Problem with the future. . .

[Searcher]

. . . and a bit of a general moan . . .

I recently e-mailed Wessex Archaeology in respose to an advert for position within their fine institution.

In my e-mail i introduced myself, talked a little about my general skills and also attached a magnificent CV which had taken a vast amount of time to produce.

This, as i expected, got a responce and the person replying attached a file containing an application form.


Now here is where my problem lies,
I open the document, and to no great surprise, the application form asks for the information I HAVE ALREADY SENT in my CV?!!

I proseed to fill out the boxes with the info that they ask for, but as i get down the document the text starts to jump all around the screen.

No matter, I'll print it out and post it off, i think. But for some reason the document has left a HUGE border on the left hand side of the pages, the text corrupts near the bottom and it doesn't print off all the pages.

My point is i have sent the info they need. Why do i have to fill out their SPECIAL form with the same stuff, and if they are going to send an electronic form should they not have one that works insted of me having to arse around like this!!??

Anyone from Wessex Archaeology should be ashamed.

My application prosess has now been delayed and i might miss out on a job that i was really looking forward to getting.

Comments and disscusion if you like, but i just had to blow off some steam

I Thank You

[Gizmo]

over the past few months i have been applying for various posts with my local council and they DO NOT accept cv's but require you fill in one of their electronic application forms. i felt very pleased with myself when i completed a form to save to my desktop so that if more positions came up i could simply change the job code and relevent info without having to write name, address, d.o.b etc over and over.
so when another position was advertised i thought this will be quick and easy, only to find the buggers had completly changed the form so i had to start from scratch anyway!! and dont even mention margind moving and text jumping down pages

[vulpes]

Think of it as an initiative test and also a test of your IT skills. Doesn't bode well for your success - but then if I had a pound for every form I've filled in over the last 10 years I'd buy you all a drink.

[tom wilson]

The specially-designed form usually indicates that you'll be joining an organisation so large and monolithic it has done all its thinking (or been told what to think) in advance. No disrespect to Wessex, by the way, with whom I have had almost no contact.

My own personal bugbear has always been when advertisments riddled with spelling mistakes and gobbledigook grammar require 'an excellent degree of literacy'. How can they tell?

I also dislike unrealistic requirements for skills and experience. In some cases it is almost as if the advert is saying 'we welcome applications from bull****ters'.

[Searcher]

quote:Originally posted by Gizmo

. . .i have been applying for various posts with my local council and they DO NOT accept cv's but require you fill in one of their electronic application forms!

This is just ridiculous! WHY fill out their rubbish forms? My CV gives all the information employers need and even goes further in outlining my skills. (on the forms you can give this extra information on a seperate piece of paper!!??)

Why can't we start a campain to get employers to take ONLY CV's. no need for any more time wasting filling out form after form after form!:face-huh:

[historic building]

One of the primary reasons for issuing an application form is that it ensures everyone has standardised the presentation of their experience, qualifications etc. Obviously with public bodies, or charitable trusts, such as wessex, they have to be far more careful to ensure that all recruitment practices are fair and, believe me, from having to assess job applications previously standardised forms do help this. Forms also contain contractual terms concerning the accuracy of statements and qualifications as presented which are not included on CVs.

[1man1desk]

At one time I would have sympathised with your plight. Then I started having to recruit staff, including reading all the CVs...

People write their CVs to suit themselves, and they are very inconsistent. At least 30% will omit something that is crucial to the recruiting organisation, while dwelling at length on something irrelevant. Many will be far too long (I once received a 35-page CV, hard-bound). Even if the right basic information is there, it will be presented in a different order and in radically different ways in each CV (you would be amazed how much they vary).

The point is, the recruiting organisation knows what information it wants and has set up a form designed to obtain that specific information, and to get it in the same format and order each time. That makes for faster/easier processing, and puts all applicants on a level playing field.

If you try to short-circuit the process by sending the information in a different way, all you will do is annoy the recruiting manager and reduce your chances of success.

Searcher says that he/she was really looking forward to getting the job they applied for - if so, isn't it worth jumping through the hoops in the way the company wants?

1man1desk

to let, fully furnished

[Paul Belford]

We are a small unit and I don't have the time or inclination to design a form. But 1man is right, the variability of CVs is tremendous. Some are highly irritating, some don't even spell my name correctly, some are clearly round-robin speculative exercises. These are all easy to spot and reject.

The survivors from this first round are however quite illuminating about a person's character and personality. What they have chosen to include?, what they have chosen to omit?, what order have they put it in?, do they have any sense of document layout and graphic design or are they completely cack-handed? do they have any creativity? can they spell or understand grammar? (amazingly not even in this lazy age of spell checkers)... and so-on. All such things are very revealing, and most 'facts' on a CV are easily verifiable by ringing up referees and previous employers.

"So when X says he worked for you from August to September does that mean two months experience or does that mean from 29th August to 3rd September?"

I also have great fun in seeing who has the most outlandish hobby - cheese rolling, or Alpenhorn champion for example.

In a larger organisation having a form makes sense from an administrative point of view, although the variability of jobs on offer (eg. with a local authority or with EH) does make nonsense of some parts and inevitably everyone will have some blank spaces on a standard form.

[Searcher]

quote:Originally posted by Paul Belford

But 1man is right, the variability of CVs is tremendous. Some are highly irritating, some don't even spell my name correctly, some are clearly round-robin speculative exercises. These are all easy to spot and reject.

The survivors from this first round are however quite illuminating about a person's character and personality. What they have chosen to include?, what they have chosen to omit?, what order have they put it in?, do they have any sense of document layout and graphic design or are they completely cack-handed? do they have any creativity? can they spell or understand grammar? (amazingly not even in this lazy age of spell checkers)... and so-on. All such things are very revealing, and most 'facts' on a CV are easily verifiable by ringing up referees and previous employers.

I also have great fun in seeing who has the most outlandish hobby - cheese rolling, or Alpenhorn champion for example.

see how much fun employers could have reading all those different CVs which, like this guy says, shows you just how individual each team member could be!

well, the form is off now and every1 can cross thier fingers and thier toes for me and i might just get this job!!

[historic building]

Please believe me going through a pile of CVs of varied quality is no fun what so ever. In every way application form are more fair to both the employee and employer.