APPLYING ONLINE
AND OTHERWISE
Matthew Poland
JVS Best Pro 3/25/10
Outline
 Applying for Work
 Applications in General
 Types of Applications
 Paper Applications – a lurking relic
 Emailed Cover Letter and Resume
 Web-based Applications
 Basic Application
 Application and Assessment
 Personality Assessments vs. Skills and Knowledge-based
Testing
 Personality Assessments: Behind the Curtain
 Summary / Q & A
Applying for Work
 An application is a written document or data
set that provides information to a potential
employer about a potential employee’s
qualifications for a particular job position
 Questions on a job application should be
directly related to a person’s eligibility to
work in the U.S. (SSN) , ability to be
successful on the job, employment interests
and experience to support qualifications
Applications in General…
 Personal information is limited to contact
information (i.e. should not have questions
about medical history, disabilities, political
views, religion, sexual orientation, etc.)
 Used to track applicant information in a
standardized manner, compare
qualifications, pre-screen applicants for
interviews
Applications in General…
 Discrimination: Shouldn’t ask questions about
medical history, medications, disabilities, etc.
The legal question is “Can you perform the
essential functions of the job with or without
reasonable accommodations?”
 If there are questions about race and ethnicity,
this should be tracked separately (i.e. a separate
part of application)
 May ask questions to qualify an individual for tax
credits, but must be tracked separately as well
 May ask you questions about a criminal history
and to consent to a criminal background check
and/or drug test
More On Criminal Histories
 In California, an employer may not inquire about
a marijuana conviction that is more than two
years old
 If a conviction has been expunged or pardoned,
the person does not have to reveal this
information
 HOWEVER, if they are being fingerprinted (DOJ)
for jobs such as security, public safety or for a job
working with children, the employer will see
their entire record. Better to be completely
honest…
Applications “Do”s and
“Don’t”s!
 DO: Fill out an application as completely as
possible. Incomplete applications can
symbolize a less-than thorough approach to
work
 DO: Answer honestly, without inflating
qualifications, exaggerating responsibilities,
“filling-in” gaps in employment
 DO: Think about answers carefully, especially
when answering open-ended questions (e.g.
Why do you want to work for Google?)
Applications “Do”s and
“Don’t”s!
 DON’T: Be dishonest on the application – this
can disqualify you for employment.
Background checks can reveal inconsistencies
 DON’T: Give more information than is
necessary to relay your qualifications
(especially unnecessary personal details or
negative information!)
 DON’T: Put specific salary requirements
(unless required to do so) or limit availability
Being Thorough…Addressing
Gaps in Employment
 Priority #1 – end the current gap! Strongly
suggest starting volunteer work, internships,
consulting right away
 Priority #2 – filling older gaps: do they have
volunteer work, schooling or consulting projects
to fill the gaps?
 DON’T point out unexplained gaps if at all
possible on either the resume or application.
These can be explained in the interview if
necessary and a functional resume can be used.
Paper Applications – not
gone yet!
 Still used by some small businesses and
government agencies
 Prepare your clients with a master application to
carry with them, for both paper and online
applications that may need to be done on-site –
take home to spend more time if possible
 Make sure the writing is neat and legible
 Submit with a copy of client’s resume, cover
letter and perhaps your business card if you are
referring them
Paper Applications – a
lurking relic
 “Will discuss in interview” is not acceptable –
need to try and fully explain employment
gaps when asked, criminal backgrounds
accompanied by full explanation
 More likely to have outdated questions that
your clients should not be answering such as
“Do you have any medical conditions?” – they
should leave this blank. If appropriate, you
may bring this up with the employer.
Emailed Cover Letter and
Resume
 Make sure your client’s cover letter and resume
are tailored to the specific job they are applying
for…need to address the specific qualifications ,
skills and characteristics the employer is asking
for
 Cover letter IS the body of the email – don’t
attach a cover letter
 Look out for attachment phobes who want the
resume in the body of the email
 Have your clients follow-up with someone on the
phone at least, if possible
Web-based Applications
 Basic
 Search criteria for open positions – keyword, location,
job number. The less words used, the broader the
search, more words = more specific, depending on the
number of results
 Some allow you to create a profile that can be
submitted to multiple positions (Job Cart), some just
allow one application at a time to a specific position
 Usually allows one or multiple uploaded resumes, may
need to cut and paste – make sure to clean it up!
 Example: California Pacific Medical Center
employment page: www.cpmc.org/employment
Web-based Applications
 Basic applications may have automatic disqualifiers
– “Are you willing to work with the public?”, “Are you
willing to work weekends, evenings and holidays?”
(retail) or “As a condition of employment, are you
willing to submit to a background check?”
 May have questions about criminal history – READ
CAREFULLY – your client may not need to respond if
it is only asking about felonies and they have a
misdemeanor, etc. However, they may need to explain
ANY conviction. Explaining a criminal history should
not automatically disqualify an applicant.
Web-based Applications
 Often include questions about referral source,
race, ethnicity and gender for tracking purposes.
Answers to these questions are kept track of
separately and are not tied to the application.
 May include questions that qualify an applicant for
the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) such as
“Were you referred to this company by a state
vocational rehabilitation agency?” and “Has your
family received food stamps in the last 12 months?”
 Sometimes automatically fill in W-4, I-9 forms for
employer
Web-based Applications
 Application and Assessment
 A basic application with an “assessment”, may start with an
introduction like “The following are statements about
many attitudes and experiences. Read each statement and
select the answer that best describes you. Work quickly choose the answer that comes to mind first.”
 Can include personality inventory-type questions. Your
client should answer these as if they were the most honest,
reliable, friendly, social, outgoing, hard-working,
meticulous, leader-rather-than-follower employee to ever
walk the earth. Despite what the test might say, there ARE
right and wrong answers.
Web-based Applications
 Test may be timed and may affect your client’s
outcome report if they work too slowly
 What is being evaluated? *
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Job Performance
Personal Ethics
Customer Service Skills / Knowledge
General Knowledge
Dependability
Ability to compete
Attitude and behavior
Personality
*Research by Daniel Newell of TransAccess
Web-based Applications
 Personality Assessments vs. Skills/Knowledge-based Testing
 Personality Assessment Sample Questions (Borders / Kronos):
 You love to be with people
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Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
 You like to plan things before you start to do them
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Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
 People can tell when you are happy or sad
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Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Web-based Applications
• Skills Testing (U-Haul):
Please check each of the skills for which you have
working experience.
(Select at least one skill)
 10-key
 Adobe Acrobat
 Internet/Web Development A/C  Landscaping
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and Heating (residential or
business)
Interviewing
A/C, heating and cooling systems
(automotive)
Inventory control
Accounts Payable/Receivable
Journalism ??
 Ad Design
 Legal / Litigation
 Illustrator
 Architectural Design
 Logistics Planning
 Audio/Visual
Web-based Applications
 Mechanical Knowledge Questions (U-Haul):
 Which refrigerator will be easier to roll over
uneven ground? (A) (B)
 First, place the hotel services book on the front left corner of the desk.
 Place the coffee maker to the right of the lamp in the left corner of the
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desk.
Place a coffee cup in the coffee maker.
Place the coffee service basket to the right of the coffee maker.
Place a telephone in the back right corner of the desk. Make sure the
telephone cord is neatly on the desk to the left of the phone.
Place a pad of paper in front of the phone in the front right corner of
the desk.
Finally, place a pen on top of the pad of paper.
 How many total mistakes were made?
 1 – 0 Mistakes
 2 – 1 Mistake
 3 – 2 Mistakes
 4 – 3 Mistakes
Web-based Applications
 Mechanical Knowledge Questions (U-Haul):
 With the side gears turning in the direction shown, in
which direction will the top gear turn? (A) (B)
Web-based Applications
 Customer Service Knowledge (Based off Target):
You are working in a department that you are not familiar
with and a customer asks for an item and you do not know
where it would be. What should you do?
A. Tell the customer that the store does not carry the item.
B. Ask a coworker more familiar with the department to
help you.
C. Invite the customer to help you look for the item.
D. Just try and find the item anyway.
Which answer is the BEST response?
Which answer is the WORST response?
Web-based Applications
 Cashiering Basic Math (Matthew Poland, 2009)
If a customer’s total comes to $17.65 and they give
you a $20 bill, what change will you give them?
A. One dollar, one quarter and two dimes
B. Two dollars, two quarters
C. Two dollars, one quarter and one dime
D. Two dollars, one quarter and three nickels
Knowledge and Skills Testing:
Government Employment
 Many government jobs use knowledge and skills
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testing to rank applicants
If using “rule of three”, the top three in scores will be
interviewed
Tests may include empirical knowledge questions (like
examples already shown) or may actually have handson practical testing (i.e. assembling something,
showing the proper use of tools, etc.)
Others: Typing speed verification, Microsoft Office
application testing…
San Francisco Public Library database has practice civil
service exams: www.sfpl.org (need to have a library
card)
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This section is based on research by Daniel
Newell of TransAccess in San Jose
Main Distributors:
•Deploy Solutions (www.deploy.com)
Tests developed by Humetrics
www.humetrics.com
•Kronos (www.kronos.com)
Tests developed by Unicru
•Kenexa (www.kenexa.com)
•Taleo (www.taleo.com)
A score in this range means the applicant prefers working with customers
and tends to be a good listener and problem solver. This applicant is calm,
understanding, and empathetic to the needs of others. Likely to arrive to
work on time, stay on the job, and show positive work values. Reliable,
responsible, competent, customer oriented, and have positive work ethic.
However; may show disruptive work behavior, low work motivation, and
minor violation of rules.
Applicant prefers limited customer interaction or
communication. Works well in environments with
minimal customer contact. Not always attuned to the
customer’s needs or recognizes how to solve issues.
Lower probability of staying on the job and shows
more likeliness of being tardy or absent. Applicants in
this range should be considered with caution for
employment. They are less likely to follow rules, be
dependable, and show positive work values.
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Organization of applications/applicants
Automatic pre-screening (Top 10% - 15% leads to better
retention)
Decrease time dedicated towards manual organization
and pre-screening ( $$ saving!)
Decrease turnover
Help track tax credit eligible applicants
Easier to keep track of statistics (application source,
quantity, time, pass/fail rate)
Link legal docs/new hire forms to “hired” applicants
(w-4, I-9, application, etc.)
SUMMARY…
Keep in mind different strategies for different
types of applications
 Have your clients carry a master application with
them to complete both paper applications as
quickly and thoroughly as possible. Some must be
completed on-site (intranet)
 Both online and on paper, applications should be
filled out as completely and as honestly as
possible (except perhaps for the assessment
part…)
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SUMMARY…
Your clients should practice completing online
applications and taking assessments with you or
in a workshop
 Clients should be prepared for skills and
knowledge-based tests as necessary for the
positions they are applying for
 You and your clients should be following-up with
managers after finishing any type of application
(may also be able to find out if they are passing
the assessments or not)
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QUESTIONS?