Seems almost everybody I talk to who’s in the current job market has stories on how they’re ignored by prospective employers when they apply for jobs. Only a few organizations extend the courtesy of a postcard or letter confirming receipt of an applicant’s resume.
Doesn’t matter whether it’s an entry-level or executive job search … new job or job-change … for-profit or nonprofit … too many organizations do not acknowledge their job applicants.
I’ve heard the excuses before: HR & other departments doing the hiring are short-staffed and/or there are too many applications flooding into the system. But there’s enough technology out there to automate the acknowledgment process.
At the very least, firms can better manage applicants’ expectations by putting a disclaimer in their want ads that tell people “You won’t hear from us at all unless we’re interested in you.” Don’t assume every applicant takes “no news is no news” as a given.
The smart organization can actually create a favorable brand impression by extending the courtesy of communication to its job applicants. Consumers, including prospective employees, judge an organization by how well they’re treated by everyone in the organization they come in contact with. In other words, EVERYONE in the organization impacts the brand. So ignoring job applicants doesn’t do much if you want to be known as an employer-of-choice.
To those involved in the hiring process, listen up: someday YOU may be the one looking for a job who is ignored.
2 replies on “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You”
Thanks for your comment, George. I look forward to reading your post to learn about the other nine sins.
Sybil,
This cultural shift in the disrespect for job applicants began in earnest in the late 90’s dot com rage. Management started feeling superior to their labor forces. It’s a huge mistake. My next blog post is going to be on the 10 greatest sins an organization can make. This is one of them.
George