Complex job applications, multiple essays, just to apply?

20 Comments

1. AnonymousFebruary 19,2023 at 10:25PM UTC

   Why so many samples? as well as your portfolio? I do not know what field you are in but if an application is too stressful, i would say go with your gut. There are a lot of jobs to apply for out there than to waste your time going through all that just for screening. What then will the interview process look like?

2. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistFebruary 20,2023 at 1:19AM UTC

   There is no job on this planet that I would ever want bad enough to jump through all those hoops. There just isn't.

   Hard no from me.

3. Carol SuggsFebruary 20,2023 at 3:25AM UTC

   Funny I started to respond about what I went through with two job opportunities! I guess it really boils down to is if you really want the job you’ll jump through the hoops for a shot at it. The search often times can seem like a lot of work .

4. KatFebruary 20,2023 at 3:48PM UTC

   Don't waste any more time on this. If it's this much work just to apply (and justify why you're applying?!) I wouldn't want to work with these people. Getting anything done, especially on a tight deadline, would be almost impossible. Long ago I applied for a job with a local suburb. This was a basic clerical job, not anything high level. The pay was good, so I decided to apply. You had to go to city hall to apply in person (nothing was online then). Next step was to come in person to do a battery of clerical skills tests with the rest of the applicants. Then a committee had to meet to score those tests and determine who would be selected to do the (in person) typing test. After that, the committee met to review the typing tests and would select people to interview for the job! I made it as far as the typing test but didn't get an interview. No idea why I wasn't selected, but by that point, I didn't care. Getting to the typing test took at least 8 weeks (if not more) from the initial application filing, so who knows how long the whole process would take. After that, I decided I wouldn't wasted that much time trying to apply for a job. Too many hoops just isn't worth it for me. Your time is valuable and potential employers need to remember that.

5. AnonymousFebruary 20,2023 at 4:45PM UTC

   Agree with what someone else said, "Hard no for me." I giggled when I read that, not laughing at your situation but it's the "hard no for me" that tickled my funny bone.

   First off, are they compensating you to do all this work to explain the samples you're sending in? It feels like a project within a project to even apply!?

   Not worth it, I'd say expend your energy on a more simplified job application process, elsewhere. If anything, this feels like a clue that their work culture isn't A-1...pass.

   Good luck to you!

6. BeaBoss750792February 20,2023 at 6:17PM UTC

   It’s not unusual for certain roles to request a few relevant samples as a pre-screen, but requesting to see an entire portfolio is a red flag to me that there’s an issue with person who posted the job — either they don’t actually understand the role that they’re hiring for or that they’re a perfectionist (not a good trait in a people manager).

   I’ve occasionally been asked to respond to an essay question or two during the hiring process with big tech, but that’s always been after I’ve made it fairly far into the hiring process—never part of the initial application.

7. AnonymousFebruary 21,2023 at 3:22PM UTC

   these processes for just submitting an application are beyond ridiculous, invasive, and tell you nothing about the individual applying which you you could find out easily with a short phone call.

   unfortunately, employers don’t seem to get what is successful in recruiting and and what is not.

   having worked in HR recruiting and talent acquisition, I can tell you I actually was able to pull statistics on how many people abandoned the application process all together, the number was high.

   after we tweaked the process, there was additional qualified applicants

   that had we received once we tailored a better application process. we wouldn’t have had the volume of those applying.

   I also can testify that assessments of any kind, mostly for a customer service, and some type of data entry skill were only given after an application, prescreened by me the recruiter was performed and I was able to justify moving this person to assessments.

   employers are asking questions that are illegal. I have applied to numerous jobs where I was asked for date of birth, date of college and high school, graduations and drivers license which is not the norm and actually illegal, these questions are asked only after you’ve accepted a formal offer, I don’t know how they’re getting away with it, but everyone needs to step up and report to the labor bureau in their state that this is exists and name the employers that are doing it it’s the only way to stop it. It’s easy enough to do you can Google labor bureau in your state and fill out a form and submit it make sure you hang onto the information of the employer where in fraction occurred. We really need to do this to prevent further discrimination, and open up more jobs, that supposedly need to be filled.

8. AnonymousFebruary 21,2023 at 3:25PM UTC

   maybe Covid created some of the video and zooming interviews but we’re not performing monkeys and I can tell you I interviewed many a candidate on zoom and told them to please shut down there camera because by law we weren’t supposed to see them in the first interview.

   many people are still uncomfortable with the video process and are not comfortable being viewed as if you’re performing. a phone call could provide you with a much more comfortable applicant in a meet and greet without a camera.

   more importantly, many people are much better in person, and there is no substitute for a face-to-face meeting with someone if they have the knowledge skills and ability to do a job that needs to be filled.

9. AnonymousFebruary 21,2023 at 3:47PM UTC

   I have walked away from so many of these "applications". It's ridiculous to ask someone to spend a few hours inputting essays to questions when the employer should be conducting brief screening calls.

10. AnonymousFebruary 21,2023 at 8:36PM UTC

    Yes and now this is becoming the status quo. If you want the job you have to go through it and if you don't walk away. If your resume meets all the qualifications and your previous employer does not allow you to share proprietary work from them then let that company know this in your response to work samples. Good luck and welcome to the age of automation where you don't even get to speak to real folks when you apply.

11. Janet ParkhurstFebruary 22,2023 at 4:05AM UTC

    It's ridiculous. DO walk away from it. Humans don't even review your work, and there's no way to recoup the precious time spent playing these tiresome games. And I eschew the common advice to revamp my resume to "suit each job" I apply to. Again, BIG waste of time. Just get out and network. Or spend your time shoring up your Linkedin.com profile. Most employers are using those to find and assess viable candidates, anyway.

12. AnonymousFebruary 22,2023 at 2:52PM UTC

    This is how it seems to be right now due to the market, especially at tech start-up companies.

    Personally I won't jump through these hoops, especially just to get a phone screen.

13. Erin AskewFebruary 22,2023 at 2:57PM UTC

    As of Jan 01 2023, it's also illegal in 17 states now to even *ask* about salary history...

14. Ashlee PanaiaFebruary 22,2023 at 2:58PM UTC

    I had three interviews and they wanted me to do two PowerPoint presentations. I was like, “That’s a hard pass from me.” They ended up hiring someone who lasted about three months and then left. When they called me back, I still passed. If it takes you 5 different interactions to think you may want to hire me, I’m out. That tells me how slow your company makes decisions.

15. AnonymousFebruary 22,2023 at 7:39PM UTC

    Providing a cover letter is not unreasonable and pretty standard. Why are you against providing it?

16. AnonymousFebruary 22,2023 at 10:52PM UTC

    Sounds like what I just went through…I applied for two different positions with the same organization. After wading through the applications, submitting my resume and answering 5 supplemental questions they called me for a preliminary phone interview then sent me information on the positions, along with specific project presentations that they were requiring I prepare for them in power point as part of my interview. With one of the presentations I spent hours researching. I made it through both rounds of interviews on both positions only to be told that while I was high up on the list I didn’t get either of the jobs. When I was doing the research on one of the projects I kinda felt like they were soliciting for answers to how to get the project funded. What better way than to get free advice from a bunch of recruits!? I think it just depends on how badly you want the position as to how many hoops you are willing to jump through.

17. AnonymousFebruary 23,2023 at 7:28PM UTC

    Well, you are wrong, a cover letter no matter your level of experience is the way you introduce yourself when applying for a job, somewhere it got lost in basic courtesy. If you think writing a cover letter to let a company know why you have interest in them and why your qualifications are a fit for the job description you have applied to then you're bound to lose out on companies that don't have a crystal ball to know about you. Don't be so angry about being asked for basics that you sabotage yuorself in the process. A cover letter should clearly state interest, fit for the role and highlight why them. If you have reasons for leaving your current employer that may not be so evident in your resume take the time if they help your application to share. IE: my company has lost funding, my company is not growing, new leadership, change in direction, etc. Any flags that concern you can be addresses there too. Sometimes identifying the elephant in the room before any conversation will align you and the company to fit. That is usually what they hope for. If you just apply as "I'm too good to do a cover note" your options may be limited.

    It's not work to write a cover letter, please don't encourage others to be as sour as your opinion here its not helpful to the community. This comment also goes to thank you notes. Tilt the scales into a positive not negative note.

18. Janet ParkhurstFebruary 25,2023 at 4:29AM UTC

    Thank you so much for what your wrote! I, too, am a strong believer in the cover letter. It portrays "soft skills" that are impossible for a resume to convey and, as you put it, slays the elephants in the room. In the end, despite the huge presence of "bots" and other cold mechanics, a human being reads the resume that's preceded by an effective and sincere cover letter. A well thought-out cover letter lets the hiring personnel know that you're not just banging out resumes to 50+ companies in the hopes of getting a couple of "bites." The cover letter lets your targeted company(ies) know that you have a real interest in working for THEM, not just someone who contacts you "out of the blue." And, I also agree, it really doesn't take that long to create--IF you are truly interested in that company and the role they have open.

19. Janet ParkhurstFebruary 25,2023 at 4:30AM UTC

    Sorry... meant what YOU wrote!

20. Janet ParkhurstFebruary 24,2023 at 1:17AM UTC

    During my 40-year career as an advertising/marketing copywriter, when job hunting, I was sometimes asked to do "copy assignments," even though I have a website that contains a variety of writing samples done for different industries.

    If I were just starting out, MAYBE. But at the senior level of my career, I find being asked to take a "copy test" (which is basically what it is), insulting. And, yes, they can certainly turn around and use it for a present-day project and claim it as theirs. Just don't do it. I'm talking ANY field, not just mine.