Most people will tell you that technology has revolutionized the way in which we live our lives. But I’m not most people, and while I do believe our lives have benefitted greatly from technology it hasn’t made everything easier.
For example, ask anyone who’s applied for a job lately and they’ll probably mention the introduction of online forms.
Years ago you could easily print out a cover letter and resume, fold it, seal it in an envelope and have it dropped at the nearest post office in no time flat! You could efficiently send out ten resumes in less than ten minutes – leaving you with a feeling of accomplishment and self-worth over the possibilities in your hands.
But no more.
Today applying for a job is a time consuming, and more importantly, demoralizing experience – at least when it comes to those online forms I mentioned above.
They typically take between 20 – 30 minutes to complete, ask you the same information you just provided on your uploaded resume and often ask questions you were never asked years ago until you were sitting at your scheduled interview waiting to be called in.
20 – 30 minutes is a lot of time when you’re looking for work – and did I mention that there’s no guarantee that the time you just devoted to that online form will secure you a phone or face-to-face interview? In short, people deserve better.
Research reveals that many companies are turning to these online forms as a way to weed out candidates. I thought that’s what the human resource department was there for – to find the best candidate for the job by reviewing all information presented. Now a computer does that, but when it finds one question it isn’t programmed to like your application is trashed. Is this showing the American worker how valued they are? Can a computer evaluate personalities and character traits, which in this writer’s opinion can be more valuable at times than experience? I think not.
I’m sure in the future there will come a time when I need to join the job hunt again. But I can tell you it’s not something I look forward to. Not because I don’t consider myself a worthy candidate, but because I don’t like being judged by a machine.
Albert Einstein once remarked, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” No argument here.
