Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am at a coffee shop waiting on my car to be serviced and noticed a very attractive, but somewhat older lady beside me applying to a position via Taleo. Visibly frustrated, I told her I was in IT and had been applying for numerous jobs and asked if I could be of assistance. She complained about how the site was not intuitive, buggy, and how she had to reenter data several times. After about twenty minutes, she had yet to complete this one application!
She was using an older XP laptop with IE8. The site was optimized for IE9 or higher, which isn't available on XP AFAIK. The site was buggy with IE8, but we were eventually able to muddle through. I didn't find it easy to navigate and I probably have a lot more experience navigating these types of systems than she does.
Taleo and its ilk are creatures of dozens of mandatory fields. If one detail is omitted or not in the correct format, you not only have to reenter the mandatory data, but on older or unsupported browsers, may also receive other unusual behavior. Many Taleo systems do not function properly with IE11, which is on Win7/8 machine that automatic updates turned on. It's highly possible that a user with older equipment or who is not very technically savvy to begin with could just get frustrated and give up. I've also seen many cryptic Java errors thrown by these sites from users who have a newer version of Java than what the site supports. Most people don't know how to troubleshoot this stuff nor should they have to be, but it can be a major barrier.
After dealing with this user, I realized that many people are stymied by the application process itself and technical side.
It seems every aspect of the hiring process including the electronic application itself is designed to provide as poor of an experience as possible to job-seekers. Great way to attract talent by being as unpleasant and inhospitable as possible.
Mandatory fields are actually set by the individual company using the software.
I don't know why folks are still resistant to online applications. They aren't going away. It would behoove most people to either keep their personal computers updated or make alternate arrangements like the public library.
We live in a world where everyone needs to be tech savvy on a basic level.
Online applications are like the Borg: Resistance is futile.
The goal of online applications is to allow as many people to apply as possible, even though the end result is flat-out reject of most of them. So, they have no reason to make the process easier - employers are in the driver's seat, and if somebody has problems with the application software, that's "their fault."
Taleo and the rest are terrible. Online applications are a great idea. Re-entering the same data after giving them your resume... that's idiotic. Same with all the bugs in Taleo... and don't ever hit "back" on your browser, since that can lose info, etc. Trash software, but nobody has a reason to provide better.
Mandatory fields are actually set by the individual company using the software.
I don't know why folks are still resistant to online applications. They aren't going away. It would behoove most people to either keep their personal computers updated or make alternate arrangements like the public library.
We live in a world where everyone needs to be tech savvy on a basic level.
Online applications are like the Borg: Resistance is futile.
Here's the problem:
Making fields mandatory that you may want to leave blank (salary questions for example).
Or fields that require some sort of context
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
