By going all electronic in the application process we tend to discriminate aginst the older worker who might not have a computer or might not even be computer literate.
Are we as employers going to adversely impact potential employees by taking the electronic high road? The answer is yes, while it makes the role of the recruiter easier in many cases and in some cases even removes the recruiter from having to do the most basic of work ’speaking with the candidate’ by being all electronic.

When we look at the non-exempt workforce of today we have a mix of older people, disadvantaged people and foreign nationals who only want to be productive. A move to an all electronic process will have a major adverse impact on the manufacuring, healtcare and agricultural sectors of this country, since these are the industrial sectors that employ the majority of the non-computer literate employees.

In short the idea of moving toward an all electronic process, while a nice idea, has little merit if we as a country are to forge ahead as a global leader during this century, who is going to build and repair our cars, maintain our roads, ensure we have fresh produce to eat, who will clean and maintain or hospitals? I sure hope we can teach computers to do all of the above mentioned jobs, Oh yes I forgot we can use robotic systems, Oh I forgot we have no one to build the robotic systems because we couldn’t hire because they did not know how to apply on line

I naturally dislike semi-arbitrary rules and restrictions- and I wonder how many of the ‘top’ hires at these organizations ‘apply’ online as the gateopening procedure (rather than a downstream chore after the courtship is on)

martin