Monster.com Almost Signed Me Up for the U.S. Army!!

[rbajai]

This North Texas morning finds me having to turn on the lights and pull a blanket over my lap. But then again, what is autumn without a little chill in the air and some low clouds in the sky.

Cup of coffee in hand, I excitedly logged onto Monster.com to see the latest job listings in this booming, strong-and-growing stronger economy. What opportunities would I find? What exciting, exotic locations would I be privy to?

I admit, I'm a newbie at Monster.com. So when I see a page that looks like a form I need to fill out, I go ahead and do it. So when I saw the page that displayed after logging in, I instinctively saw it as another form I needed to complete.

Scrolling down, I noticed that my basic information had already been completed - my name, address, telephone number, and E-mail address. However, other fields were left blank, such as date of birth, whether or not I've had asthma, how likely am I to consider joining the military, ethnic background, and what further information I would like to have. And then, I saw the oddest radio button options.

"Yes, please have an Army Recruiter contact me."
"No, thank you."

And then, below these two options, was this text:

"*IMPORTANT: An email will be immediately sent to the email address you provided. Please respond to ensure that your information has been accurately captured."

Confused, I wasn't sure what to do or whether Monster.com wanted me to complete this information before continuing. After all, the yellow Submit button at the bottom of the page indicated that submission of this information was mandatory. Or was it? Shaking my head and furring my brow, I scrolled back up to the top of the page.

I guess I didn't see it before. At the top right was a square, plain-looking logo that said, "U.S. Army." And on the left was a little message:

"Discover the Benefits of a Career in the U.S. Army

Want a job that offers good pay, college tuition programs, great benefits, and much more? The U.S. Army has programs available that help pay for your college education, cash bonuses for certain jobs, and quality-of-life facilities and programs to make sure you and your family are taken care of. The Army has over 150 jobs for Soldiers on Active or Reserve Duty - from working with computers to assisting physicians to fixing helicopters, there's an Army job right for you."

So considering this problem, I found I had to choose the option that said, "No, thank you," and THEN click the Submit button. Otherwise I would undoubtedly be getting a call from an Army Recruiter. I wondered how many others had mistakenly clicked on the Submit button and received an unwanted call from their friendly neighborhood Army Recruiter.

And so ended my brief brush with destiny. But the question still remains. Why is Monster.com using manipulative tactics to recruit for the U.S. Army?

Note: Monster.com (http://www.monster.com) is a popular Internet job-search website. Probably THE most popular one out there.

[Neocondriac]

1. I heard last month ...

that recruiters were working out of Labor Ready locations nationally. Numbers are so far off in recruiting they will do just about anything.

[dretceterini]

2. I posted my resume on Monster

and 90% of the responses I got were for pyramid schemes and straight commission jobs

[Demit]

3. They did just lower their education standards recently (the Army)

Guess they're hoping to snag new recruits from people on Monster.com who don't read too good! Luckily for you, you showed yourself to be overqualified :)

[skids]

4. Always skip the forms.

They are on more jobsites than just Monster. A bunch of continuing ed people looking to make money off the unemployed. Military recruiters are a good bedfellow for those chumps.

I always click "No Thanks" to those forms. I suggest everyone else do so too.

[lcordero2]

5. I hope that you consider taking your resume off of that site

and consider using
http://www.ajb.dni.us/
http://www.usajobs.com/

I know a lot of people that suspect that monster.com(along with most of the other big commercial sites) has a lot of bogus advertisements for jobs, as many as 4/5ths of their advertisements.

[gratuitous]

6. Thanks for reminding me

I hadn't checked my online resumes for a day or two (I, too, just posted, and am not in the habit of checking back yet). While it didn't try to steer me into the military, Monster did helpfully inform me that my skill set might be useful in the CIA.

I decided to decline, but I did find a couple of postings worth submitting my resume to.

Any site this big with this many folks checking on it is bound to be scrutinized by any large outfit, public or private, that has many jobs to fill. Just because the military works the site is no reason not to take advantage of such a valuable resource tool.

But DO by all means be as careful doling out your resume as you would be to giving out your email address to people online. Be as harmless as a dove, but wise as a serpent.

[etherealtruth]

7. With my degree, skills and experience

Monster has decided I would be best suited for a janitorial career ... while there's nothing wrong with being a janitor, I would prefer to use my experience and education, at least a little.

[Buns_of_Fire]

8. My skillset qualifies me to be a Sanitation Engineer

If I'm willing to relocate to Bangalore, that is.

That, or Supreme Court Associate Justice.

Decisions, decisions.

[gratuitous]

9. Hey, I got that email too!

"You may already be an Associate Justice! Click the link below for details."

[this_side_up]

10. Colleges getting into the act

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucethic/20051003/cm_ucethic/donorsecrecy

Our master's degree program in public policy requires students to devise solutions to a real-life policy problem -- this year, the crisis in military recruitment and retention. The best paper will be forwarded to the Department of Defense. We students oppose the war in Iraq and the military's rejection of gay recruits, and see each as a cause of the recruitment problem. Is it ethical to require us to participate in an exercise aimed at assisting an institution whose policies we morally oppose? -- Heather Valdez Singleton, Alexa Kasdan, Cambridge, Mass.

(snipped)

UPDATE: Singleton and Kasdan completed the assignment, emphasizing reforms including those described above. The school did send what it considered to be the best solution to the problem -- not theirs -- to the D.O.D., with the consent of its authors.