ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Annoying Applications

Updated on April 20, 2016

Applications become a bit too anal?

So, being an 18 year old who's almost finished with school and taking a year out, I was keen to start looking into the job market just to make some money. Like most people, I see things and I like to buy them..sometimes I can get a bit too carried away.
Anyway, all I wanted was a simple little part time job that would keep me occupied for some time while earning extra cash. Beginning my search, I used the basic method of scouting websites such as indeed.com and saw that a local Tesco's not 15 minutes from my house were looking for a sales associated to do just 8.5 hours a week. Simple enough right? Create a CV then email it off and wait for a reply. WRONG.
After clicking onto Tesco's own website I realised that you had to set up an account with them. Okay, this isn't too bad, create an account then upload a CV? Nope, wrong again. Tesco's, I found, like many other big-named companies such as Marks and Spencer, Sainsburys and Boots to name a few all use these online applications now where it is required you fill out pages and pages of 'in-situation' questions; questions such as 'if you're stacking shelves and a customer approaches you, what do you do?'.

So because I really liked the looks of these hours and the bonus of it being near my house, I decided to go with it and answer the questions with what I thought was the best of my ability. To answer the above question, I chose the closest answer to 'drop everything and assist the customer' I mean its all in the job title - customer assistant? Also I always thought the customer came first right?
WRONG AGAIN.

I managed to get to question 22 I think it was before a message popped up on my screen saying I didn't fit the criteria because I didn't meet a correct amount of answers. Apparently we're now being tested for a job we have absolutely no training or previous experience in, yet will never have the chance to defend our answers because a computer software says so.

Uhhm?

Tesco's welcome you with bright colours and warm pictures... What lurks beneath?
Tesco's welcome you with bright colours and warm pictures... What lurks beneath? | Source

So once I frustratingly got over my rejection from Tesco's I decided to look for jobs who just wanted me to send a good old curriculum vitae through email or in person.

However, I noticed that just filling out the Tesco's online application took a good hour all in all but that's not the half of it, last September I was searching for a job before I luckily found a job at a hotel that I spent 6 lovely months working at and came across a vacancy for Marks and Spencer. The hours offered were just weekends which I thought was great for someone who still needed time for lessons and homework during the week.

Being all wide-eyed and innocent before working in the real world, I thought, 'hey! An online application! That is such a time saver!' Nope. No. Wrong once again - this is becoming a habit. Nevertheless, I filled out all the normal hoopla; name, email, phone, experience, personal statement and apparently marital status...Yeah I'm not interested in marrying a mannequin, thanks. But once I got to the stage where they ask you questions, I noticed this large bar at the top of the screen separating me from finishing and possibly getting an interview. How hard could this be?

The answer is very, three long and finger-clickingly-tired hours later, I had completed the form only to find out I wasn't acceptable because my answers were wrong! Cue eye rolling and scream-fest with constant swearing at my poor innocent computer screen.
M&S have recently became my enemy because they actually use animated figures to act out little problem solving with an annoyingly chipper voice over asking all the questions.

It wasn't just a handful of questions either, it was something along the lines of 8 sections with 4 subsections and like 30 question in each section. I may be exaggerating but who knows? I like to now pretend that was a nightmare.

To summarise this extensively long rant about online applications, what is the point of them? If companies are so desperate to find very specific people through rigorous interrogations they should just simply ask CVs to be handed into store managers, call the people who really stand out in for interviews and TRAIN THEM!!!

I have no idea personally what was wrong with my answers but surely if I were actually hired and then trained for this position, the supervisor or manager could correct me and make sure I then do things their way.

Online applications may be suitable for these larger corporate jobs but for an 18 year old just looking for part time work and applying for a position that doesn't even go over 20 hours per week, it's just a complete waste of my time.

What do you think? Do you agree with me or just think I'm too young to be complaining like this?

Do you think online applications as described are a waste of time?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)