The District Of Columbia Department Of Employment Services

The Dept of employment services has a fantastic website however in the interest of the public esp jobseekers I feel compelled to note some problems. I would talk with them but careerists tend to ignore constructive criticism. Here is a shortlist:

1) Buggy webserver. We were at a workshop and during break I did some surfing. At one point my searches began to hang. These were basically other normal websites but hanging blocking and denial of service. I got off and cleared history. As soon as I exited the building things seemed to return to normal. The websites I wanted to visit inside DOES but could not loaded up fine. However someone tried to call me and I had not given my phone no or listed it anywhere. Said black female claimed she was returning my call from the hour that the workshop began. Very strange.

2) DOES website pages will not save. You enter application information and press save, just like using Paypal, no? No! It won't save! I go back to my profile and the information is blank. I had to try 2- 3 times for each section.

3) Basically the website dcnetworks which is meant to be comprehensive and has accessibility portals built into it for caseworkers, dc gov, employers, technologists, etc is very slow, clunky, cumbersome. Most likely some of the big name contractors (booz allen, amazon) are offering consulting services. Who knows. Things happen like you create a resume, but it doesnt show as created. You go back to view your profile. Suddenly there are two new resumes showing as created. You only need one new resume. Dont press delete by the extra resume because both new resumes will get deleted!

4) Do I have a double out there? Who knows? For each job title I need to upload a resume, create an application, and I get doubles. And its super easy to get into your file. All the caseworker needs is the last 4 of your ssn. She doesnt even have to close out.

5) Web Wizard more built in redundancy. After you complete the application the site recommends you use the Web Wizard to complete the background information. Don't! The moment you begin the Wizard it reformats all the information you wrote or checked off under job skills, skill sets, etc. So you basically have to re-enter all that over for the 4th or 5th time.

6) DOES may say its their computers at the job center which are open to viruses from customers that infect the computer. But the problems seemed to only arise once I logged into dcnetworks. Not while doing other surfing.

At best I rate it 4 / 5. The website does list legitimate current openings. The workshop instructor obviously has not been on the filling out application end for awhile. She didnt or the class didnt seem receptive for my bringing up the concerns noted here, like why create more frenemies. Its like its your problem and your fault if you are eliminated during the application process.