For a better job application process

Major companies have begun creative hiring practices. They mostly hunt for college graduates and aspiring young job-seekers based on what they are really capable of rather than what their applications say. Some companies are experimenting with various recruitment methods such as a form of auditioning to give applicants opportunities to fully demonstrate their creativity, improvisation, passion and talent rather than relying on their academic background, records, language proficiency test results and internship experience.

No doubt it’s a desirable trend. But the old tradition also still persists. Some companies demand excessive personal information, such as the parents’ schools and even wealth estimates. They should consider the pain and humiliation the applicants may feel including this kind of information on these forms.

The National Human Rights Commission has been warning over the last decade that demanding excessive private information on job applications is an act that could undermine basic civilian and human rights. According to the job application format recommended by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, any data including age, gender and religion that is unrelated to the job should not be asked. Companies not searching for models or entertainers also should refrain from asking about height or weight. Job applicants in our country visit beauty salons or even seek cosmetic help in order to get the most presentable photos on application forms because the pictures are one of the first things employers look up.

Ascriptive inequality has long posed a problem in our society with the tradition and tendency to be partial to people from a certain family background, school and group. Employers should discard the sections on family background and hometown in the application forms. Questions on political views and preference in job interviews also should be prohibited. Our society cannot become diverse and vibrant if jobs are given according to hereditary stratification rather than individual talent.

In our country, even a technology wiz like Steve Jobs wouldn’t be able to find a decent job. A person without parents or decent school records can hardly dream of finding a full-time job. Companies are being contradictory by saying that they are searching for inventive minds while demanding specific details about the background of job applicants.

Young people are losing more and more confidence. To enliven them and give them hope, employers must first do away with the old recruitment ways.