Save the Planet!

On the day that Al Gore and his pals are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I have made a job application. This has involved filling in an application form and providing a statement of what my current work was, and of the work I would do if I got the job. I also had to send in a selection from my current work to the tune of about 30,000 words. Fair enough.

However, the application form has to be submitted in duodecimate (12 copies, just in case I've got my adjective wrong). That makes 5 x 12 = 60 pages. The statement of current work also has to be submitted in duodecimate. 4 x 12 = 48 pages. The selection from my current work has to be submitted in duplicate, single-sided. 2 x 81 = 162 pages. Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form. 1 page. Covering letter. 1 page. A total of 60 + 48 + 162 + 1 + 1 = 272 sheets of paper. There are on average eighty applicants to any one job in my field, and there are four jobs on offer in this particular competition. Say 300 applicants and you're being conservative. 300 x 272 = 81,600 pages.

Add to this that it is only the short-listed candidates whose work is actually read. A short list is normally four or five people. Say a short list of twenty for these four posts. 272 x 20 = 5,440 pages which are actually read. Which is about 7%.

I can't help thinking that there must be a better way of doing things. Specifically, an application process which does not require a small novel in hard copy from each applicant and then throws away 93% of them after only reading the first ten pages (which, to stretch the analogy a little too far, are each printed twelve times). In any case, I'd be interested to know what the recycling policy is at this particular concern.

There is always the possibility that I've just overdosed on cute polar bears.