Switched Keys

A job search is difficult enough without having to deal with a number of unnecessary issues. Preparing resumes cover letter and portfolios can be quite time-consuming. Then when you are applying for a job at a particular company you have to write (legibly if possible) all your employment history. If that's not enough there are quirks in the way some employers try to handle this simple step.

1. Tyler Paper has been running advertisements for a press operator for a year it seems. I went down there to apply once but when I asked for an application I was told that I had to fill it out there and that it "can not leave the building." Of course that wasn't the first time a company was hesitant about letting someone take an application home but it's so ridiculous that it's funny. I actually have 30 years experience in the printing business in just about every area including two positions with newspapers but I don't think I'll be applying for a job there.

2. Another issue that has troubled me when filling out an application or signing an employment agreement is the non-competition agreement. They want me to agree not to compete with them or work for a competing company after leaving. In the case of H&R Block (BTW never go there) it was a 3-year agreement. They want to limit my ability to make a living if I decide to leave. I don't think so. Very simply if they make it a place where I like working there's no reason for it. In some states such an agreement is illegal. In Mississippi it was but it didn't stop them from asking me verbally.

3. In the last year or two a local organization found a way to save themselves some money. They have a new rule that all applications must be made on line. No paper applications. Last week I counted 69 positions open. Putting applications on-line is a good step to making employment more "accessible". Requiring that all applications be submitted on-line is two steps backward.

4. There was also a company in Tyler several years ago that had an application that asked all kinds of personal information. I'm not talking about age sex and birth place but how much money my family made and things that had little to do with my abilities. They are no longer in business.

5. Speaking of personal information requests. Pine Cove by all reports that I have is good operation that supports Christian efforts and hosts numerous events. They get really personal in applications for jobs that have nothing to do with working with Christian ministry. They ask for your personal testimony which wouldn't be an objection to me. The goofiest part is that you are asked to give reference forms for others to complete and return to them. These have to be completed by your Church Minister Past Employer and Present Employer.

I've got a feeling that it'll be difficult to fill those repeating job openings for Senior Graphic Designer or Web Content Editor with a quality applicant. I've seen these jobs posted before. But then I guess that's how they've always done it. I'm certainly not saying they don't have a legal right to ask these things. I think they do. I just don't think it is always very smart. It appears that their spiritual power/authority has gone to their heads.

There are a dozen other problems with the employment society in general items that I may cover later. For now I'm just talking about the first step of making application with a company or organization.

The way I see it if an employer wants to make it a hassle to apply for a job with their company then they may not have a genuine interest in a worker's skills abilities or wellbeing. After all the job market is just that a market. How employers do their shopping has everything to do with what they end up buying.The civility of making it easier to apply for a job differentiates an employer from other employers who have little respect for the workforce.

Two things are true about employment. It's hard to find good employers and it's hard to find good employees. Why would a company want to make it even more difficult? For whatever reason by doing so they are limiting their choices and in every case that I've seen they end up the less than capable ones.