Might As Well Be An Underwood No. 5

I love technology. The point, in my opinion, of technology is to make things easier for everyone. As someone long-term unemployed, I have done quite a number of applications online during this period and technology has facilitated the whole job search and application process.

I use Monster, LinkedIn and other websites to find the jobs I want to apply for, yet I always have a certain sense of exasperation after clicking the “Apply” button, as I am invariably sent to a third party website where I have to create an account before being given the opportunity to upload my resume as a Word file and fill out all the details over a few pages of web forms.

Imagine this scenario…

Boss: I need you to type me up a letter.

You: Okay.

You type a letter up in Word, print it and hand it to your boss.

Boss: Perfect! Now… go over to that vintage Underwood No. 5 and type the letter that we’re going to send out, please.

You: But I just typed it up in Word. It is here, on your desk. You said it was perfect…

Boss: Yes, but this is how we “do” letters here.

Somewhere in the back of my head, I can hear a little Voice of Authority telling me:

But its just a test! The company just wants to know that if you go through the processes involved in actually applying for a position, you’ll go through the processes to actually work there.

Maybe this Voice is right, but it works both ways. You see, if I am applying for jobs that use technology, do I want to be applying for jobs at a company that sees redundancy and a lack of embracing of the technologies available as a good thing?