A friend of mine recently applied for a job. He was well-qualified, and he made sure his resume and cover letter fit the job description and linked his past experience to their present needs. It took some time to tweak it, but it's got to be done if you want to stand out from the crowd in this job market, right?

So after uploading those documents into the company's online application program, he was a bit miffed to find out he could not just submit them. Oh no! You have to earn the privilege of applying to this company by also completing an online form that asks for all the same information.

And those online questions are mandatory, even if you've uploaded your resume. (A friendly little note confirms that, in so many words.)

For this very-important company, job candidates cannot reach the Submit button until they provide additional data on their most recent jobs, their former supervisors, two personal references, and their minimum salary requirements. The unwritten message to prospective employees is, "We want to put you at a complete disadvantage before you apply for a job here."
 
That, alone, should have been enough of a red flag to realize this company has its collective head up its collective butt. But hey, when you need a job, you do what you gotta do. So my buddy put in the time, and begrudgingly provided all the intrusive and redundant information. It took almost an hour, but he finally was able to submit the application.

Two days later he found this response in his email inbox [emphasis mine]:

Dear _____, 

Thank you for your interest in _____, Inc.  It is always a pleasure to encounter individuals who have the desire to participate in our very exciting and rewarding industry.

Unfortunately, you do not meet the minimum qualifications we have established for this position.

We do wish you the best of luck in your job search.
 
Sincerely,
etc.

Excuse me???

We all know these rejection letters are not personally written for each candidate; this was a generic form letter. But someone in this company actually wrote that form letter at some point. And someone else in this company (probably several someones) actually approved the notion that it was OK to tell every candidate, regardless of experience, that they do not meet the minimum qualifications. Brilliant!

Well, company [whose name I would so love to reveal but won't], your online application process is obnoxious, your rejection letter is insulting, and the entire experience you create for job applicants is probably an indication of how poorly you treat the people who wind up working in your "very exciting and rewarding industry."

But we do wish you the best of luck in your quest to find quality employees!

Have you ever received a similar employment rejection that needlessly added insult to injury? Please leave a comment and vent away!

RELATED LINKS
Ditch the Gloom: Keeping Your Head Up in Bad Times
Not Quite Qualified? Apply Anyway
The Art of the Follow-Up Letter

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