Job Apps
 

Those of you that have applied for as many jobs as I have will have noticed that they ask you the most bizarre questions on there applications. Especially places like Lowes, Target and Car Rental places.

Examples of true questions I have been asked on applications

We carry our drug tests, do you still want to continue with the application.

In dollars, other than office stationary, how much merchandise have you taken from your previous employers in the last 3 years.

how much money have you taken from your previous employers tills in the last 3 years.

How long to you plan to stay at this job - a month, upto 6 months, 6 months to year or longer.

Good Questions! Answer truthfully

Patrick

Re: Job Apps
 

Are the second, third and fourth questions genuine? They can't be real questions!




NC Penguin

Bit like the one on the green visa waiver immigration form that went something like "are you entering the USA for terrorist purposes, to engage in organised crime, drug trafficking, or any other illegal activity". So what moron is going to answer yes. And more to the point, what moron thought it was a sensible idea to ask the question in the first place.......

Re: Job Apps
 

It took me a while to find it, firstly I couldn't remember whether it was Target, Lowes or Enterprise and then I have to go through the form until the page

I couldn't be bothered downloading the page with how long do you propose to work so I cut and paste!

Have you ever been discharged from a job?
Yes
No

If hired, how long do you plan to work at this company?
Less than 1 month
1-6 months
6-12 months
More than one year

What is the total value of company property that has been damaged in accidents in which you were involved in the past three years?
$0/Not Applicable
$500 or less
More than $500

I filled in a job application today and one of the questions was

Do you know how to use a calculator?

Right there and then I should of walked out, talk about realising you are overqualified for the job, one of my first assignments writing software was to write a calculator program never mind know how to use one! After that I was expecting

Can you find your arse with 2 hands a map and torch?

Patrick

A better question, in my opinion, would have been:
do you know how to do long division?



NC Penguin

LOL Patrick you are hilarious...have you ever considered stand up comedy? I do sympathize with your dilema though. In fact, you remind me of a book I read about 6 months ago called 'Nickel and Dimed on (not) getting by in America' written by a middle class, well educated journalist Barbara Ehrenreich who went undercover for 3 months & joined the ranks of the working'poor' to see if you really can get by on $6-7 an hour jobs. Well, it made for a very interesting read , pretty funny too as she wrote about ( among many other things) the all too ridiculous questions asked on many of the WalMart, Lowes,Target type applications during her quest for employment. Here's a little snippit:

"At a suburban WalMart that is advertising a "job fair" I am seated at a table with some baloons attached to it ( this is the "fair" part) to wait for Julie. She is flustered, when she shows up after about a ten minute wait, because, as she explains, she just works on the floor and has never interviewed anyone before. Fortunately for her, the interview consists almost entirely of a four-page "opinion survey," with "no right or wrong answers," Julie assures me, just my own personal opinion in ten degrees from "totally agree" to "totally disagree". As with the Winn-Dixie preemployment test I took in Key West, there are the usual questions about whether a coworker observed stealing should be forgiven or denounced, whether management is to blame if things go wrong, and if it's all right to be late if you have a "good excuse." The only thing that distinguishes this test is its obsession with marijuana, suggesting that it was authored by a serious stoner struggling to adjust with the corporate way of life. Among the propositions I am asked to opine about are, "Some people work better when they're a little bit high," "Everyone tries marijuana," and, bafflingly, "Marijuana is the same as a drink." Hmm, what kind of drink? I want to ask. "The same" how....chemically or morally? Or should I write something flippant like, "I wouldn't know because I don't drink"? The pay is $6.50, Julie tells me, but can shoot up to $7 pretty fast. She thinks I would be great in the ladies' department, and I tell her I think so too. "


Tis a good read, will make ya laugh & think...

Don't even mention it! In an insane bid to try to get employed I went to speak to the local community college to see if I can sit the A+ or Network+ exam, to get an qualification that american companies will understand, without having to do all the coursework.

Well they won't discuss it with me unless I enroll and I can't enroll without proof I graduated from high school and have a good enough GED. Well of course they won't accept anything from outside the US, not even my degree (?) so I had to sit the ASSATS entrance exam today - without any preperation (I went in to talk to them and 10 minutes later I am doing the test).

The first 10 minutes of the math tests I was trying to remember how to add/subtract/divide and multiply fractions.

Here are my scores (each out of 60)

Writing Skills 50/60
Reading Skills 51/60
Math 45/60
Intermediate Algebra 36/60 (very disappointed - time beat me here)

Patrick

PS - To add or subtract fractions. Find the common denominator - do to the numerator what you have done to the denominator

That institution must have been pulling your leg. I've never heard of such a ridiculous policy of having to enroll to discuss details about eligibility to take a course.

Did you offer to show them the degree certificate? If you have it in your posession (in the US), I certainly would have shown it to them. My impression of what you describe is that the Admissions dept (or whoever you spoke to) are clearly ignorant/have a lack of knowledge of non-American educational qualifications.

Excellent scores. I hope your results satisfied the college that they will start to discuss the courses you're interested in taking.




NC Penguin

I have stopped beleiving that anything will any sense around here. The college admissions will not accept foreign transcripts for admissions! Lecturers will not discuss exams with you unless you are an enrolled student.

It makes no sense to me but then again I am still having problems with the concept of Gilligans Island! What a stupid show.

Patrick

Oh great, I can see I'm going to have a lot of fun dealing with the Community Colleges here, if the stupidity of the one you went to is anything to go by when I decide to get another degree a few years down the line.

If it was a larger city college, perhaps it would have been different, as they'd be more accustomed to foreign students and their requirements.

I share your pain on the job front too, I've been trying to get a temp job just until the AOS process is over with, but I've come to the conclusion that online temp recruiting agencies are the biggest waste of space in the universe since dark matter. I may as well throw my resume into a black hole, as opposed to give it to them.

Heres one i know a bit about. You can get your UK qualifications accredited by a US firm and that is usually accepted by most colleges. I was referred to these guys by Boston College if i wanted to apply for a law degree at BC, http://www.wes.org/.

I believe they are a reputable firm and recognised by lots of US colleges.

Some colleges will accept transcripts direct from UK universities for graduate courses. i have applied twice to Harvard Law school so far and just sent transcripts direct from the UK, i am told i was close to a place but no cigar so far, still maybe i will try a bit lower down the food chain instead ( i made a hash of my LSAT and only got a 160 so not really a suprise!). In investigating other colleges for law school applications next year i found most big ones will recognise UK qualifications ok. Duke certainly do in NC so i will give them shot for next year.

look around some more i am sure you have just found an idiot college that is unreflective of wider views.

regards,

Duncan

I went ahead & took the GED test not long after living here, to avoid any looooooong explanations to prospective employers about 'o' levels & what not. Any qualifications you have in England (no matter how trivial in my case:( ), local community colleges won't acknowledge them. It was an easy test anyway &, I now I have a 'high school diploma' , well that's what the certificate says anyway......big whoop.:rolleyes:

I had to go through the same thing. The community college I went to sent me straight off to get a GED before they would really talk to me. My O and A levels and other course certificates didn't count for anything apart from confusing the hell out of the foreign student advisor who thought you could only have certificates from the Cambridge Board- I took my exams in Wales under the Welsh Joint Committee. Told him they were harder exams than the English ones, which confused the poor guy even more.
Anyway I got my GED (sheesh my, then, 9 yr old fresh out of junior school in UK could have passed it easily )- went back and enrolled, tried to get some courses waived on account of experience, like it said in the brochure- they wouldn't let me (cos they make too much money out of foreign students that's why). Tried to get at least the PE requirements waived as I had been an international athlete- wouldn't let me- I had to pay (4 times the cost for citizens) for 9 credit hours of PE and, worse, take the silly courses. I had to go through the full degree seeking curriculum - comprising two years of general education before you even begin to specialise in your major. BUT good side was I didn't have to study :)...had done it all at O and A level in the UK, and I graduated Summa Cum Laude (1st class honours) with a perfect grade point average- with frighteningly little effort. Only thing it costa a LOT of time and bucks to get my US degree (which won't hold up in UK).