Why are employers asking such stupid questions in there Job Applications and gen

1. 73

   Eaglekiwiposted 15 years ago

   Why are employers asking such stupid questions in there Job Applications and generally requiring volumes of information for a $8 an hour job?

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2. 88

   Patty Inglish, MSposted 15 years ago

   Sometimes a job interview can sound and feel crazy because of the new questions HR interviewers are asking these days. The information in this article may help you in your next interview. read more

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3. 88

   Patty Inglish, MSposted 15 years ago

   In the Great Recession, job seekers were frustrated a lack of enough jobs to go around and by a new set of processes required in interviewing.  Many thought the new questions absurd and alien. read more

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4. 0

   The Shelley Teamposted 15 years ago

   I hope this fits or commiserates with EagleKiwi's sentiment.  I too have been highly disgusted at the use of Kronos-Unicru personality tests given by major retailers to job applicants before they even get a chance to be interviewed.  I think the media needs to get a jump on investigating the possibility that Unicru and employers who use it are exacerbating the continuing unemployment problems.

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5. 88

   Patty Inglish, MSposted 15 years ago

   Several of the US States have passed legislation to outlaw pre-employment credit checks for jobs that do not require cash handling. Is your state one of them? read more

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6. 61

   J. Kummposted 15 years ago

   We are working in an employer's market and almost all employers can afford to be very choosy.

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7. 52

   pwjmposted 15 years ago

   They treat an 8 dollar an hour job like its your life goal and want to make sure you're really ready to take on the responsibility!!! HAH! i wish they would just treat it like it is... a stepping stone filler job till you get on your feet. The sad part is, they are probably screening out their most reliable and long term employees because they aren't "motivated enough" to succeed in life. SUPRISE!!! that's who end up working 8 dollar an hour jobs their whole life!
   
   My real beef is with no long being able to drop off resume's to the manager directly anymore. almost every business I've been to requests that you file an application online or email a resume... They're taking away charismatic people's ability to put their foot in the door and focusing on people that can fabricate the best resume. what a world....

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8. 0

   CassProductionsposted 15 years ago

   Excuses because they can, knowing the job market is tough and their money is your necessity. Controlling, you have to answer the stupid question or you wouldnt've applied. Invasive, because they have the key and you have no choice, unfortunately job market doesn't like it and its spiraling out of control losing its true purpose!

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9. 35

   myfirst50000posted 15 years ago

   Because there's a lot less job available maybe and employers are looking for the best employees... even at an 8$ per hour paying job.

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10. 57

    poochposted 15 years ago

    The questions that you believe are stupid are a part of a personality test.  The employers want to see the type of person you are with the questions.  For example, are you honest and trustworthy.  Will you be dependable working for us and dedicated to the work assignment that you are provided.  The questions seem to be unfair, but it is a process of elimination on what type of people the employer is looking to hire.  I believe that the credit process in a background check is misunderstood.  The information that they may be looking at does not represent the individual in a lot of cases.  The employer will not know if they have lost their job, divorced, or were disabled briefly and now trying to get back on their feet.  Most of us do not understand that all applications are now done online.  This is a purpose of screening applications and running credit and giving you automated responses as "If your qualifications meet our needs, then you will be contact by the hiring manager."  How many people have been contacted?  Everything with the stupid questions and background checks for jobs are a complete screening process that is hindering a lot of Americans from being able to survive.

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11. 39

    toby26posted 15 years ago

    that is because they need to know who exactly they are hiring. Why would employer wants to hire someone that is not useful for their organization?
    
    Secondly, it is useful for a record keeping purpose.

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12. 0

    blueraven6posted 15 years ago

    Employers are very leery of accepting anyone for employment without a full background check. Look at this issue from their viewpoint. Here's  a stranger they're wanting to get to know enough to trust them inside their business. How would you do it?
    
    Attorneys and the Media promote fear within us all.
    
    I keep delivering the same old message: quite thinking like an employee. Learn to think like an employer and you will get the job. Answer their needs, and you're in.

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13. 61

    Suiikiposted 15 years ago

    Well, considering that my first job was as a Nurse's Aide in a Home Health setting, which paid US $8.50 an hour, it was to make sure we had been been properly trained and weren't going to steal from or abuse clients. My second job was US $9.00 an hour as a Nurse's Aide in an old folks' home and the questions were even stupider..the lady asked me about 6 times if I was 18 or older (I was exactly 18 and told her as much every time, she had copies of my driver's license and social security card in front of her...)

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14. 59

    Keith Sposted 15 years ago

    because the employees don't know the difference between there and their.

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15. 59

    RacanoMediaposted 15 years ago

    Jobs are in such high demand that employers can ask volumes of information in order to find the right candidate. I recently placed a job opening for a company I consult for on craigslist.org and recieved 300 applications in less than 24 hours. The position was for a graphic/web designer and was paying minimally.
    
    Some of the applicants had 10-15 years in experience. I was shocked.

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16. 56

    Great Aunt Roseposted 15 years ago

    That's a complicated question.  First they want to watch you crack under the pressure.  Then they take your answers and use them against you.  Worse, they ask you the very same questions, just to make sure you give the very same answer.  Never let them see you sweat.  They as well as you know within the first few moments if you will get called back or not.  Relax and don't take it personally, they look at 50-100+ people to fill just one position and they mean well.  And they also want you to be sure you want to work for such a nosey employer...

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17. 61

    yes2truthposted 15 years ago

    Because when you 'apply' for anything you are begging, so by default you are admitting that you wish to be made their slave. They know this, so they subjugate you to endless humiliating questions from the start so that you realise what you are letting yourself in for.
    
    Get smart, just go work for yourself and tell 'em where they can stick their stinking application forms!!  OUCH!

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18. 59

    Akindellyposted 15 years ago

    It is not easy to get money. Employers are always right.They are free to dictate what they want. However, it is better to work for sucess rather than achieving sucess on a plater of gold.

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19. 41

    H P Roychoudhuryposted 15 years ago

    It is a case of demand and supply. When supply is more in the sense the number of job seeker is more the demand decreases. The employer scrutinizes to find the best one.

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20. 58

    reggiemax1234posted 15 years ago

    I ask the same question. If you also notice, on the bottom of most applications they say they may do a credit check as well. I don't agree with credit checks for a job. They claim that if you have bad credit it means you may be a bad employee. I don't agree. What if you got sick and have a whole bunch of unpaid medical bills- or what if you lost your job and couldn't pay your bills? It is a bunch of crap if you ask me.

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21. 77

    brimancandyposted 15 years ago

    One thing the irritates me more than the questions, is the impersonal online applications with the 20 page questionaire with the exact same question asked 20 different times mixing up the words. Do they think people are stupid?
    
    I was applying at a department store. (starts with a W) And, I was having a problem getting their on-site application computer to function. So, they sent me the lady who was in charge of hiring to attempt to get the computer to work.
    
    She unplugged it, and rebooted it, and told me to start over, so I did. The computer crashed again. They called her back. And, I asked  her. Couldn't we just avoid all this, by letting me fill out a paper application, and, since you are in charge of the hiring, couldn't I get an interview now? Or, arrange to have one?
    
    No, you have to fill out the online application. I said forget it, and i got up and walked out. The sad thing is, if I could not speak english, or read english, I would have had someone there right beside me helping me fill it out, and more than likely,
    even though I can't speak english, I probably would have been more likely to get hired, than being hired because I can.
    
    One of the reasons why you see so many foreigners working in the major department stores is because the management knows that people won't be so eager to ask them questions.
    
    Like, why does your sign say your product is on sale in the ad and it is not on sale on the shelf? Eh?....no english. Nevermind.
    I would like to know why these people are hired, and how they get around these detailed applications?
    
    Affirmative action strikes again!

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22. 60

    JeniferDposted 14 years ago

    I'll tell you why: These knucklehead employers don't want to pay experienced people what they're really worth these days.
    
    Maximum quality for minimum pay.  That is so wrong on so many levels.

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23. 74

    DowntroddenInDCposted 14 years ago

    It introduces barriers to entry for the position. If the position only pays $8/hr I'm going to assume it is fairly unskilled. Therefore, nearly anyone or everyone is able to do the job. The employer needs some way to filter applicants with what may seem to be trivial questions, otherwise they would be inundated with applicants (and they probably do not have the resources to filter 2000 applications by looking at each one).
    
    So the questions act as a barrier to entry in this market (the market being the interviewed candidates or qualified applicants).
    
    Best of luck in your job search!

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24. 62

    Harvey Stelmanposted 14 years ago

    In a sellers market a company can do what it wishes to get get what they want.

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25. 58

    StupidQuestionsposted 14 years ago

    Becasue they CAN whenever the economy sucks especially . . .they can!  When it's a buyer's market we just have to put up with it!

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26. 0

    iamqweenbeeposted 14 years ago

    Because they are nosy and dangle that $8 an hour job like a carrot in your face because they know unemployment is high so they can play games

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    1. 60

       By Loriposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I so agree with that.

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27. 60

    democrate1990posted 14 years ago

    I think now employers are just trying to be nosy. they going to make you work hard on the interview for that $8 an hour.

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28. 71

    SteveoMcposted 14 years ago

    They are trying to weed out the people who are not interested in the job really....you have to be willing to go the extra mile to apply.

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29. 70

    onegoodwomanposted 14 years ago

    Such as, where I went to High School 20 years ago, and what courses I studied..............
    
    HELLO, it's high school, I took the mandatory classes..........
    
    What was my GPA............heck, if I remember, I passed, I graduated!

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30. 62

    Tirzah Laughsposted 14 years ago

    To weed out the drug addicts, the bad attitudes, the constant 'emergency' folks, the ones with poor work habits, the ones that can't follow directions and the ones that are not literate.
    
    In most cases, they are looking for an employee that will give them the least amount of problems, work the hardest and stay around long enough that they don't have to train someone else.
    
    They restate the questions to check your honesty and your critical thinking skills.
    
    The online applications...the computer sorts out the 'no's' from the 'maybes'.  Then a person interviews the maybes.   They won't let you skip that because they are required to let the computer do the first part.
    
    

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31. 52

    kimbell47posted 14 years ago

    I believed to weed out the weak and gear their attention to the younger generation that can work for $8 an hour.

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32. 57

    Veianetposted 14 years ago

    maybe employers want to waste your time? just kidding...but it is true that paper work has been a headache for most people be it online or personal.

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33. 51

    PosiTudeposted 13 years ago

    First, I would like to say that I agree with the question. I get very irritated with these stupid questions. I try my best to answer to the best of my ability, but it makes the job hunting process very tiresome. MomInTheMiddle asks for an example of a stupid question. Let's see .... Do people do many things that annoy you? Uh, do you get more annoyed or more angry?  Have you ever had a cash shortage? (Not placed in context-I am having a shortage of cash right now, but they probably mean for a cash register operator. I would understand the question if I was applying for a cash register position only.)  What I really can't stand is when I am given only yes or no check  boxes for questions that are obviously too broad. Will my answer be held against me in a court of law?
    
         If people, who have experienced months of fruitless job hunting, started asking the same questions when they require services or products from the stores or businesses, it may stop.
    
    For example, at the store, ask a manager if an item is the best product available, then ask  again three more times in the next five minutes. Ask about the return policy two or three times, ask about animal treatment and suppliers' past criminal background. Ask the manager for his criminal history, including misdemeanors, and driving record. Tie up all their time and then don't buy anything .  If they say thank you, come back, stop look them them in the eye and say absolutely nothing.
    
    After all, your dollars they need. There are plenty of other places to shop. I rarely go into stores and buy anything anymore. I am too busy filling out endless stupid questions.
    
    Really, because they can is not an excuse.  I will remember the trouble I am having finding a job from these people. And when I spend my dollars, they won't see them frequently. I think it's a joke. 
    
    What's worse is when I owe tens of thousands of dollars for the last 5 years of college and the stiff employment computer screening filters me out because I haven't paid for and taken a "Work Keys" or similar test. ( I finally did do that, by the way . Has it paid off? I am not qualified to answer that, probably, because I don't have a degree in cow manure.)  Good Luck.
    
    P.S. I think the drug and Background check are sufficient. The credit check I would fail because I acquired some debt years ago working from sunup till sundown. I acquired some considerable good reputation doing excellent contractor work for a couple of companies getting contracts from HUD. The first lost the contract with HUD and declared bankruptcy. HUD said they didn't do what they were supposed to. The second company said I was thier best employee, but they were going to cut pay for my services. Ahh-hmm. right. I quit. (NewsFLASH- a couple of years later the local paper announced that HUD "loses" 59 billion dollars!  So nowadays I have poor credit. big deal. I had excellent credit before that. I tried to work it out with credit card companies. They were thick as a brick on any help. So, "Do many people do things that annoy me?" Well, I wish a law would be enacted prohibiting stupid questions which do not allow at least a page for explanations. Credit check, hah! Look around, there isn't much of that. either way.

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34. 71

    BarrelRollposted 13 years ago

    The fact that the economy is tanking and everyone is looking for jobs  has created an "employers market." Employers can afford to be choosy.

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35. 49

    earlymusicusposted 13 years ago

    I'm becoming very suspicious of these jobs that are posted online. I wonder if they are really jobs the employer intends to fill or are they merely "fishing" to find out who is out there and how low a salary they will be willing to work for. I am becoming more and more convinced that these are not real positions that the employer intends to fill; the employers are merely posting these fake jobs so they can then go to the government and say, "See? We created some jobs - now give us our tax break!" I wouldn't put it past our corporations to pull that kind of scam. I think all these employers get sick thrill out of watching all of us desperate people. Age discrimination is being perpetrated on older workers, big-time. And the government knows it, but does nothing. So long as the rich are well taken care of, that's all the government cares about and  the government will continue to give tax breaks to corporations as rewards for sending jobs to China and India!

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36. 88

    Patty Inglish, MSposted 13 years ago

    Financial discrimination is a real potential in requiring job candidates to undergo credit checks for employment in some cases. In addition, another tactic is to state "The unemployed need not apply", meaning minorities and people with poorer credit histories. read more

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37. 0

    lifesbetterposted 13 years ago

    Check out my article Unemployed and Aggravated. A humorous twist to other job applicants experiences.

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38. 0

    THAT Mary Annposted 13 years ago

    Because they can. And, if you need the job, you will answer them and they know that. Life is seldom fair...or logical. Good luck in your job search.

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39. 56

    night-furryposted 13 years ago

    because everybody wants to get more than what they want to give. ) if you know what i mean.

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40. 48

    Jimmyjoe420posted 13 years ago

    It does seem ridiculous that employers are going to such lengths to have employees fill out 60+ multiple choice questionnaire.  I understand that they are trying to 'weed' out lots of people for different reason or types of people, but there are a few questions that beg to be reviewed and laughed at. 
    
    Recent questions i answered for a target application for an 8 dollar job for part time while I go to college.
    
    The percentage of politicians that I think are honest is:
    multiple choice answer
    
    second question
    I believe that the percentage of the U.S. population that cheats when they fill out their federal tax return is:
    multiple choice answer
    
    Seriously, what does this have to do with an 8 dollar an hour job, and isn't this a personal question of ones own trust of the government and how does that really pretain to target and its assoicates.  I guesstimate that it has something to do wtih the trust in higher ups of the company and their decision making, other than that it is a political question and every american has their own idea and opinion about what they think is going on with the government and are entitled to it.  Unfortunately answering the question 'wrong' could potentially ruin my chance of a job!, ROFL.  Its pathitic that this is even part of the questionnaire for a job.  I understand that employeers may have a ton of applications but lets try and keep the questions a little more down to earth and to the job. 
    
    My suggestion to everyone having to go through with this process is to lie and answer the questions as if your not your true self and to look the best by anwsering what they are looking for, if everyone started doing this than the test questions would be worthless and they, I imagine, would find another way to ostracize potential employees ROFL!
    
    What is more entertaining is that someone got paided to not only put the questions on the application process but also got paided to come up with the questions in the first place, ROFL.  I wonder how much someone got paid to come up with the physcology to ask a loaded question and how much ridiclous amount of money that they 'earned' for it, did they really earn it ROFL.  I wonder if I could apply for that job cause I could come up with a few loaded question like these and Im positive that most any job seeker could too.

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41. 66

    Scott Meyerposted 12 years ago

    I was once asked on one of these stupid questioners, "Do hugged your family members at family gatherings".
    
    Really!

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42. 61

    petealexposted 12 years ago

    I feel the same way. I think that they know we need jobs they try to make it as hard as possible to filter out certain people. I think they don't even consider our responses to these dumb questions.

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    Doodleheadposted 12 years ago

    Maybe because the interviewer is afraid of losing their own job if the new hiree turns out to be a dud.  So the answer to your question then is "fear".   
    
    There is so much fear everywhere and it is a strong motivator.  Also, employers have to be careful of who they hire because of too many governmental regulatons. Why?  because if they hire the wrong person it may not be so easy to "get rid" of that person in the future.
    
    If the employer does decide they have to "get rid" of the wrong person then the employer gets faced with all kinds of legal ramifications.
    
    The employers are facing enormous uncertainty in the economy and THEY are afraid to hire people, period.   The tax laws are uncertain, and we don't know how much communism Obama will instill in the next administration. 
    
    Obama has stated that any business owner did not "do it" themselves.   Well, I have been self-employed 31 years and nobody has helped me work nights, weekends, with no vacations forever.  It's very hard to go up against a communist president who instills executive orders on a regular basis which affect the economic well-being of this country.   
    
    The government may not own the company, but they control it.   
    
    Finally, the small businessperson today is in a world of trouble.   They don't have the leverage that the large companies do to be in bed with the government regulators.
    
      The small business is completely at the mercy of the government.   Don't laugh.   Because of government regulations I have to spend 15 hours a month doing worthless paperwork that brings me no income whatsoever and  I lose money because the paperwork is very important that I dare not hire anyone to do it, as if they mess up the fines are HUGE.   It also means I do not have the money to hire that extra part-timer because I just spent the money on doing useless paperwork instead of earning income.   
    
    15 hours of useless paperwork x 12 months=180 hours of useless paperwork per year.  That 180 hours is worth say $100 an hour that I personally do not get.  If I did get that it would be another 180 hours x $100=$   That $18,000 is something I could have paid someone on a part-time job. Multiply this times all the employers out there...and I am just one person without any employers.   It is is MASSIVE NUMBER.
    
    If young people want jobs then the small employer has to be  relieved from endless regulations.   You will see the economy explode.   But as it looks we got a no personality guy in Romney, Obama is communist, and Ron Paul....well...don't I wish.

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44. 60

    By Loriposted 12 years ago

    It seems to me that many things are making less sense these days.  I understand what you mean with your question. I can't answer it because the situation itself is a nonsense situation. There is a thing these days a desire to just tweak,tweak,tweak....until everything gets so ridiculously overdone, overblown,over-analyzed. Too much info. and overly picky attitudes. It gets colder by the day.
    
    I've had a lot of stupid questions asked of me, and it can seem as if they hope they are making things impossible.  When I was younger, if you could just walk  ,talk and be normal you'd get hired. Often on the spot too. Employers would trust their own judgement.  Now it's jump through hoops, keep your face straight while they ask stupid questions,and try to stay pleasant while you are given a cold attitude.
    
    I was once given a huge attitude for having the nerve {apparently} to come back and apply at the same place twice within about a year {!!!}.  Like I'd done something furtive and sneaky.
    
    Really,life wasn't always so uptight and I miss many things from some decades back.....

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    granniesharonposted 12 years ago

    There isn't a sure fire way to hire an honest, dependable person no matter what the pay is.  Asking "stupid" questions may separate the goats from the sheep so to speak.

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46. 39

    nipunsourishiyaposted 7 years ago

    When someone is willing to pay amount like $8 per hour then if you are asking unnecessary questions then it's totally waste of time. The person who want to pass on such work is failed to calculate:
    
    1. Value of his time, which is surely more that $8 per hour.
    2. The person who is possible hire for such projects usually works on such multiple of projects, so his valuable time is getting wasted in answering those irrational questions.
    3. The people who offer such services to freelancers, can easily assess their abilities by checking the ratings and reviews of that particular freelancer, the thing which should be discussed is mile stones and deadline. Nothing more is expected.
    
    Why I am saying this so confidently, because I use to take such freelance services on and off through fiver or comatch or payperhour etc, and most of the times I get on time delivery with committed quality.
    
    Most of the time most of the people failed to give value not only their time but also time of  that freelancer.

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