Personal demographics are of the biggest factors, but there are a myriad of others, from comfort level on a computer to our perceptions of whether the digital world is a time saver or a time waster.

Businesses of all sizes continue to join the online revolution in numerous ways, from incorporating it into the marketing efforts to using it as a primary tool for recruiting and employment.

According to a study by Taleo Research, the number of Fortune 500 companies that maintain a “Careers” section on their Web sites has stayed fairly consistent during the past decade. Approximately three-fourths of these companies do offer a direct link from their home page to a page in their careers section.

But what is more interesting is that the past decade has shown a significant leap in the number of Fortune 500 companies that require new applicants to apply online.

According to the Taleo Research study, only 27 percent of the Fortune 500 companies in 2000 required employment candidates to apply online. In 2005, that number jumped to 77 percent and the number now exceeds 80 percent. The trend, according to HR experts, is that we will be moving to a completely “online response only” environment within the next few years.

There are numerous benefits to this for employers. It reduces the cost of processing—handling and scanning—paper resumes. It also decreases turnaround time in the hiring process when strong candidates can be swept up more easily by the competition, particularly those who are requiring applicants to apply online.

But this environment poses a tricky issue. What happens if a strong candidate is not particularly comfortable or savvy in submitting online applications? I posed this question to two different job seekers at different points in their careers.

“On one hand, I like online applications because most of them allow you to upload a pre-existing resume or resume information in some form,” says 32-year-old Robyn Nussman. “But many of the corporate Web sites I have been going to make me start over.”

Her biggest pet peeve is the need to set up an account and password to upload her information to larger employment groups. “Some of these corporate sites I do not plan on returning to unless I get a call to set up an interview,” she says. “I just don’t understand the logic in making applicants do that.”

Then there are the candidates who really prefer the traditional route, like Tom Benstett, a 57-year-old who is two months into his job hunt.

“I hate it,” he admits. “I’m at a point in my career where I am working with recruiters to explore opportunities, but there are others that I’ve found myself that have required me to apply online.”

Benstett, a self-described “classic boomer” says he thinks that the efficiency the employers gain is at the cost of the candidates.“I am computer literate, but it doesn’t come naturally to me,” he says. “I think I’m pretty typical for my age.”

From his perspective, not offering the ability to allow candidates, particularly those above a certain career level, to submit traditional resumes via mail or fax is short-sighted.

“I know this is an efficiency issue,” he says. “But it’s also an efficiency issue for the job seeker.”

In speaking with his own peers, he says that sometimes the frustration level stops him from pursuing an opportunity that really could be a good fit.

“Do we sometimes pass up opportunities?” he says. “In this job environment, we shouldn’t. But this morning, I clicked around on a potential job site … and clicked off without submitting anything because they only accept online applications.”

By Laurie Arendt

Laurie Arendt is editor of CRW. She can be reached at crweditor@crwmag.com