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Feb. 16th, 2009 at 6:12 PM

These questionaires on online applications need to be multiple-choice or essay, for me, I'm so state-dependant. I can be one way at work, and the opposite away from work. So I generally answer for the "work" state.

EDIT: Take this question, for instance:

Most people:
1. Are completely honest
2. Are basically honest and tell only "white lies"
3. Not sure/in-between
4. Will tell you what they think you want to hear
5. Will lie if they think it will help them and they won't get caught

My honest answer would be 4 or 5, but prefaced with "I'm not like most people." For myself, I would choose 1 or 2. Gods, I hate these things.

Edit the 2nd: Just a forewarning, if you ever apply online to Target, have a piss bucket, tent, sleeping bag, food, water, and pain reliever handy before you begin. And cancel all appointments for the next three days. It has not just one of those gods-awful questionaires, but TWO. Gods, I thought I would die before completing the damned thing. And it's only active for 60 days. If I don't get that job by then, I am never applying there again.

Current Mood: annoyed

( 13 comments — Leave a comment )

christinaathena

Feb. 17th, 2009 02:29 am (UTC)

Ditto. And so many of them are ambiguously-worded, too. "Do you like working in groups?" Depends on the task! If it's a task that group work makes easier, then yes! If it's a task that's better performed alone, then no!

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fayanora

Feb. 17th, 2009 02:51 am (UTC)

I don't know how to answer about half of those stupid questions. The people who write those things have absolutely no concept of state dependancy or consise wording.

See my second edit, too.

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kengr

Feb. 17th, 2009 04:25 am (UTC)

No, they just don't want to be bothered by folks who aren't "normal".

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fayanora

Feb. 17th, 2009 04:52 am (UTC)

The problem is, what definition of normal are they using, and am I excluded from their definition of normal?

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yardpepper

Feb. 18th, 2009 03:52 am (UTC)

Who do they think they are - the FBI?

Those questionnaires rub me the wrong way, too. It's as if the companies (and I'm not aiming at Target; I mean in general) want people with all the individuality of a vacuously-smiling bobblehead. Imagine what they'd do if your answers were like, "None of the above! Most people are... SUCKERS!!! Humans should be made extinct. Bring back the dinosaurs!"

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fayanora

Feb. 18th, 2009 07:41 am (UTC)

I keep getting the sneaking suspicion that they're discriminating against people with Asperger's, like I'm sure I have. It worries me. I was once eliminated from candidacy for a job with Rite-Aid because of failing some stupid computerized quiz, despite having done a regular application and having been interviewed in person. The interview went very well and I was sure I had the job, and then they made me do this stupid computerized quiz thing and I got eliminated from the job candidate list. Computers have too much control over the world these days. I'm still pissed at RIte Aid for that, and refuse to spend money there if I can avoid it.

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chameleon_path

Feb. 18th, 2009 05:56 pm (UTC)

I did apply at Target and survived the battery of application questionnaires. I was told to come back the next day to interview for the position, but when I arrived, I was kept waiting for three hours before someone finally came out and said that the person responsible for hiring wasn't in that day and couldn't reschedule. Which I suspect was an outright lie, and they made it worse by offering me a handful of gift certificates. I won't shop there anymore, or at their California partner store Mervyn's (same company).

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yardpepper

Feb. 19th, 2009 07:05 am (UTC)

Three hours? Yikes. I would've gone to the customer service desk and told someone. I might've even walked out.

And did you know that Mervyn's died? They shut down their stores for good on - I think it was December 31st of last year. My feelings about that are mixed. I went there when they were doing their "SELLING OUT TO THE BARE WALLS!!!" liquidation sales and I didn't find a goshdarned thing I wanted. (I will, however, pick up their High Sierra stuff when I find it at thrift stores.) On the other hand, the Mervyn's employees have joined the ranks of the unemployed, which describes me right now. Last thing we need here in California is more people on unemployment!

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chameleon_path

Feb. 20th, 2009 06:35 pm (UTC)

I did not know Mervyn's died - I've been in Nebraska for the last four years. Personally, I think it's no big loss, though I do feel for the people who've lost their jobs because of it.

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fayanora

Feb. 19th, 2009 05:08 pm (UTC)

Oy vey.

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fayanora

Feb. 19th, 2009 05:09 pm (UTC)

Those questionaire things should be illegal. Or highly regulated or something.

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chameleon_path

Feb. 20th, 2009 06:39 pm (UTC)

They're not really all that useful, either. I saw the results of mine once (not at this Target application trip, though) - it indicated that I "may have attempted to skew the results with my answers." What that should have translated to the interviewer as was "Hey, this person's smart enough to realize that no single pat answer is going to cover ever situation and answered accordingly."

Mostly I see those damn questionnaires and avoid applying, but I couldn't be picky then and I can't be picky now (the Navy took care of that for me). They're just a big waste of time for everyone involved.

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