and now, to suit our great computer….

How did it come to pass that a computer now chooses who will be selected for an interview and who will not? These big companies with their boilerplate questionnaires and replies! Do any human life forms work there? They reduce your resume to catch phrases and snippets of data. Without the correct words, or combinations thereof, you are kicked to the curb by an inanimate object.

Where in their on-line forms can I insert that I have half a Master’s Degree? Or that I passed the CPA exam in one sitting? Or that I have managed personalities so diverse that Sybil would look normal by comparison? No place for gray with these Large Corporate HR Departments, it’s all black/white, yes/no, no fuzzy logic, no room for a good hunch that this one, this applicant might be a good fit.

You should’ve seen the questionnaire I had to fill out today. Do you like working in groups? Can you juggle more than one task at a time? Do you hate meetings? Do you use mustard or ketchup on your hot dog? Do you take showers or baths? Do you get impatient with questions like these? Seriously, it was about that idiotic.

Another irony….most have on line jobs boards where you can set up job searches based upon the resume you’ve just submitted. I can’t count the number of emails I’ve received….Here, apply for this one! It’s got your name written all over it! Your skills match! And when I do….another reject letter, three months later.

And the replies they send….not only months later, but boilerplate again…..

"Thank you for expressing interest in Corporation from Hell. Although we were impressed by your skills and experience, unfortunately we will not be taking your application any further…"

"While you display valuable skills, we have chosen to pursue other candidates…"

"While your credentials were impressive…."

Oh for Pete’s sake. Who are they kidding? And more to the point….would I really want to work for a company run by robots? I would love to see the applicants that make the first cut for a face to face interview. Are they robots too?

Must I become merely magnetic ink?