The Sad State of Job Acquisition

So after examining my financial status, I've realized I need to get myself a part time job for my last few months of University. Although I am not impressed with this realization, it is the only possible option besides more loans (and I don't want more with only three months left). So in a bout to quickly get a easy, "decent" paying job that is close to my house I've determined I have three
possibilities. One being Best Buy. Two being Starbucks. Three being LuLu Lemon @ Masonville.


Since it is late at night and I am bored I decided to examine the application process for Best Buy. Sure enough, instead of going into the store, or speaking to a human, I am force to fill out a long winded online survey to "assess my capability to be a potential hire".

Now, at first it made sense. Asking me if I had retail experience, knowledge of the product area I wanted to work in, and if I was allowed to work in Canada. Instead of ending those questions with the submission of a resume, I began a period of question and answers. Again some of the questions made sense, but the longer I spend doing it (about 15 minutes, and answering 5-10 questions a minute) the less intelligent it seems.

The question I just answered was "You avoid doing favors for people when you know they will never pay you back". Options for an answer are "Definitely Yes", "Probably Yes", "Probably No" and "Definitely No". Now, I am starting to get the feeling these questions were designed by a psychologist specializing in employment and hiring. This theory is simply because I have now answered several questions that are VERY similar. Some add that it is a family member, some say it was only for $1.00 and some ask if I should be fired for doing so.

For the question at hand, is it for a friend? A family member? A random person on the street? Do they want me to jump their car? Build them an ark? What is this "favor" they are expecting me to perform and not get repaid? These questions don't have any basis to determine employability because they are so subjective.

It's sad that a company has taken away someone's job of actually reading a resume and making a hiring decision and instead dedicating it to a series of trivial questions about my personal beliefs.

Update: After writing this, the next question I was asked used the same scale mentioned above. The question was "Do you ever feel guilty about being late for work? Even if it wasn't your fault". Come on, yes I will feel guilty if I slept in, or just didn't feel like being on time... but if I got run over by a reindeer, I might feel like its a justifiable excuse!

Update 2: Okay, this one takes the cake! About ten questions after the last one I mentioned... "Do you enjoy comedians who make fun of the audience"? How in any way does that determine my employability? I love when a comedian tears on the audience, but I'm answering "probably no". Why that... because I might actually enjoy it, but they probably don't want me to!

Update 3: Now I'm just going to keep a list of the "stupid" questions this is asking me...

• "Everyone you know tries extra hard to be friendly"
  
• "These days people have to fight extra hard for what is rightfully theirs"
  
• "Some people just have it in for you."
  
• "People are always nice to you"
  
• "It bothers you when people ask you stupid questions"
• "You enjoy stories about telling people off who deserve it"
• "Your mood sometimes goes up and down"

What I found ironic about the fifth question, was that the question itself was in fact, a stupid question.