Electronic kiosks provide a fast way to apply for a job, but the lack of personal contact puts more pressure on the applicant to stand out.

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They're billed as fast and easy ways to get work, but as big retailers switch to computerized job application kiosks, the hiring process is less personal than ever.

With the high volume of people filling out questionnaires for hourly positions, how do you make the most of your application to stand out and get hired?

It starts before you get to the kiosk, said George Salaz, a job developer for Tucson SER Jobs for Progress, a nonprofit employment resource.

"If you can, get in touch with the person who does the hiring," he said. Let that person direct you to fill out an application at a kiosk, and you will also have a chance to ask about current openings, he said.

Next, try to get to know the job you're applying for, suggests David Scarborough, chief scientist at Oregon-based Unicru, a company that makes electronic applications and kiosk devices.

"Once you click on the job that you're applying for, that cues up a whole bunch of job-specific questioning," he said.

If you're going for a job in customer service, brainstorm skills that might be attractive to an employer: patience, good communication and an even temper, for instance.

The applications ensure you meet the minimum criteria but also assess your work ethic by asking questions about your personality.

Fry's Food and Drug appli-cations, for example, ask you to answer "agree" or "disagree" to statements like "You are more relaxed than strict about finishing work on time" and "You hate to give up if you can't solve a hard problem."

Some can be tricky, so don't expect to agree with everything, and read the questions twice, Salaz recommends. Differences in questions about the same work skill can be important, such as, "You do not fake being polite" and "You don't act polite when you don't want to."

Thinking through each question in the battery of personality queries can be tough.

"Try to remember that every question measures something," Scarborough said.

To present yourself as qualified for the job, you might want to "put yourself in the job and imagine a scenario," Salaz said.

You'll also want to be honest though, Scarborough said, because if you fib, "you run the risk of hiring into a job and then a week later saying, 'Oh wow, this job sucks.' "

Like a generic paper job application, a kiosk asks you to fill in the blanks on the basics: employment history, information for a background check and hours you're willing to work. But unlike a paper application, you can't write between the lines or in the margins to explain your answers.

When you see an open-ended question, such as "Do you have any other experience?" you can fill it in with other job skills and experience that relates to the job.

"Don't leave anything blank," Scarborough said. "The more information you can provide about your qualifications, the greater the chance your application will be considered."

Some of the machines allow you to take a practice run, delete answers or return to an application if you don't have enough time in one setting, but many don't. The programs usually have a 30- to 90-day window before you can re-apply.

If you need help filling out an application, it's better to ask for help at the store than to bring someone with you, Salaz said, because you don't want to appear dependent.

"It's always a good idea to show an above-average level of perseverance," Scarborough said. After all, the application is really just a step toward a job interview.