Shoddy Application forms etc.

[chilango]

It never ceases to amaze me how unprofessional some places are with their recruitment procedures.

I am sick of having to reformat application forms so that they actually work (I have however stopped changing their fonts for them!).

I am always surprised at some of the questions appearing on them. What is it illegal to ask?

...and even worse are those places where someone has clearly been watching too many episodes of The Apprentice/Dragons' Den or whatever and thinks its okay to name ALL the candidates invited to interview on the the individual interview invitation, and then go on with a little too much relish point out in the timetable of the interview that only 4 of 6 candidates will still be there after the lunch break. Fuck you then. Pulled out of that one the night before!

Another pet hate. Places that go on about their IT provision yet have the most appalling websites, usually under construction with broken hotlinks. Fuck you too.

 

[Maurice Picarda]

What is it illegal to ask?

Nothing, it's merely illegal to make recruitment decisions on certain bases. Evidence your decision-making on acceptable grounds, and you can ask whatever you like.

 

[chilango]

In one interview a few years back I got asked whether I had a girlfriend. Looked at the lady asking the questions, smiled coyly, answered "no" and got the job.

Hmmm.

 

[DotCommunist]

My favourite question on a form came halfway through and it was 'are you registered blind'

 

[chilango]

I came across one the other day that demanded a handwritten letter of application.

Fuck you as well then.

 

[DotCommunist]

I came across one the other day that demanded a handwritten letter of application.

Fuck you as well then.

prats, I've had that. You just know the person demanding that fancies himself as a traditionalist and of the old school etc.

 

[8115]

I came across one the other day that demanded a handwritten letter of application.

Fuck you as well then.

Write it with a quill and seal it with sealing wax.

You'll get there in the end. People are cocks though.

 

[chilango]

prats, I've had that. You just know the person demanding that fancies himself as a traditionalist and of the old school etc.

It's not even that.

They know that applicants already have the guts of their application letters pre written and saved but want to see if you'll go "the extra mile" by writing it all out by hand just for them.

 

[chilango]

Write it with a quill and seal it with sealing wax.

You'll get there in the end. People are cocks though.

Crayon on bog roll more like!

 

[frogwoman]

Some of the jobs I've applied to have asked for your marital status as part of the application form with the rest of the questions and put ethnicity and religion as one of the first questions.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

I am sick of having to reformat application forms so that they actually work (I have however stopped changing their fonts for them!).

I've never really worked out if it's polite to leave the format in the shitty mess they made of it, or whether it's some sort of computer literacy test and you're supposed to sort it out...

I am always surprised at some of the questions appearing on them. What is it illegal to ask?

In theory, if we're talking about anything covered by the equalities act (e.g. age, gender, race, nationality, and so on) then it depends whether they are asking the question with a view to using it as part of a decision making process (broadly illegal) or as a monitoring thing (broadly legal) in which case it should be a separate sheet that's not seen by the recruiters. Obviously in terms of disability it's (I believe) legal to ask if any adjustments are needed for interview arrangements.

Some of the jobs I've applied to have asked for your marital status as part of the application form with the rest of the questions and put ethnicity and religion as one of the first questions.

I met one this week that asked this sort of thing and if you're in a trade union.

That got into the 'fuck you' pile...

 

[DotCommunist]

I met one this week that asked this sort of thing and if you're in a trade union.

the fuck, thats not on

 

[frogwoman]

do they also want people to cook as giant egg like heston blumenthal or something as part of the recruitment process?

 

[chilango]

Some of the jobs I've applied to have asked for your marital status as part of the application form with the rest of the questions and put ethnicity and religion as one of the first questions.

Yup. I get that plenty. Age too.

Forms where what school you went to is at the top are a dead give away too.

 

[frogwoman]

that *should* come under educational experience, but doesn't always

why does anyone give a shit about my gcse results almost 10 years after the fact?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

and those that want *every* job since you've left school, with exact dates and salary details.

how the fuck do they expect me to remember exact dates of a shitty job I was in for a few weeks 25 years ago?

 

[chilango]

that *should* come under educational experience, but doesn't always

why does anyone give a shit about my gcse results almost 10 years after the fact?

They don't.

They want to know what "old school tie" you wear.

 

[chilango]

Application forms with spelling mistakes a plenty too.

What do you do when you run the thing thru a spellcheck and half their shit gets the red underline?

 

[Mr Smin]

I was outraged that my uni tie was fashioned from nylon. Agree about places with shit websites. I worked for a place that offered to send you on an NVQ to improve IT skills. I had to correct malformed links (\ instead of /) in the supplier's site just to get pages to display.

 

[Pickman's model]

I came across one the other day that demanded a handwritten letter of application.

Fuck you as well then.

no hands? (((chilango)))

 

[Pickman's model]

I was outraged that my uni tie was fashioned from nylon. Agree about places with shit websites. I worked for a place that offered to send you on an NVQ to improve IT skills. I had to correct malformed links (\ instead of /) in the supplier's site just to get pages to display.

you could probably have paid £5 more and got a silk tie. why not just get a guards tie?

 

[equationgirl]

Once I was asked about my financial status. I refused to answer.

 

[Mr Smin]

you could probably have paid £5 more and got a silk tie. why not just get a guards tie?

I asked - no silk ones for sale.
If you mean Guards as in armed forces, lucky I didn't as my first job was working for a former Guard and I would have been found out pretty quick.

 

[Pickman's model]

I asked - no silk ones for sale.
If you mean Guards as in armed forces, lucky I didn't as my first job was working for a former Guard and I would have been found out pretty quick.

Go king's african rifles or similar then.