The Rise of the Machines - digital checking of job applications

I was once told a story about a manager (but I don't know if this is an urban myth) who had a particular method for short-listing candidates for jobs. This manager would take the top half of a pile of applications and put them in a shredder and then state that the company should not employ anybody so unlucky.Whilst the 1990s was awash with stories of the use of graphologers making judgements about candidates based upon their handwriting (I never use a little circle to dot my 'i's any more - this indicates an untrustworthy personality, apparently), the modern method is the use of software to score potential employees. In an era of high unemployment and therefore large numbers of applications this would seem to be a logical, if slightly 'big-brother' move forward.The BBC have put an interesting report on their website today that discusses the rise of the use of such software to short-list candidates and, as well as being useful to students studying recruitment they may find the tips on how to improve job application success very valuable.