Another three job applications sent off.

[lance_sibley]

The Bank of Montreal needs some serious help with the Careers section of their website. I thought I was already registered, but couldn't remember what my user name or password might be, so I clicked on "email me my hint." I kept getting an error message that I needed to enter my user name, and the same page kept coming up. I closed the tab, and tried again from the link on the Workopolis site, and the same page came up again instead of the initial registration page. I had to clear my cookies before I could get back to the initial page and sign up (probably for the second or third time).

And then, there were questions on the application page that didn't seem related to the position, based on the description. (They were asking about PeopleSoft experience, when the job listed COBOL and PL/1 as the requirements.) I tried clicking on "back" to look at the description again, but the same form kept coming up asking about my PeopleSoft experience.

Obviously, BMO's not just in need of mainframe programmers.

(Oh, and like the shiny new icon? elizard100 pointed me towards hellodangerous, who has made bunches of "Brokeback Mountain" icons (my fingers still want to type "Bareback Mountain" instead of "Brokeback"... it seems to be a common problem from what I've seen elsewhere.)

Back to watching "Lost"... I got up to episode 13 before I went to bed, at about 7 this morning.

Comments

[hoskie.livejournal.com]

I just finished the entire first season of Lost and the first six episodes of the second season. All of this was done in about a week. It's not even that it's that good... I just can't turn away. ;P

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

It is addictive, isn't it? :) I think part of it is that the plot is drawn out so slowly, and the big plot twist at the end is so big, that you just have to know how that big plot twist is going to turn out.

[indydark.livejournal.com]

It's gotten so bad for me that I can't think of the real name of "Bareback Mountain"..... I can't wait to see it, though I'm no longer much of a Heath fan.

Do love the Icon!!

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've actually seen anything Heath Ledger has been in. From the pictures I've seen, though, he's not my type. I'd be seeing the movie for Jake Gyllenhaal. ;)

[sciffy-circo.livejournal.com]

Ugh, yeah, I was looking for work with BMO too. They call it "Harris Bank" or "Nesbitt Burns" here. Don't want Chicagoans to know that their precious landmark bank is owned by Canadians...

Jeez, that's an annoying website! You can't just submit a resume to the company. Oh, no. You have to apply to each job separately. You want a secreatary job? They have two openings? That means you must apply twice. Admin. Asst.? Oh, fill out your qualifications... again... even though you already went through this once... no, twice... three times...

Unfortunately, this is not the only company that does stuff like this. Somebody said this is called "prescreening applicants". Personally, it makes me wonder if I should even bother applying to a company which is so clearly disorganized, confusing, and frustrating!

Also, they had no record of me when I looked through the files a week later. Did it save ANYTHING? Did I waste three hours last week even trying to apply? Same happened on similar sites too. GRR!!!

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

Ugh, yeah, I was looking for work with BMO too. They call it "Harris Bank" or "Nesbitt Burns" here. Don't want Chicagoans to know that their precious landmark bank is owned by Canadians...

Really? I had no idea, though I knew Nesbitt Burns was associated with BMO somehow.

That's good to know, though, in case I find myself needing bank services when in the US, since BMO is actually where I do my banking.

Jeez, that's an annoying website! You can't just submit a resume to the company. Oh, no. You have to apply to each job separately. You want a secreatary job? They have two openings? That means you must apply twice. Admin. Asst.? Oh, fill out your qualifications... again... even though you already went through this once... no, twice... three times...

Unfortunately, this is not the only company that does stuff like this. Somebody said this is called "prescreening applicants". Personally, it makes me wonder if I should even bother applying to a company which is so clearly disorganized, confusing, and frustrating!

I know exactly what you mean. I think they've changed their site since the last time I'd applied for a job there - I don't recall it being such a rigamarole.

Much easier to deal with headhunters.

Also, they had no record of me when I looked through the files a week later. Did it save ANYTHING? Did I waste three hours last week even trying to apply? Same happened on similar sites too. GRR!!!

That's odd. They usually keep people on file for something like six months. Maybe the site is coded not to save the application if you don't give the answers their looking for to those pre-screening questions? (Stupid, if true, since there's nothing that says you might not be perfect for another job in their database. But sometimes I think that most companies don't look through the resumes they already have on file when they're advertising a new job.)

Another Yabut attack

[sciffy-circo.livejournal.com]

Careful with banking here. Apparently, Torcon had the same idea, trying to set up a Harris Bank account in Chicago, to make it easier to transfer funds to BMO in Toronto. They were told yes, they were owned by the same company, but also, they would have to pay all sorts of fees to convert the money to Canadian dollars, and transfer to a different bank. Um, didn't you just say you were owned by the same company? Yes, but... Ya, but... Yabut.

I did manage to eventually find my name on the "apply here" section. Number of times my resume was looked at? 0. Number of jobs applied to? I think it was somewhere between 4 and 6 each time I looked, and the info did tend to go POOF after 6 months. I think it's probably time for me to apply again, and see if it leads to anything. Maybe it won't be so damned annoying this time, but I've seen so many similar sites, it does make me wonder what I'm spending all my time doing!

Re: Another Yabut attack

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

I wasn't thinking about opening a US account for any reason - just if I happened to be in the US and found myself in a situation where I couldn't use an ATM but needed to access my money here in Toronto. (Though it sounds like that would require much jumping through hoops.)

I vaguely remember the Torcon situation you referred to (remember, I was recording secretary to the Board of Directors for something like four years), but I would have thought that we could simply have opened a US dollar account here, as they're fairly common.

I did manage to eventually find my name on the "apply here" section. Number of times my resume was looked at? 0. Number of jobs applied to? I think it was somewhere between 4 and 6 each time I looked, and the info did tend to go POOF after 6 months.

Jeez. You'd think someone would at least look at all the resumes that come in. (I know it's hard, but if you don't, how do you know whether or not you've got the perfect applicant? You can't just throw the pile of resumes down the stairs and pick the 10 that land closest to the bottom for interviews.)

I think it's probably time for me to apply again, and see if it leads to anything. Maybe it won't be so damned annoying this time, but I've seen so many similar sites, it does make me wonder what I'm spending all my time doing!

Yeah, really... :(

Re: Another Yabut attack

[sciffy-circo.livejournal.com]

Ironically, I signed up for your Canadian job site, workopolis.com and had a better response from that than say, our Chicago Tribune's Career Builder, or monster.com or hotjobs.com etc. I told workopolis I was perfectly willing to *ahem* relocate within the United States, and was *ahem again* legally authorized to work here.

Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures...

Re: Another Yabut attack

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

Hee. Yeah, Workopolis is owned by the Globe and Mail, I believe. That's the site that I use. Good luck!