Est. Completion: 2 Hours

I read an article that said most people will abandon a job application if it takes more than 20 minutes to complete. “That isn’t so bad,” I thought, remembering some of the applications I’ve submitted that took 2 or 3 times longer than that.

Technology has made the filling out of applications easier in some ways. Our browsers can auto-populate details like our address and phone number, we can ask the system to populate our work history for us using our resume (a system that almost never works), and a lot of job searching websites will even fill them out and send your information with the click of a button! So why are people still finding applications that take nearly an hour to complete?

Maybe it’s the systems that they use to collect applications? For most companies, you have to make an account before you can complete an application. This means you must create a username, password, enter in your information (no this will not automatically populate to your application), and verify your email before you can even start the application. Hopefully you will remember all of that log-in information for each job you apply to.

Maybe it’s the questions that many of these applications ask? Many of them have begun to ask typical interview questions, like “Why do you think you’re a good candidate for this job?” or “Can you describe a time when you disagreed with a co-worker?” You are expected to type up at least a few paragraphs of an answer for these questions, more than an interview would require. I used to keep my answers saved in a word document on my computer to speed up the process, just like my references and my work history. I can’t imagine what they’d ask in an interview at that point, they have all of my answers right there already.

From my experience, the worst culprits are competency tests, personality tests, writing assessments, judgment tests, math tests and the like. All before you’re asked to interview. These tests are now required for many applications on popular job searching sites. Now I understand the thought behind these, they allow employers to assess an applicant’s skills easily and efficiently. They are intended to prove that the candidate can perform the duties of the position while usually allowing them to test in the comfort of their homes anxiety-free. When you think about it that way, it’s not a bad idea.

But, as with most hiring techniques, they don’t usually work that way. For example, an applicant can spend an hour going through all of these tests to prove themselves, but meanwhile they wouldn’t be considered based solely on their resume. Maybe only 2 years of experience rather than 5, or a Bachelor’s degree but no Master’s, either way they would not have been selected for an interview anyhow.

On the other hand, having all of that data probably doesn’t make the hiring process any easier. Now hiring managers not only have resumes, cover letters, applications, and references to go through, but they also have several test results to score, too. I have never hired somebody, I will confess, but I don’t see how these tests do anything other than add unnecessary work and slow down the process.

In completing these tests, we’re also assuming that they are relevant for the skills we would be performing, right? Not always so. My personal pet peeve is when these tests go on to ask you questions about procedures within the company. Let me give you an example. I once filled out an application for a drug store / convenience store that took TWO HOURS to complete. There were extensive personality tests and judgment assessments, all for an entry level job at the cash register. Given, having good judgment and knowing how to handle customers are absolutely vital skills for any front-of-house job. But those traits could have been evaluated in a 30 minute interview, not a 2 hour online test.

Anyways, I’m going through this test, and all of the sudden the questions start to depart from simple “what would you do” scenarios. Now they’re straight up asking questions that would completely depend on the management and procedures they had in place, which I don’t know BECAUSE I’M NOT EVEN INTERVIEWING FOR THIS JOB YET. Here’s a paraphrased example of the questions it would ask:

You’re approached by a customer while you’re updating prices for items in the store. There are no other employees around, but the customer would like help at the register. What should you do?

a. Call a manager to help the customer at the register while you finish pricing.
b. Call a manager to help finish the pricing updates while you help the customer.
c. Help the customer at the register, but close the store until you’re done so that other customers do not become confused by the prices on those items.

I have personally been under management that would advise a, b, or c (yes even that one). How am I supposed to know what the policies are at your store? Maybe the manager prefers not to deal with customers, maybe they would want the shorter task so they could get back to work, maybe they’ve had incidents before with customers taking the pricing marker and discounting their items. I don’t know!

So what does all this mean. For me it usually meant that if I was even the slightest bit unsure that I 100% met the qualifications for a job, I wouldn’t proceed with an application that took any longer than 20 minutes. The truth is, the longer that applications are, the more you wonder whether or not the opportunity is worth the time. Will I spend 2 hours on this application only to never hear back? Will I fail their personality tests and be turned away despite my 10 years of experience? Would my time have been better spent applying to other positions? But most importantly:

If this is the time commitment that they expect for the application, what will it be like to work for them?

For employers, how you treat applicants is a direct reflection of how you treat employees. If you expect them to spend that much time on an application and jump through hoops just to click “submit,” I will assume that you think your work force is expendable. That you have the “too bad, there’s 10 people behind you” kind of mentality and don’t care about providing reasonable accommodations to workers. If you ask all your interview questions before you have a chance to meet us, I will assume that you’re looking for good answers – not necessarily a good employee. So be careful with how many tests and questions you use on your applications, they may weed out the best candidates for the job.