Job Applications Forms Driving Me Mad - How to Automate??

[H3LL]

Job application forms are driving me mad.

My hand writing is so-so at best and illegible scrawl at worst. Plus, other than filling in [rule8] job application forms, my total hand-writing activity consists of one or two Post-It notes a week. All my other writing, planning and communication is done by computer.

I hate filling in job application forms and find it double the aggravation as it's so unnecessary, slow and I inevitably make a mistaike mistake or two and have to cross it out.

I have tried various methods to automate the task, or at least get the damn things into a usable format to type over. No real success. Ye olde typewriter is no good because my fingers cannot spell as well as my brain.

I have scanned application forms and attempted to place them in as background for MS Word, make little text boxes for each bit etc., remove the background and print to the original. I usually end up with a miss-match.

Scanning it and making a layer in Photoshop might work but I usually end up with size problems and I haven't figured out where I'm going wrong.

Any suggestions?


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[tkingdoll]

I hate filling in job application forms and find it double the aggravation as it's so unnecessary, slow and I inevitably make a mistaike mistake or two and have to cross it out.



Make a photocopy and do a practice run first. Then when you do the real form, write it in pencil first, then copy over it in pen and erase the pencil.

Application forms are a pain but many employers see them as the first test, so to speak. Their logic being, they can see your attention to detail etc in the form, which tells them a lot about how you'd do the job should you get it. That's why many won't accept typed forms anyway.

[H3LL]

Thanks,

Make a photocopy and do a practice run first. Then when you do the real form, write it in pencil first, then copy over it in pen and erase the pencil.

I'm spending hours doing them. This will triple the time. I'm not looking to do more writing by hand, but less.

Application forms are a pain but many employers see them as the first test, so to speak. Their logic being, they can see your attention to detail etc in the form, which tells them a lot about how you'd do the job should you get it.

This would be nice if I actually believed that more than a tiny percentage are actually looked at by employers and not processed by the temp between discussing last night at the club and putting white-out on the monitor.:D

Volume is the key IMHO.

That's why many won't accept typed forms anyway.

This is just sad. Probably true, but still sad. I don't even carry a pen around with me. I fail to see how unintelligible scrawl is going to reflect on my ability to turn out fantastic reports and information. I just don't write by hand anymore. I don't need to, except for application forms.

ETA: Not quite true. I do a fair amount of writing on white boards or similar. Strangely my hand-writing on a board is excellent. Having to fill in application forms on a white-board would suit me just fine. :)


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[tkingdoll]

Interesting article about handwriting form the BBC yesterday:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/5060642.stm

Not sure about this claim though: "If you can write quickly early in your life, you can think and react faster "

[Iconoclast]

Interesting article about handwriting form the BBC yesterday:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/5060642.stm

Not sure about this claim though: "If you can write quickly early in your life, you can think and react faster "That "claim" was never made in the article, it's part of a reader's response taken from the comments section.

[tkingdoll]

That "claim" was never made in the article, it's part of a reader's response taken from the comments section.

Yes, I know that, on the grounds that a) I can read and b) it says so.

However, it is still a claim, regardless of who is making it. A journalist is no more of an authority on this subject than a member of the public, and the BBC chose to flag that comment in a breakout box in the main article, thereby validating it to the layman (which I do not consider myself, as my background is the media, but the many of their readers are likely to perceive that claim as having authority where none exists).

Is there any particular reason why I shouldn't dispute a claim in an article simply because it is a reader saying it and not an expert?

[Gravy]

Make a photocopy and do a practice run first. Then when you do the real form, write it in pencil first, then copy over it in pen and erase the pencil.

Application forms are a pain but many employers see them as the first test, so to speak. Their logic being, they can see your attention to detail etc in the form, which tells them a lot about how you'd do the job should you get it. That's why many won't accept typed forms anyway.

Good advice there. I've certainly rejected applicants who I liked personally, but whose applications showed a lack of attention to detail. Sometimes those details seemed very trivial. But my reasoning was, "If they screw up something that's this important to them, they arent likely to do better at normal, mundane tasks." Then there was the guy who brought his girlfriend in to fill out the application for him....

[Meffy]

I don't even carry a pen around with me.
If hand cramps plague you (as they do me) it might be good to buy one of those pens with a big rubbery grip and smooth-writing ink and keep it handy. Might not let you fill them in faster but it could help avoid pauses to knead the paw-bones.

[kevin]

You can do what I've done with many a tax or health form. Scan it to PDF then type over it with a cheap PDF editor and then print or fax it. On my Mac I use PDF Pen.

http://www.smileonmymac.com/PDFpen/index.html

I think there may be some free ones around too.

[Dark Jaguar]

Make a photocopy and do a practice run first. Then when you do the real form, write it in pencil first, then copy over it in pen and erase the pencil.

Application forms are a pain but many employers see them as the first test, so to speak. Their logic being, they can see your attention to detail etc in the form, which tells them a lot about how you'd do the job should you get it. That's why many won't accept typed forms anyway.

Yeah, I hear this all the time, and it is very pathetic that they think this is actually a valid method of judging candidates. It seems about as accuratre as "if he buys you a flower on your first date you know he's sensitive about your needs" or "if you are born under this star sign...".

It's all about playing the game though isn't it? Sorry, I sympathise with the original poster. My handwriting is atrocious and I try to avoid situations where that is made apparent, but fortunatly it hasn't affected my life in any substantial way so it doesn't seem to matter that much.

[Wudang]

Also some companies employ graphologists to "evaluate your character". I practiced calligraphy as a hobby for a few years so can pretty much give any character I like to my writing.

[H3LL]

You can do what I've done with many a tax or health form. Scan it to PDF then type over it with a cheap PDF editor and then print or fax it. On my Mac I use PDF Pen.

http://www.smileonmymac.com/PDFpen/index.html

I think there may be some free ones around too.

PDFpen looks nice but I will hunt for free/cheap ones and see how the perform first.

[H3LL]

It's all about playing the game though isn't it?

Sadly, yes.


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[tkingdoll]

Yeah, I hear this all the time, and it is very pathetic that they think this is actually a valid method of judging candidates. It seems about as accuratre as "if he buys you a flower on your first date you know he's sensitive about your needs" or "if you are born under this star sign...".

It's all about playing the game though isn't it? Sorry, I sympathise with the original poster. My handwriting is atrocious and I try to avoid situations where that is made apparent, but fortunatly it hasn't affected my life in any substantial way so it doesn't seem to matter that much.

It's one method of judging candidates, but it largely depends on the job being offered. For many roles it's just not relevant, but lots of employers like to see a basic standard because it shows you pay attention to detail and put the effort in. They perhaps forget that you could be filling in dozens of similar forms and it's very tedious. But then, some jobs are also tedious, so that's not really a valid excuse.

If anyone thinks that their handwriting is actually hampering their progress in getting a job, I would recommend they do a short handwriting course to improve it. Handwriting is in no way a reflection of intelligence or capability (doctors have notoriously unreadable scribbles), but on an application form it is a reflection of effort.

Regarding "playing the game", if by game you mean "employers are trying to find as many ways as possible to weed out unsuitable candidates early on. It's very difficult to judge who to call for an interview from many applicants if their skills and experience are similar, so arbitrary judging criteria like handwriting may conciously or subconciously come into play." then yes, it is a game, and most people are wise enough to play if they want that job.

If however, you mean that prospective employers make you jump through hoops for no real reason, I disagree. It costs a company thousands to recruit a new employee, in real money and man-hours. From creating the job spec, to placing the advertisement, to printing and sending application forms, reading and processing the returned ones, calling and interviewing candidates, then second interviews, then processing the contract and pay details, to providing the new employee with the correct equipment to do the job (computer, desk, chair, pens, screwdriver, earphones, uniform or whatever is needed), training in company processes and induction, extra work on tasks while the new employee gets up to speed, mentoring, and finally, salary.

If you think you have a way of weeding out people right from application who might potentially waste some or all of these resources, then you use it. I personally don't believe handwriting is a particularly good yardstick, I use spelling, grammar and tone (as well as the actual content of the form, of course) as extra measures.

[ImaginalDisc]

Good advice there. I've certainly rejected applicants who I liked personally, but whose applications showed a lack of attention to detail. Sometimes those details seemed very trivial. But my reasoning was, "If they screw up something that's this important to them, they arent likely to do better at normal, mundane tasks." Then there was the guy who brought his girlfriend in to fill out the application for him....
I don't quite understand that reasoning. I know several people with essential tremor, and there's Parkinson's disease in my family. I know many people who simply cannot write by hand well for such reasons. They're just as good or bad at their jobs as anyone else. If a job, such as data entry clerk, requires no handwriting tasks, under what logic is it reasonable to assess a canidate based on their handwriting?