Why Fill out an Application Online Twice if it's the same STORE???

[crosstownTraffic]

This may be more of a rant than anything but I've never come accross this before....

 

Another thing I find most annoying about companies now is they always always seem to want to pull a credit check on you! I'm not applying for a loan, I'm applying for a job! And I know that having them check your credit over & over messes up your credit score and makes it very difficult to get a loan.

 

I'm about to write this company and tell them to NOT DARE do a credit check on me since they wouldn't hire me in the first place, but here's my story.

 

I had heard that a popular Major Dept store was hiring and they paid well by one of their employees. They had you fill out an application online in their office. I was told by the staff, there were lots of job openings at that store and to come back in for an interview.

I went to said interview and felt for sure I'd have a job by end of the week or week after, as that was when the interviewer said they had job training classes. He sounded like he really liked me and made me feel certain they would hire me.

 

Well, a couple of days later, I get this call left on my message machine.. "You did not get the job you applied for. There were not any job openings."

What the flip??? If there were not any job openings, then why tell me so? I called back today and just asked if they had any at their sister store accross town. Same store, same name, just different branch..

"Oh, they may have" the interviewer told me and gave me 2 names to ask for. Tell them that I told you to call."

 

I called them, they insisted I had to come in and do the interview and application process ALL OVER AGAIN!

 

Listen.. after having the first guy waste 3 hours of my time, not to mention several gallons of gas.. I preferred to be able to just have them send over my application form, not to mention the fact I'm almost CERTAIN they insisted on pulling a credit check on my first application. I sure didn't want them to do that again, as that messes up your credit and my car is old....

If I cannot get a job, I sure as heck won't be able to get a loan. If my car breaks down I sure cannot walk the 3 miles I must to get to a bus stop.. cuz that's how close the next bus stop is.. I'll be stranded another words.

So.. I called back to the interviewer I saw last week and asked if it were possible to just come in and pick up a copy of the application I filled out? I know he had a hard copy cuz he showed it to me last week... "Nope, he says, you MUST fill out an applicaiton again, that's how it works!"

Whoa.. I'm thinking.. this is B.s.... first he claims there are all these job opening, now he tells me he's got none. Look, if you didn't want to hire me, just say so.. don't lie..

Well, i'm really annoyed by now, but say nothing. I told him, "well, it took me a long time to fill out that application and if they don't really have jobs there for me (as you didn't mind pulling the wool over my eyes, I am thinking) then I cannot afford to spend extra time filling one out as I can go apply somewhere else, as I really need a job."

I was honest and polite about it, and told him I really need a job, but to take up time to fill out appliations when there was one already filled out at his store, seemed to be a lot of time spent needlessly. It took way over an hour to fill out their applicatoin online as you had to do this crazy personality test as well as the application itself.

Instead of agreeing to help me out by giving me the copy of the application, he just said to me." well, I don't think you are a good fit anyway" in this really snippy voice.

Which was very strange, cuz he had just finished telling me before when I called before that he thought I was very "nice".

well, I'm so mad now. I'm fixing to go online and get a hold of the corporate office and tell them that not only had they better not pull any credit checks on me, but I will NOT be shopping at their dept store ever again! I had been a customer for years and know I had spent hundreds of dollars at their store previously!

Well, what do I find out when I go online to get their corporate address?? a report from a security guard who worked for that very dept store (diffo location) that he had seen a popular employee giving out sweetheart deals to customers.. i.e. not charging them the full amount of the merchandise..and this went on for months!

And they terminated that security guard!

Actually I found two reports online from security guards that had been terminated by them and then they sued the company. The second one was where this store was videotaping and recording the customers conversations as they stood at the registar!

That's so weird....

Well, my god, if that is what that company is like to work for, then I'm darn glad i didn't get hired by them. They are honoring thieves at their store, then I'm not going to work there period!

 

BTW, I got the URL if you are curious... gosh, these corporations... is no one honest anymore??

 

I wonder what goes on with this company. I was even willing to work at the store that is over the state line, but if I gotta fill out a new application every time I apply at one of their stores. and they ARE a chainstore, that means, i am getting my credit checked every single time too.

 

This has been a big concern for me, as my credit is not that great. i've not had a steady FULL TIME job since last year, I got a pile of bills and I NEED a JOB, not a hobby filling out applications for naught all over town!

 

What do people do now? Just apply online? I mean.. how can you contact anyone in person if you have applied online.. then it's just a waiting game and who knows when I'll get a job.

 

I'm thinking I need to apply for food stamps now and possibly welfare, as no one seems to want to hire me.. and I have two college degrees!

 

This is madness.. If this is what corporate america is doing, then we need to start shopping at the small mom& pop stores more, that is, if they still exist!

Help!

[fragmint]

if its that far to the nearest bus stop...have you considered moving to a bigger city that will have more job opportunities?

[crosstownTraffic]

I cannot afford to move at this present moment.. that costs lots of money... I'm just trying to find work in the town I've lived in for some time...

 

what do you make of this company though??

[fragmint]

yeah it sucks what happened and i can see why youre frustrated. can you apply at any of the other stores around though?

 

i've been applying to jobs but mostly online. alot of the big companies just receive applications online now because its more convenient for them. with online apps they can just put in the computer 'delete all the ones who dont have a bachelors' , etc, to narrow down applicants that have all the requirements much faster than with paper applications. have you tried to apply for government jobs like at the post office or something?

[purpleduckie]

i never knew that getting your credit checked affects your credit ratings?! woah. that sounds.... absurd?!

[crosstownTraffic]

it's not absurd, it's what my own manager at my bank told me a long time ago.

[Clementine orange]

it's not absurd, it's what my own manager at my bank told me a long time ago.

 

Yes, it's true! I was shocked when I found this out as well. (repeated credit checks being a detriment to your credit rating)

 

ps; my sympathies, I HATE filling out forms and having me time wasted by bureaucratic neediness. This does have corporate nonsense run amouk all over it. (wal-mart by any chance?)

[fireflies]

I can understand your frustration, but employers think when you won't do things their way (no matter how ridiculous their way seems), you appear to be "difficult" to work with in their eyes.

 

I hire people for a non-profit resale store and have found the hard way that when I get a potential new hire who tells me that they already know the job and don't need to be told what to do or starts trying to negotiate a discount with me while we're in the middle of training, that these are the ones who generally don't think the "rules" apply to them and cause me more problems down the road.

 

It's harder to fire a potential problem employee than it is to not hire them in the first place. This is why you get ridiculous hour-long applications to fill out. So even though it may not seem fair to you that you have to fill out another application and risk having your credit checked twice (Actually I don't think an employer would incur the cost of checking your credit unless they were really ready to hire you. It costs them to run the credit check!), this is the type of nonsense you have to endure if you want to appear to be the type of dream employee they're looking for: bright, personable, and willing to give 110%.

 

I know you probably don't want to hear any of this, but if you don't like these "rules" than you're better off applying somewhere else, because these corporations aren't likely to change their bureaucratic ways anytime soon.

 

Have you tried temping? With two college degrees, you're obviously bright, goal-oriented, and hardworking. You just need a chance to prove your merit.

[greywolf]

What I want to know is why it ruins your credit when someone does a credit check. Why? Why? Why?

[JadedStar]

It's a pain but most companies have a policy that you need an application PER position you apply for. It is policy they cannot work around. You are not considered an official applicant for a job if you did not officially complete an application FOR that position.

 

And job hunting is very taxing on one's time. That is par for the course. As for credit checks, just because it states that on the app doens't mean they do it. Most companies ONLY go to the bother of checking credit if the job involves finance. It is expensive to credit check so they disclose that on the app just in case the job is one that does require it. Those who work in a credit and collections or Finance dept are the only ones ever credit checked in the companies i have worked for. To do it for everyone is way too expensive and time consuming. But the application still states that credit might be chekced because they don't create separate app's for separate jobs.

 

Crosstown, if this company seems so shady to you I must ask, why do you keep applying? I typically only apply to a company maybe two times, perhaps three, over a period of time. It can look bad on a candidate that keeps coming back time and time again. It makes them look desperate. That might not sound fair, but it is a mindset that people get. It's hard to change paradigms.

[JadedStar]

What I want to know is why it ruins your credit when someone does a credit check. Why? Why? Why?

 

It doesn't ruin your credit. It can just be construed as a ding if you have a lot of hits for companies checking it as it can make the person look like they are credit hungry and applying for a lot of things.

 

And it comes off the report in six months. The credit checks do not cause a ding on your credit forever.

[Emernate]

If you don't want a credit check done on you, don't write in your social security number. Tell them you are cautious about identity theft and that you will supply it upon hire.

[JadedStar]

I would be VERY VERY surprised that a company would do any background check at all on a candidate that is not going to offer. People just don't have that kind of time. I think the OP might be getting worked up unnecessarily. I have never checked a background or credit on a candidate in my life that I was not going to extend an offer to. And i recruited for years.

[fireflies]

Good News: If they do check your credit for employment purposes, it won't hurt your score.

 

This is what Experian (one of the top 3 credit agencies) has to say...

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See question #4...

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Explains why employers use a credit check

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What you need to know about credit inquiries:

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4 Credit Scoring Myths

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[melrich]

I would be VERY VERY surprised that a company would do any background check at all on a candidate that is not going to offer.

 

I agree. Usually reference and credit checks are only done at the time the employer is about ready to make an offer, certainly not on every candidate.

[purpleduckie]

If you don't want a credit check done on you, don't write in your social security number. Tell them you are cautious about identity theft and that you will supply it upon hire.

 

oh that's a good one. i just thought of that. my mom never lets me write my SIN number on ANYTHING, especially job application unless i was already hired and had to hand that number over.

 

my mom assures me that it is just fine and that most people do this.

[rikka]

i never knew that getting your credit checked affects your credit ratings?! woah. that sounds.... absurd?!

 

Yes and no. Credit checks by you, your loaning institutes, potential employers etc DO NO affect your credit rating. ONLY checks done by authorized institutions for NEW credit (mortgage/loan/etc) will affect your credit rating.

[crosstownTraffic]

That's interesting purpple duckie, cuz now I just say SS available on request.. I applied for yet ANOTHER job today and there was a whole slew of people in the front room, I assumed she was training. I did see another application and that person had put down their SS #, but that is risky, especially if I had turned out to be an identity thief.. so smart on your mom to suggest this pduckie.. but tell me, do employers object to that?

oh, btw, I never knew until I was goign to write the corporate office to complain that this company was this shady! hmmm. i always figured them to be a decent company but now I know the truth. i won't even walk thru their doors now. .I'm THAT disgusted with them..

"Crosstown, if this company seems so shady to you I must ask, why do you keep applying? I typically only apply to a company maybe two times, perhaps three, over a period of time. It can look bad on a candidate that keeps coming back time and time again. It makes them look desperate. That might not sound fair, but it is a mindset that people get. It's hard to change paradigms."

 

It's not McD.. it's a large department store and they sell clothes and all types of other items.. I bet they at least 100 stores open in the country though...I'm shocked by all this really, but honestly, I have NEVER run into this type of thign..

So.. what.. if you apply online, then why on earth do you have to apply to EVERY single store all over again! I thought that was the whole reason to apply online, if one store didn't need you, they could contact the other store who might need workers.

I don't like their attitude.. they wasted so much of my time and just jerked me around... I won't even shop there now.

Do they really charge the companies money to run credit checks on people?? I would think that service would be free or low cost...

Well, if I get 20 dings in 6 months and my car needs replacing during that 6 months, then I'm in trouble...

I think I'm going to just try local companies or go onlien and do this from now on.. this IS WAY too TIME CONSUMING.. and uses up needless gas I could use for groceries, utilities bills and just SURVIVING.

I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth applying to half these companies.. esp. retail..

The economy is grindign to a halt... it's a certainty that ppl will be spending less, alot less!

Maybe I shud apply to a coffin maker or something... I think there are going to be alot of tragedies from all these bad economic news!

[jengh]

Why do they do a credit check before hiring you?

 

I mean...I wonder if this is what's holding me back from finding a job

[crosstownTraffic]

Maybe that is true in my case too...

I mean why on earth does a company have to do a credit check on you in the first place??? I'm not applying for a loan, only a job!

 

Seems to me to be an invasion of privacy, and I wonder if most companies automatically do them when they screen applicants anyway.

Everyone is so nosey now, haveing to know everyone's business... Grrrrhhh..

 

Well, if it's going to affect my credit rating and they ain't gonna hire me in the 1st place, why even bother to apply?? I am really really starting to hate these large corporations. They don't pay their employees squat, they treat you like dirt.. give you lousy hours, half the time they only want you part time so you won't get any benefits like health ins.

My friend was a manager for Office Max or Depot.. cannot remember which and she worked like at least hours per week but they wouldn't give her health insurance!

 

Like I say, I am thinking it's better to work for a smaller company.. they are more personable than these huge conglomerations who think they can get away with whatever they want to.

It incenses me though that they think they have a righ to record people's conversations as they stand at the cash register waiting to be checked out... or let their "best" employees get away with giving large discounts to their fave patrons.

what a sordid lot they are!

[Batya33]

The problems I have seen with smaller companies include that they may be too small to have to honor all discrimination laws (in the U.S., that is), that they may not have established policies for sick time, leave time, maternity/paternity leave or be able to change them much easier because they're small and don't have to worry about recruiting, they might have a higher risk of going under or fading out, especially if it's a family business (and family businesses have their own downsides).

 

Not saying that large companies are great either, but I'd be careful about generalizing about smaller companies.

[JadedStar]

Maybe that is true in my case too...

I mean why on earth does a company have to do a credit check on you in the first place??? I'm not applying for a loan, only a job!

 

!

 

Read my post that I created several posts back.

 

As for the small company comment, there are pros and cons equally to both large companies and small. I will likely always go with large because the opptys are greater. I have interviewed a lot of people who came to my corporation because they peaked out at the smaller business they were working for. But there are advantages in that you can become much more close knit at a small one. For me presonally becoming very close knit with the group and doing a lot of things together is not a part of my career goals so I prefer a larger company.

[Batya33]

I think you can do the same within a division or department at a large company. And as you pointed out (implied?) there are cons to being close knit where you work.

[fragmint]

Read my post that I created several posts back.

 

As for the small company comment, there are pros and cons equally to both large companies and small. I will likely always go with large because the opptys are greater. I have interviewed a lot of people who came to my corporation because they peaked out at the smaller business they were working for. But there are advantages in that you can become much more close knit at a small one. For me presonally becoming very close knit with the group and doing a lot of things together is not a part of my career goals so I prefer a larger company.

 

i agree, i think its much better to be at a large company because you have room to advance to. at small companies there will only be so many positions available , the glass ceiling is lower!

[crosstownTraffic]

Well, I've worked at really large companies too where I never advanced at all. And I have to disagree with you. Large companies DO practice discrimination also. I have seen it happen in person. big companies go under too Batya, Have you not been reading the news lately?

Yes, a small company can go under, but while you are working for them, they probably treat you better.

That's been my experience! I have worked at LOTS of large companies and it was never really a good scenario.. while all the smaller companies I felt treated like a human being and There WAS places to advance in, and in less time!