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> The second application asked me to create a general profile and fill out other fields, including a video cover letter for the recruiting platform. This is ta

> The second application asked me to create a general profile and fill out other fields, including a video cover letter for the recruiting platform. This is tangential to the AI issue, but wow - absolutely horrible. How disillusioned are the execs who come up with these ideas? Do they really believe anyone _wants_ to work for them? I really feel for people who have no option other than to go through this garbage just to land a minimum wage job.

version_five 3y ago
Videos, including asymmetrical video interviews where the candidate has to record themselves answering questions, are becoming more common for professional jobs as well. It's probably a great screening tool for identifying candidates with no self respect and no other options that can be treated badly throughout employment. If not illegal, this practice should at least be made socially unacceptable. I'm a capitalist, but this kind of thing is definitely an argument against unrestricted capitalism.
- teclordphrack2 3y ago
  It's going to be an HR and lawsuit issue in the future. There is a reason in the USA we don't have head shots on our resume.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - lozenge 3y ago
    Ah I wouldn't worry about it. The courts don't accept statistical evidence of discrimination, the rejected applicant would actually need to prove discrimination on an individual basis. Source - https://www.culawreview.org/journal/what-constitutes-discrimination-in-the-courts-proving-discriminatory-intent-and-systematic-racism-in-the-death-penalty https://www.culawreview.org/journal/what-constitutes-discrim...
- ChainOfFools 3y ago
  > including asymmetrical video interviews where the candidate has to record themselves answering questions As technology facilitates pushing this practice further up in the hiring pipeline, even to the point of initial contact, this presents a grim prospect for anyone who is already facing career headwinds due to ageism, let alone any of the other -isms. Ageism is a threat to to everyone regardless of gender, race, national origin etc. The makeup industry is going to be thrilled.
  - csense 3y ago
    I've always been confused about how ageism, racism, sexism etc. are even compatible with capitalism. If there's a vast under-employed pool of people of the "wrong" age, race, sex, etc. because "bad" companies refuse to employ them, why don't their "good" competitors seize the opportunity and hire all that untapped talent being left on the table?
    - ChainOfFools 3y ago
      you could also ask why were pro sports all white for decades before they began to look for talent outside that pool? didn't team owners (and local fans) want to win games above all else? eventually, yes, winning is what ultimately mattered most - but it took half a century for that priority to be fully recognized as the one that outranked all the others, including racial bias.
    - raisedbyninjas 3y ago
      I think there are a few factors why both under-employed groups exist and we don't see the invisible hand creating upstarts consisting of old black women dominating their industry. Many people, even those making hiring decisions, aren't in the entreprenuerial min/max hustle culture. Those employers will consider factors other than skills and the lowest agreeable wage. People tend to like other people similar to themselves so that leaves various undesirables unemployed longer. The set of potential employers is sometimes limited, especially in the before times when people would only look for work for up to about an hour commute from where they live. Also filter employers down to an industry/skillset. Then filter by employers with openings that coincide when an applicant is looking for a job. Consider two dental technicians in a rural area that start looking for a job on the same day. If one of the three dentists in the region has a preference for some protected class, then the "wrong" applicant may be job hunting for a while longer. There are also some jobs with tangible incentives for discrimination. Any role that benefits from sex appeal can favor young, attractive females. Jobs that are physically demanding can favor young and fit men.
LegitShady 3y ago
I've seen the "answer these questions in a video response" for several professional positions. I just opted out of applying there and was happier for it.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  Yeah, that sort of thing is a really solid indicator that you probably don't want to work for the company. But will you have a choice?
AmenBreak 3y ago
McDonalds starts at $15 an hour, it's no longer minimum wage.
- wwtdtgotiatl 3y ago
  $15 is under minimum wage in many parts of the US
  - infamouscow 3y ago
    Is McDonalds paying the minimum wage anywhere in the US? Maybe in a very rural area, but I'd be surprised to see a McD there to begin with. Do you have a source? I'm genuinely interested in looking at this more for unrelated reasons.
- rchaud 3y ago
  The federal minimum wage hasn't budged in 14 years. It's closer to the United Nations definitions of poverty than it is to resembling a wage.
mr_toad 3y ago
> How disillusioned are the execs who come up with these ideas? They love hearing themselves talk, they probably assume that everyone thinks the same way.
- StrictDabbler 3y ago
  Requiring a video cover letter probably isn't even legal. It certainly opens you way up to allegations of discrimination and is therefore unwise. I would assume that the employee acquisition middleware provider added "video cover letter" as a feature to distinguish their software suite, the procurement guy fell for it, and the hiring director said "hey, we paid for this feature, we should probably use it." Asked about legality, the middleware provider would claim that "you see people in an interview, many jobs are remote now and a video cover letter is an extension of that." That's not true, of course. Having images of the candidates ahead of interviewing allows you to discriminate without the candidate noticing your reaction to their appearance. Law suits incoming.
- BizarroLand 3y ago
  Many high ranking fast food executives actively hate, detest, and despise their frontline employees, as in, consider them to be inferior human-like beings whose only duty in life is to cause trouble and give them grief and to cost them their bonuses in the process. Frontline fast food employees are disobedient money making robots to them. If the Stanford Prison Experiment could be reproduced ethically, I think using fast food executives as the guards and frontline as the prisoners, it would be very enlightening.

version_five 3y ago

Videos, including asymmetrical video interviews where the candidate has to record themselves answering questions, are becoming more common for professional jobs as well. It's probably a great screening tool for identifying candidates with no self respect and no other options that can be treated badly throughout employment. If not illegal, this practice should at least be made socially unacceptable. I'm a capitalist, but this kind of thing is definitely an argument against unrestricted capitalism.

teclordphrack2 3y ago
It's going to be an HR and lawsuit issue in the future. There is a reason in the USA we don't have head shots on our resume.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- lozenge 3y ago
  Ah I wouldn't worry about it. The courts don't accept statistical evidence of discrimination, the rejected applicant would actually need to prove discrimination on an individual basis. Source - https://www.culawreview.org/journal/what-constitutes-discrimination-in-the-courts-proving-discriminatory-intent-and-systematic-racism-in-the-death-penalty https://www.culawreview.org/journal/what-constitutes-discrim...
ChainOfFools 3y ago
> including asymmetrical video interviews where the candidate has to record themselves answering questions As technology facilitates pushing this practice further up in the hiring pipeline, even to the point of initial contact, this presents a grim prospect for anyone who is already facing career headwinds due to ageism, let alone any of the other -isms. Ageism is a threat to to everyone regardless of gender, race, national origin etc. The makeup industry is going to be thrilled.
- csense 3y ago
  I've always been confused about how ageism, racism, sexism etc. are even compatible with capitalism. If there's a vast under-employed pool of people of the "wrong" age, race, sex, etc. because "bad" companies refuse to employ them, why don't their "good" competitors seize the opportunity and hire all that untapped talent being left on the table?
  - ChainOfFools 3y ago
    you could also ask why were pro sports all white for decades before they began to look for talent outside that pool? didn't team owners (and local fans) want to win games above all else? eventually, yes, winning is what ultimately mattered most - but it took half a century for that priority to be fully recognized as the one that outranked all the others, including racial bias.
  - raisedbyninjas 3y ago
    I think there are a few factors why both under-employed groups exist and we don't see the invisible hand creating upstarts consisting of old black women dominating their industry. Many people, even those making hiring decisions, aren't in the entreprenuerial min/max hustle culture. Those employers will consider factors other than skills and the lowest agreeable wage. People tend to like other people similar to themselves so that leaves various undesirables unemployed longer. The set of potential employers is sometimes limited, especially in the before times when people would only look for work for up to about an hour commute from where they live. Also filter employers down to an industry/skillset. Then filter by employers with openings that coincide when an applicant is looking for a job. Consider two dental technicians in a rural area that start looking for a job on the same day. If one of the three dentists in the region has a preference for some protected class, then the "wrong" applicant may be job hunting for a while longer. There are also some jobs with tangible incentives for discrimination. Any role that benefits from sex appeal can favor young, attractive females. Jobs that are physically demanding can favor young and fit men.

LegitShady 3y ago

I've seen the "answer these questions in a video response" for several professional positions. I just opted out of applying there and was happier for it.

JohnFen 3y ago
Yeah, that sort of thing is a really solid indicator that you probably don't want to work for the company. But will you have a choice?

AmenBreak 3y ago

McDonalds starts at $15 an hour, it's no longer minimum wage.

wwtdtgotiatl 3y ago
$15 is under minimum wage in many parts of the US
- infamouscow 3y ago
  Is McDonalds paying the minimum wage anywhere in the US? Maybe in a very rural area, but I'd be surprised to see a McD there to begin with. Do you have a source? I'm genuinely interested in looking at this more for unrelated reasons.
rchaud 3y ago
The federal minimum wage hasn't budged in 14 years. It's closer to the United Nations definitions of poverty than it is to resembling a wage.

mr_toad 3y ago

> How disillusioned are the execs who come up with these ideas? They love hearing themselves talk, they probably assume that everyone thinks the same way.

StrictDabbler 3y ago
Requiring a video cover letter probably isn't even legal. It certainly opens you way up to allegations of discrimination and is therefore unwise. I would assume that the employee acquisition middleware provider added "video cover letter" as a feature to distinguish their software suite, the procurement guy fell for it, and the hiring director said "hey, we paid for this feature, we should probably use it." Asked about legality, the middleware provider would claim that "you see people in an interview, many jobs are remote now and a video cover letter is an extension of that." That's not true, of course. Having images of the candidates ahead of interviewing allows you to discriminate without the candidate noticing your reaction to their appearance. Law suits incoming.
BizarroLand 3y ago
Many high ranking fast food executives actively hate, detest, and despise their frontline employees, as in, consider them to be inferior human-like beings whose only duty in life is to cause trouble and give them grief and to cost them their bonuses in the process. Frontline fast food employees are disobedient money making robots to them. If the Stanford Prison Experiment could be reproduced ethically, I think using fast food executives as the guards and frontline as the prisoners, it would be very enlightening.