OT: an automated interview?!?

Yesterday, when cruising the on-line edition of the local newspaper, I
get a little good news in that there's a new listing for a systems
administrator position with a large and successful real estate
developer. Perusing the qualifications, I find I match quite well, and
there's nothing left-field like "must speak Urdu" or "left-handed
Mohican proctologists preferred." The qualifications are a little
stiffly worded, like "comfortable with server environment and running
server-based administration tools," but they're nothing for which I
can't offer decidedly nontrivial experience.

I click the "apply now" link, expecting to get the usual blind e-mail
with the really long cryptic subject. Instead, I get...nothing. It
seems my RoadRunner service has chosen that instant to go offline. No
matter. I take advantage of the delay to compose a truly bravaura cover
letter, a masterwork of boldness, conciseness, completeness, and a
pitch-perfect presentation of how my skills can benefit this company. I
dunno what was in the water yesterday, but I was quite impressed at my
own performance.

As I was putting a last few finishing touches on my resume, I see the
link light come on that tells me I'm back on line. I click the "apply
now" link, and I get...something I've never quite seen before. It's
obviously a non-email page for submitting resumes, but in addition to
the name-and-address fields and place for pasting resume text, it's got
a section called "Questionnaire." For a half dozen of the stiffly-
worded qualifications, it's got text boxes wherein one is supposed to
describe one's experience viz. the given item, e.g. "DESCRIBE YOUR
EXPERIENCE IN THE SERVER ENVIRONMENT AND RUNNING SERVER-BASED
ADMINISTRATION TOOLS."

What in the hell is this? These sound like interview questions. Is
this some kind of lazy-HR head game? The text boxes have no size
limits, but in exactly how much detail is one supposed to answer these?
If they are interview, or pre-interview, questions, one might suppose at
some length, yet common sense suggests being brief at this early stage
of the process. Seems to me like a lose-lose proposition.

Anyone else seen an...application...like this, and how did you handle
it?

Vigo Breadcrumbs

i would answer:

see resume

"Vigo Breadcrumbs" <> wrote in message
news:XYWac.390773$ om...
> Yesterday, when cruising the on-line edition of the local newspaper, I
> get a little good news in that there's a new listing for a systems
> administrator position with a large and successful real estate
> developer. Perusing the qualifications, I find I match quite well, and
> there's nothing left-field like "must speak Urdu" or "left-handed
> Mohican proctologists preferred." The qualifications are a little
> stiffly worded, like "comfortable with server environment and running
> server-based administration tools," but they're nothing for which I
> can't offer decidedly nontrivial experience.
>
> I click the "apply now" link, expecting to get the usual blind e-mail
> with the really long cryptic subject. Instead, I get...nothing. It
> seems my RoadRunner service has chosen that instant to go offline. No
> matter. I take advantage of the delay to compose a truly bravaura cover
> letter, a masterwork of boldness, conciseness, completeness, and a
> pitch-perfect presentation of how my skills can benefit this company. I
> dunno what was in the water yesterday, but I was quite impressed at my
> own performance.
>
> As I was putting a last few finishing touches on my resume, I see the
> link light come on that tells me I'm back on line. I click the "apply
> now" link, and I get...something I've never quite seen before. It's
> obviously a non-email page for submitting resumes, but in addition to
> the name-and-address fields and place for pasting resume text, it's got
> a section called "Questionnaire." For a half dozen of the stiffly-
> worded qualifications, it's got text boxes wherein one is supposed to
> describe one's experience viz. the given item, e.g. "DESCRIBE YOUR
> EXPERIENCE IN THE SERVER ENVIRONMENT AND RUNNING SERVER-BASED
> ADMINISTRATION TOOLS."
>
> What in the hell is this? These sound like interview questions. Is
> this some kind of lazy-HR head game? The text boxes have no size
> limits, but in exactly how much detail is one supposed to answer these?
> If they are interview, or pre-interview, questions, one might suppose at
> some length, yet common sense suggests being brief at this early stage
> of the process. Seems to me like a lose-lose proposition.
>
> Anyone else seen an...application...like this, and how did you handle
> it?

Consultant

Vigo Breadcrumbs <> wrote in news:XYWac.390773
$:

> These sound like interview questions. Is
> this some kind of lazy-HR head game?

yup.


> The text boxes have no size
> limits, but in exactly how much detail is one supposed to answer these?

don't give them anything.

>
> Anyone else seen an...application...like this, and how did you handle
> it?

i see it all the time. don't give them anything. only when(if?) they contact
you for an interview.





Important Links Ranked In Order of Relevance:
---
MCSE on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Certification Requirements
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/windows2003/
--
MCSE on Microsoft Windows 2000 Certification Requirements
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mc...quirements.asp
--
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer Certification Info:
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/default.asp
--
Microsoft Certified Professional Info:
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/default.asp

Rowdy Yates

you're kidding, right? someone reads that?

"Consultant" <> wrote in news:ew5PTKAGEHA.2876
@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl:

> i would answer:
>
> see resume
>

Important Links Ranked In Order of Relevance:
---
MCSE on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Certification Requirements
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/windows2003/
--
MCSE on Microsoft Windows 2000 Certification Requirements
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mc...quirements.asp
--
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer Certification Info:
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/default.asp
--
Microsoft Certified Professional Info:
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/default.asp

Rowdy Yates

"Consultant" <> wrote in news:ew5PTKAGEHA.2876
@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl:

> i would answer:
>
> see resume

I like it. short and to the point. might even be enough to peak the
curiosity of the HR bots...

One posting up here gave you an e-mail if you were short listed and told
you to call a number and answer automated questions. They would then trim
further down from that. sounds like the same thing here. HR, pffffft!

--
Neil
"you'd do what, to who, for how many biscuits?"

Neil

Rowdy Yates <> wrote in
news:Xns94BE70BDDEC4Browdyyates2123@207.46.248.16:

> Vigo Breadcrumbs <> wrote in news:XYWac.390773
> $:
>
>> These sound like interview questions. Is
>> this some kind of lazy-HR head game?
>
> yup.

Seriously? As in, to answer is to screw up?

>> The text boxes have no size
>> limits, but in exactly how much detail is one supposed to answer
>> these?
>
> don't give them anything.

Arrrgh. I would feel decidedly more comfortable kicking a 2x4 up their
virtual @ss if I was working from a position of employment, rather than
un-.

Vigo Breadcrumbs

Personally I don't agree with Consultant or Rowdy... think of it this way...

I have seen ads similar to this and they state "do not paste resume here"
.... also, giving them nothing will probably not help either...

Here is what I think they are doing:

1) how bad do you want the job? Are you willing to jump thru our assinine
little hoop to prove you are dedicated to getting the job? Perhaps they
don't actually read the responses but are looking for someone who can give
an intelligent answer and who took the time to give a response regardless of
what you think about the process;

2) How much research have you done on the company and its goals/objectives?
This is probably the ONLY time you can sit down and write something
intelligent and take your time doing so... you can give examples of your
work while keeping in mind the type of company they are and gear your
responses towards that. Normally, you would be asked this in person in an
interview and even if you have researched the company, you are relying on
your speaking skills and thinking off the cuff... by writing a response you
can a) think about your response, b) proof read it to ensure it says all you
need to, c) ensure that the foot in mouth penchant does not blow your
chances, and d) if asked this in a real interview later, you will have
composed a well rounded, informed, intelligent response and can wow them in
the interview room; and

3) This could be their screening process... if you dont answer... file
13... if you do answer you go onto the next step... perhaps the HR person is
expecting an exorborant amount of applications and they are weeding out
those who do not want to take the time to answer a few questions during the
application process.

Just my opinion of course... so I would sit down, think about what you want
to say... look at your resume... take a few applicable lines and reword them
so they are directly in corrolation with the company's job description. As
for limit... I would not go beyond 300 - 500 words.

--
Sue MCNGP #69

"Vigo Breadcrumbs" <> wrote in message
news:XYWac.390773$ om...
> Yesterday, when cruising the on-line edition of the local newspaper, I
> get a little good news in that there's a new listing for a systems
> administrator position with a large and successful real estate
> developer. Perusing the qualifications, I find I match quite well, and
> there's nothing left-field like "must speak Urdu" or "left-handed
> Mohican proctologists preferred." The qualifications are a little
> stiffly worded, like "comfortable with server environment and running
> server-based administration tools," but they're nothing for which I
> can't offer decidedly nontrivial experience.
>
> I click the "apply now" link, expecting to get the usual blind e-mail
> with the really long cryptic subject. Instead, I get...nothing. It
> seems my RoadRunner service has chosen that instant to go offline. No
> matter. I take advantage of the delay to compose a truly bravaura cover
> letter, a masterwork of boldness, conciseness, completeness, and a
> pitch-perfect presentation of how my skills can benefit this company. I
> dunno what was in the water yesterday, but I was quite impressed at my
> own performance.
>
> As I was putting a last few finishing touches on my resume, I see the
> link light come on that tells me I'm back on line. I click the "apply
> now" link, and I get...something I've never quite seen before. It's
> obviously a non-email page for submitting resumes, but in addition to
> the name-and-address fields and place for pasting resume text, it's got
> a section called "Questionnaire." For a half dozen of the stiffly-
> worded qualifications, it's got text boxes wherein one is supposed to
> describe one's experience viz. the given item, e.g. "DESCRIBE YOUR
> EXPERIENCE IN THE SERVER ENVIRONMENT AND RUNNING SERVER-BASED
> ADMINISTRATION TOOLS."
>
> What in the hell is this? These sound like interview questions. Is
> this some kind of lazy-HR head game? The text boxes have no size
> limits, but in exactly how much detail is one supposed to answer these?
> If they are interview, or pre-interview, questions, one might suppose at
> some length, yet common sense suggests being brief at this early stage
> of the process. Seems to me like a lose-lose proposition.
>
> Anyone else seen an...application...like this, and how did you handle
> it?

Brat

Vigo Breadcrumbs <> wrote in news:8dXac.390776
$:

>> Vigo Breadcrumbs <> wrote in news:XYWac.390773
>> $:
>>
>>> These sound like interview questions. Is
>>> this some kind of lazy-HR head game?
>>
>> yup.
>
> Seriously? As in, to answer is to screw up?
>

nope. as in, to answer gives them much more ammunition to not call you in for
the interview.

here's a secret: (though it't not much of a secret!)

the IT managers sole purpose in the process is to hire you. (if you are right
for his dept.)

the HR guys sole purpose in the process is to kick you out of the running for
the job.

the less said to HR, the better. the more said to IT manager, the better.

that's why i am not a big fan of long 5 page resumes.

just my 2 cents.



Important Links Ranked In Order of Relevance:
---
MCSE on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Certification Requirements
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/windows2003/
--
MCSE on Microsoft Windows 2000 Certification Requirements
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mc...quirements.asp
--
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer Certification Info:
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/default.asp
--
Microsoft Certified Professional Info:
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/default.asp

Rowdy Yates

Brat wrote:
> Personally I don't agree with Consultant or Rowdy... think of it this
> way...

<Snip>

I'm in Brat's camp on this one. Personally, though, I think you can
probably do better.

--
Fris "But then anything's better than unemployed" bee®

Certaholics
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/certaholics

=?Windows-1252?Q?Frisbee=AE?=

hey don't forget to pay rent!! lol

--
Sue MCNGP #69

"Frisbee®" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> Brat wrote:
> > Personally I don't agree with Consultant or Rowdy... think of it this
> > way...
>
> <Snip>
>
> I'm in Brat's camp on this one. Personally, though, I think you can
> probably do better.
>
> --
> Fris "But then anything's better than unemployed" bee®
>
> Certaholics
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/certaholics
>

Brat