Applying for jobs

Is it just me, or do employers make you fill out some stupid stuff when you're applying for a job? I've applied online to a dozen or more jobs in the last month and a half, and they all ask for the exact the same stuff. Don't get me wrong, applying online is WAY better than driving to a location to pick up an application and then handwriting my responses and driving back to that location to submit it... but their applications are completely redundant. All of the stuff they ask for is the exact same stuff that you would find on a typical resume (or at least a resume that's worth anything). I find myself having to put the application and my resume side-by-side on my computer screen so that I can copy from one to the other. Then at the end, I attach my resume anyway. So every HR department in the state basically has to read two documents that say the exact same thing.

Most applications ask for: Name, address, phone number, education background, previous employers, dates of employment, previous employers' addresses, description of job duties at previous employers, special skills and experiences, and references.

My resume includes: Name, address, phone number, education background, previous employers, dates of employment, previous employers' addresses, description of job duties at previous employers, special skills and experiences, and references.

Apparently if you're hiring, you also have a lot of extra time on your hands to read through two of the exact same thing with every applicant. Wouldn't it make more sense to simply ask for some personal information and a resume? If a resume doesn't include the information above, it's probably not thorough enough, which to me would indicate an applicant who doesn't care enough about the job to put together an adequate resume. I'm sick of writing the same thing over and over and then attaching the same thing over and over.

Oh! And another thing: Who the heck am I supposed to include when I'm asked for references who are neither relatives nor former supervisors? Aren't supervisors exactly who you'd want to hear from regarding my at-work personality and abilities? I don't have that many friends who I just hang out with in professional settings.

That's my rant. Back to looking for jobs.