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The Pongo Blog
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They Want a Resume AND a Job Application? Seriously?!
July 30, 2009 (3:00PM) by Brianna Raymond, CPRW
Hiedi from Springfield, MO asks: When we hand in a resume to a company, why do we need to also fill out an application? Don't they have exactly the same information? After all, a resume seems to be just a more detailed application.
Great question, Hiedi! Hundreds of companies make you submit form-style applications along with your online resume, or ask you to fill one out on paper before the interview. How annoying!
But there are a few good (and not so good) reasons why employers do this. Here's what I can think of:
- Background checks. The application asks for information that you don't normally include on a resume, such as Social Security Number, driver's license number, military experience, etc, which is all important for conducting background checks.
- Comparison purposes. When companies interview dozens of candidates, they might find it hard to keep track of who's who based solely on resumes. Job applications can help them tell you apart and compare certain parts of your experience against others.
- Resume types. The most standard resume format is chronological, which is straightforward and leaves little to the imagination. But functional or hybrid resumes can conceal or skew employment dates, making the employer work extra hard to figure out what you were doing in May 2002 if it doesn't appear on your resume. Most job applications ease that stress by requesting employment history in order of dates.
- Salary tricks. Standard applications ask for starting and final wage/salary from your previous jobs, and some ask for the minimum salary you'll be willing to take for your next job. When it comes to salary negotiations, whoever specifies a number first is at a disadvantage. So an employer can get the upper hand by making you reveal your income history on the application.
- It's a test. If you really want the job, you'll go the extra mile to fill out the application. It could be seen as a way to weed out applicants who aren't completely serious about getting the job. It also reveals how well you can follow instructions and express yourself.
Whatever the motivation is behind this extra and seemingly unnecessary step, you have to fill out the application if you really want the job.
Employers, can you give us any more insight into why it's so common to request a resume and a job application?
RELATED LINKS
Hey Employer, Your Online Application Sucks!
Most governmental jobs, be they local, state, or federal, require a job app as well as a resume. It's pretty much SOP.
#5, "It's a Test" is the one reason that resonates for me.
Dear Gentlemen, I was terminated from my last position and ever since that time I have been honest about my circumstances. Lately I have been thinking if they really need to know because I feel its unfair that I perfomed well from my last employer according to my performance reports and the results that I helped generated from that experience. I know that honesty is the best policy, I feel that I am not getting a fair shake coupled with the fact that I'm 54 years of age.
Taking the time to carefully complete an application, in addiction to attaching your resume and a cover letter, will make applying for a particular job stand out in your mind. It is better to spend two or three hours filling out an online application than it is to just spend 15 minutes cutting and pasting your resume and clicking submit. This way, if HR contacts you a month down the road, you will remember the afternoon you spent applying for that job. Comparatively, if you are called by an employer regarding a position which you only spent 15 minutes applying for, your memory probably won't serve you as well.
Rafael, Wow! Your situation sounds so familiar. I too was terminated from my last job over 1 1/2 yrs. ago. I continue to take the honesty is best policy and here I am, 51 unemployed with a masters degree and a really solid if not excellent professional history. I too think age is a factor and the informal networking channels that exist in every profession. Thanks for sharing.
"It's a test" to see if they can find an idiot that will waste their time filling out an application. This idiot gets the job and will likely be working for minimum wage since that's what TBD and DOE really mean. They know that if they can find a loser that fills out their application, there's a really good chance that the loser will do anything for minimum wage. Serious workers that know their worth and value their time won't waste it by filling out an application. They've already shown initiative by producing a detailed resume!
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