Just a bunch of numbers

When did the world become so impersonal; when did we the people become just a bunch of numbers. Everything about the job search process is so impersonal it is pathetic. In days of old you would put together a resume on fine printed paper and mail it to a company; an actual person would open the letter and a staffing employee would read the resume for a possible fit. If you were not a fit for the position someone would write a nice letter thanking you for applying , but that your qualifications didn't match what the employer was looking for. You were informed that your resume would remain on file for a year and if another position came up fitting your qualifications you would contacted. Now enter the 21st century version! All applications are done online via some hiring application like "Taleo"; it takes you 20 minutes just to fill out all the information which in most cases is just a repeat of your resume, and oh BTW you still post your resume. An automated response comes back indicating that your application has been received and is in review; it says that you can track the process online and your resume will be filed for a year. Now let explore the real truth, The resume goes in and goes through a set of filters before it ever makes it to the hiring manager to see if you qualify. The staffing agent is looking for "THE PERFECT FIT", which BTW there is no such thing. The company never updates (at least very few) the website as to the status of the application. Your resume goes to the bottom of a 1000 other applicants and is forgot for ever and a day. You almost never received any confirmation that your application has been rejected so there is never any closure. When I do receive a confirmation I thank them whole-heartedly. I am assigned an applicant number, but it really doesn't me jack. The qualifications these days are so ridiculous that Albert Einstein couldn't get a job. A Master degree in computer science for a support engineer...."REALLY"!!! Let's stop being just numbers on a server somewhere and be human again.