the job is.  These are just some of the things I get to thinking about while on the hunt for additional income.

Well, this ended up being a long one.  Thanks for reading to the end, and for visiting my humble blog :).  Later Blogger world!