1. The hiring process has increasingly moved online, with employers asking applicants to fill out online forms and take online tests and assessments rather than submitting printed resumes. 2. These online tools aim to streamline the hiring process and better identify the most qualified candidates by measuring traits like personality and work styles that correlate with successful employees. 3. While this allows employers to more efficiently sort through large numbers of applicants, some job seekers find the process impersonal and frustrating, as they spend hours taking online tests and assessments without knowing if they are truly being considered for positions.

1. MUMBAI, TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007 Page 23
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R
EMEMBER EIGHT-TRACK tapes?
Polyester leisure suits? Beer-can open-
ers?
The printed resume — long the stan-
dard way to apply for a white-collar job
— may soon join those once-ubiqui-
tous products in history's dustbin.
If you haven't applied for a job late-
ly, you may be surprised. If you have
applied for just about any position in a
midsized or large company, you know
what's happening.
Instead of reading your resume, an em-
ployer may ask you to fill out an online
form or take an online test that meas-
ures how well you "fit" the job, based
on responses from successful work-
ers.
Google, for example, uses a
screening program to measure ap-
plicants' attitudes, behaviours, per-
sonality and biographical details.
Answers are scrunched in a formula
that creates a score, indicating how
well the candidate is likely to fare on the
job.
"It's getting harder to sell yourself for a job
you think you're qualified for," said Steve Mur-
phy, a 48-year-old job hunter from Lenexa,
Kan, who's been surprised at all the electronic
hoops he's had to jump through before nab-
bing interviews. In most cases, he said, "You're
just able to post online."
"It's all electronic," agreed Michael Doyle, a
60-year-old job seeker from Prairie Village,
Kan., who recently landed a job through per-
sonal contacts. In nine months, Doyle said,
he'd spoken to exactly two interviewers as a re-
sult of online postings.
Murphy, Doyle and applicants like them dis-
covered that resumes have gone digital. Forget
worrying about what kind of paper stock to
use. You probably won't need it.
In some cases, resumes have disappeared
from the hiring process completely. Some em-
ployers don't even want them in digitised for-
mat. They prefer customised online forms, tai-
lor-made to cull the applicant field.
Some human resource gurus suggest the
personal interview could be next on the en-
dangered species list.
John Sullivan, a management professor at
San Francisco State University, says most in-
terviews are as valuable as Ouija boards in
measuring whether a person will be good on
the job.
Interviewers ask the wrong questions, and
job candidates can lie, or simply not shine
when on the job they'd do quite well, he says —
all the better for online assessments. Compa-
nies — especially those that hire thousands of
workers and have high turnover — are turn-
ing to a range of computer-based filters to
pare down candidates to a manageable
number.
At AMC Entertainment, for example, the
company is introducing questions about avail-
ability, work eligibility, desired pay, qualifica-
tions and pertinent awards in the on-
line application process, said Keith
Wiedenkeller, senior vice presi-
dent-human resources.
The new screening software al-
lows an interview, when it's offered,
"to be more streamlined and effi-
cient," with just five or six basic
questions needed, mostly of the
"tell me about a time when you re-
solved a difficult customer service
situation" variety, he said.
An increasingly popular
screening tool uses a kind of stan-
dardised test. Applicants' answers
to questions — about such charac-
teristics as their preferred noise level
at work or the time of day they feel
most energised — are compared with an-
swers from workers who already are suc-
cessful in the jobs.
Many job hunters are frustrated at the digi-
tised "depersonalisation" of the hiring
process. Few are as discontent, though, as
Michael Rosenthal, an Overland Park, Kan.,
resident, who has waged an all-out campaign,
contacting members of Congress, state legis-
lators and others he thinks might stem the on-
line filtering tide.
"I can spend three hours online, taking I.Q.
tests, being categorised, taking personality
tests, and never know if I'm a viable candi-
date," Rosenthal said.
But many in the human-resource industry
are glad online screening tools exist.
"There's no way anymore to filter qualified
applicants by just looking for buzzwords on re-
sumes," said Darren Dupriest, president of Va-
lidity Screening Solutions, a security and
background checking company in Overland
Park.
"Applicants may be upset, but I see no reso-
lution in sight," Dupriest said. "We've sacri-
ficed face-to-face for efficiency. The cost of a
bad hire is too great." MCT
Don’t update your resume
An employer may ask you to fill out an online form or take an online test
MCT
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From ad clutter to celebrity clutter
Jayshree Dubey
F
IVE CRORE!
Eight crore! Ten
crore! Any idea what
exactly these figures
relate to in the con-
text of Indian corpo-
rates? No, they are not the annual
turnovers of any small or medium
size enterprise. They are also not
new investment allocations.
These figures are a dearer substi-
tute of creativity in Indian advertis-
ing. They are the kind of fees
charged by Indian celebrities for en-
dorsing brands.
Advertising is used by companies
to effectively communicate virtues
(if any) of the products to con-
sumers in order to increase aware-
ness, create preference, and differ-
entiate with other competitive
brands with the sole objective: ‘cap-
ture market’.
In the recent past, increased com-
petition has resulted in an exponen-
tial increase in advertising, fuelling
a rush for advertising in any media.
This has posed a big challenge to ad-
vertisers to create ads which are ef-
fective, have high recall value, im-
prove brand value, prevent zapping
etc, while avoiding advertising and
media clutter.
In a country where celebrity
craziness is high among people and
celebrities are considered almost su-
pernatural beings and icons to
follow, advertisers started using
celebrities, mainly from the fields of
films and sports, to endorse
brands.
It worked as an icing
on the cake in removing
advertising clutter.
Spiced with celebrities
taken as opinion leader,
such advertisements got
noticed by the viewers
and culminated into in-
creased sales.
This was so when
watching any celebrity
on TV was a rare oppor-
tunity and therefore the
advertisement was a
source for many people
to see their favourite
stars in action
in their drawing
rooms.
Since only a few com-
panies were using very
few celebrities, it
worked magic to dif-
ferentiate the associat-
ed products.
Cut to 2007, and you
can see all those who
matter in their domain
area thrusting upon you
whatever is available in the
market. And this is exactly
where the problem starts.
The trend of getting brands en-
dorsed by celebrities has
increased dramatically, resulting
into overexposure of celebrities in
ads.
In an attempt to reduce advertise-
ment clutter, advertisers have creat-
ed celebrity clutter in
the advertisement (me-
dia) space. Moreover,
the involvement of a
celebrity in every third
or fourth advertisement
has reduced the depend-
ency on celebrities in
overcoming advertise-
ment clutter.
Multiple endorse-
ment (same celebrity en-
dorsing various brands
or one brand using mul-
tiple celebrities) is re-
sulting into dilution of
credibility of likes of Amitabh
Bachchan (excuse me Big B) and
Sachin Tendulkar.
Poor celebrity-loyal customers
with limited disposable incomes
are finding it difficult to decide
whether to listen to Big B or King
Khan or Master Blaster or the
Prince of Bengal or Hritik Roshan.
Adding another dimension, people
are gradually becoming aware of
the hefty endorsement fee compa-
nies are paying that gets added to
the price they pay.
Another factor that has blunted
the effectiveness of celebrities and
has, in fact, added to the celebrity
clutter is the increase in number of
TV channels that have increased
the opportunity to watch the
celebrities on day-to-day basis
reducing public reliance on
advertisement to watch this rare
species.
Advertisers need to digest the
fact that people prefer to switch to
any music channel to watch the
kiss specialist of Indian cinema
Imran Hasmi doing what he
does best, rather then
watching him selling Gopal
jarda.
Celebrities from film and
media are still bearable, but
non-performing sports stars
who are earning defame to
the country have only helped
in plummeting the credibili-
ty of the celebrities.
With Videocon withdrawing its
advertisements starring Dhoni and
Dravid, companies appointing
cricket stars as their brand ambas-
sadors have also started realising
this fact from the world cup show-
down of Great Indian Calypso.
Today’s suave customers are
more informed and make rational
judgment in making brand choice
that is based on product attributes
rather then on emotional judgment
swayed by Bollywood queens.
Advertisement can’t just be pre-
sented as a short fancy film before
the prospective customers. Compa-
nies may not get expected ROI on
celebrity advertisement by pitching
in overexposed celebrity or where
competitive brands are also using
celebrity.
Under such circumstances, solu-
tion to avoid advertising and
celebrity clutter is to stay away
from glamorous celebrities. It is ul-
timately the marketers who are re-
sponsible to create the brand im-
age, increase brand recall and
push sales and not the associated
celebrity.
Their personal association gets
over with the shooting of the ad
film and receiving of endorsement
fee. Sachin Tendulkar commented
at a press conference, “Airtel has
become number one brand in the
three years that I had been its
brand ambassador.”
Had making number one brand
been so simple, Palio would not
have failed and marketing depart-
ment of all successful brands would
have been replaced by Rani or
Preety or Saniya.
Celebrities that were taken as an-
swer to advertising and media
clutter have become clutter them-
selves.
Advertisers need to be prudent
next time when they decide to piggy
back on celebrity.
(The writer is Assistant professor,
Institute of Public Enterprise,
Osmania University)
Celebrity Brands Endorsement Fee
Sachin Tendulkar Boost, MRF, Fiat Palio, TVS Victor,
Colgate Total, Britannia,
Visa cards, Airtel and Band-aid.
Adidas, ESPN-STAR Sports
Amitabh Bachchan Parker Pens and ICICI Home Loans,
Maruti Versa, Pepsi, ICICI, BPL,
Nerolac, Dabur,
Reid & Taylor, Maruti Versa,
Cadbury, Pepsi
Shahrukh Khan Lux, Hyundai Santro, Omega,
Tag Heuer, Pepsi, Clinic All Clear,
Airtel, Bagpiper
Amir Khan Coke, Toyota Innova
Aishwarya Rai Coke, Lux, Hero Cycle, Bosch &
Laumb, L’Oreal, DeBeers diamonds
Abhishek Bachchan Motorola, LG, Ford Fiesta, Versa
Rs 4-5crore
a year
Rs 5crore
Rs 4-6crore
—
Rs 2-4crore
Rs 3.5to 4cr,
Rs 8crore deal
with Dabur,
Rs 10cr fee for
endorsing ICICI
Are celebrity
endorsements
confusing the
consumer?
INCREASED
COMPETITION
LED TO AN
EXPONENTIAL
INCREASE IN
ADVERTISING,
FUELLING A
RUSH FOR ADS
IN ANY MEDIA
CUSTOMERS
WITH LIMITED
DISPOSABLE
INCOMES ARE
FINDING IT
DIFFICULT TO
DECIDE WHICH
CELEBRITY IS
CORRECTIMAGING: HEMAL