Bad Arithmetic: The Algorithms Of Job Apps

Bad Arithmetic
In an age where the bulk of our communications is done online, you’d think the job of communicating would be easier, but it is not, especially when you are looking for a job, and the experience, you realize, is a futile attempt to communicate substance, and ultimately, dehumanizing.
I knew I would be especially challenged, since my goals in life were much different from having to be consistently employed, and therefore those gaps could be construed as less than favorable to a potential employer, at least, on a superficial scale.
But the overall scale, I realized, is just as superficial for those who show a consistent work history, as well. Engagement in apps that are supposed to expedite the job search are instead behemoths, a portal, where simply submitting your resume is an experience fraught with problems.
The apps have a certain degree of formulaic intelligence, but this intelligence lacks substantive value. The focus is not to explore the differences, the variety each person has to offer, what makes them unique, those attributes, but instead to chop you up into bits of nonsensical pieces, segregate those into abysmal demonstrations of who you are not, rearranging you into something unrecognizable – I didn’t say that! That’s NOT me. This is a formula that yields aberrations, an imperfect host, that stuffs you into a box, as though you are a piece of furniture being advertised on specific sites. If only you were.
What is the purpose of downloading a PDF version, for example, of your resume if its structural integrity is destroyed in the process? Isn’t that the whole idea behind a PDF document? That its structural integrity remains intact, so that no one can tamper with it?
And yet, this is exactly what they do. A formula determines what parts of the PDF are relevant – buzz words, perhaps, or the names of corporations – that are ultimately irrelevant, an example of bad arithmetic, ultimately incoherent, and the process of correcting these errors is far more time-consuming than what you really should be doing: Making connections with prospective employers.
Instead you are side-tracked from your principle goal, and must learn to navigate these bizarre algorithms, which often lead to nowhere, and attempt to bring coherence to your narrative, fully aware that there is no formula that can fully explain the art of being human – at least not yet.