Interactions LLC

This dinky little company in Franklin, Stinkassachusetts, advertised for an “interactive and print designer” in September 2016. Once again, I encountered an online job application that was both frustrating and downright offensive.

First, the application was very poorly designed in that anyone self-employed will have difficulty completing the work history fields of "company name/address" and "manager" (remember, we’re in a “gig” economy now, so why aren’t companies adjusting their job applications to reflect this?). 

And then they did what so many of these dumb online applications do, which was to demand references right up front. Now that I know these companies are posting fake jobs in order to collect and then sell our personal information, I absolutely refuse to disclose the intimate details of my clients/colleagues. That would just be stupid on my part. They’ll get this very personal information after they’ve met with me and are ready to offer me a job (cue the laughter).

Finally, we get to the offensive part. They demand to know what YEAR I graduated college.

Now, for what other purpose would they demand this information other than to reject me for being too old? Combined with the job description requirements of a mere “two to three years of experience,” it is clear that they are only interested in recruiting someone under the age of 25.

I went ahead and submitted my application merely as a joke. Sure enough, within four days I received their darling rejection email, “At this time we are electing to proceed forward with candidates that more closely align with the requirements of this role.” I have 18 years of experience, so I’m pretty sure the “requirements” they are referring to have nothing to do with skills.

Here’s where it gets funny. They state on their website that they “turn frustrating customer care experiences into productive conversations.” I decided to test this claim, and sent them a nice little message via their Facebook page, “I’d like to share with you what a FRUSTRATING experience I had completing your online job application for the Interactive/Print Designer role…” and referencing the above quote about "turning frustrating customer care experiences into productive conversations." Did they seize the opportunity to transform this frustrating experience into a productive conversation? Nope, I received no response or acknowledgement whatsoever, which just goes to show how skilled this company is in "turning frustrating customer care experiences into productive conversations.” These folks never learned that every job applicant is a potential future customer.

A quick peek at the reviews on their aforementioned Facebook page reveals a seriously rotten company…

Of course, I really don’t think there are any non-rotten companies in Stinkassachusetts.