Be Excellent To Each Other

See advert for jobs 'nationwide' on a site. Think to self "they have places in Hull". Look at epic app form, ring up and check whether they have vacancies in my area at present, get told to complete form. Wonder why CV cannot be submitted. Complete form, which involves copying everything over from CV. Half an hour later, final question on form: would you like to attach your CV?

Submit form, 500 server error. Click back. "please complete sections highlighted in red". Check those sections - already completed. Try again. 500 server error. Email HR and web admin informing them of error and suggesting I email my CV to be forwarded to appropriate regional manager. Get email back, no mention of them wasting my time filling in a broken form, with a .doc application for attached - please fill this in.

Open form, attempt to fill in first field - name. New window opens, for no reason whatsoever, in which I have to put my name. Press return. Nothing happens. Get mouse, click on 'ok', window closes. This to be repeated for every field on form. Field 3: Address. Complete address, grab mouse, click 'ok' - address splurges across page in formatting armageddon. Consider that if I went out and bought MS Word instead of using Open Office I might not have this problem. Consider that if I could afford Word I'd not be applying for this job.

Why do they do it? Just read my CV. It's a really good one. Any HR types on here care to enlighten me?

/edit oh, and at the bottom, references:

Referee 1
Referee 2
Referee 2

So, do you want two references, and can't check your own work, or do you want three references, and can't count?

That doesn't sound like any company I would like to work for.

Bah Plus you just know it'll be a complete waste of time anyway

I'd print it out, write the shit in the boxes and scan it back in. It's the only language they understand.

Sounds like some HR bod has decided to be "clever" and has just made it a right pain for everyone.

There's not a lot of choice in my region at the moment, alas. More worryingly this is generally the sort of thing I do, but the projects I would specifically love to work on in this region are all operated by one organisation, so I'm dreading the first time one of those becomes available in case it's another hair-pulling exercise as basically I can like this org, find a different career or move out of area again.

It's so they don't have to employ someone to enter the data from CVs into their database. Lazy, cheap buggers.

Is there a job opening for Data Entry Clerk perchance?

It'll work for them now, but if there were any other employers at all offering anything similar this week I'd not be bothering my arse to jump through their poorly implemented hoops regardless of the otherwise very decent rep I know this organisation to have. If there was any sort of bespoke software in use, I'd maybe understand it, but their webform renders to a word doc, the app they sent me is also a word doc and my CV, which I've already painstakingly compiled and can be sent in the blink of an eye is... a word doc.

Whoever manages to copyright a standardised e-format for job apps and get everyone using it will be both a hero and millionaire. All arguments about different info being needed are crap, I've done however many apps for me and a myriad clients for hundreds of differing roles in different sectors.

They're all the fucking same.

Jobsite, if I recall correctly, only needed you to fill in their form AND you could attach your CV as well. I found they were the best site, followed by Reed, for the site and the search working well.

On a slightly related note, Reeds radio ads are really humorous, I've heard this on Kiss FM at work and seems to sum up Kiss FM in a nutshell.