Why do you need to fill out long applications if you have a resume?

[June87]

Originally Posted by fishbrains

Several reasons come to mind.

By forcing everybody to use the same format the application allows the HM to make easier comparisons between candidates.

The application also includes language granting permission to the HM to contact previous employers, asks about felonies, warns you that lying on your app is grounds for dismissal and collects EEOC data.

I've always been told by people in HR it's for that reason. If you lied about something, it's in your hand writing and you agreed that everything submitted was true. If you lied a resume, you can always claim the job made up the resume.

[cyberphonics]

Originally Posted by veuvegirl

Before the electronic age I would attach my resume and write "see attached". I always got an interview. Drives me nuts all the hoops you have to go through!

Those were the days. Loved walking into a place, grabbing an app, filling out the main part with contact info, attaching a resume for the rest. No muss, no fuss. Always got interviewed/hired. Job hunting really is a job in itself these days thanks to the length of time it takes to go through the online process. Especially when something is wrong with the company's website.

I don't mind entering info in two or three times over as much as the other stuff, those stupid surveys with open-ended butt crack circumstantial questions and repetitive personality inquiries.

I am often enthusiastic about working as a team. Strongly agree | Strongly disagree
Working as a team often makes me enthusiastic. Strongly agree... again? | Strongly disagree.
This is a bitterly laughable way to secure one's livelihood. Strongly agree | Strongly disagree.

[Rambler123]

Why?

Because nobody ever reads those resumes.

You have to fill out all the silly forms so they can run the automated resume scanner on your entries and pick out keywords. Ah, you put down experience with "Pro/E" but you didn't say which version - unqualified! You said you had years of experience in "quality control" and "process control," but you didn't say 6 Sigma - unqualified! And then you have the personality surveys that might as well be summed as: "Are you willing to endure abuse and low pay without every speaking up for yourself or mentioning facts or reason?" If you answer "yes" you might be interviewed. If not... get lost!

It's a joke and just another way to quickly disqualify all candidates while keeping HR "busy" shuffling around resumes, hosting interviews that go nowhere, and "searching for the right people for the job." Right...