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Archive for hiring manager

The Ghost is not in the Machine, it’s in the Hiring Process!

August 29th, 2016

The Ghost is not in the Machine, it’s in the Hiring Process!

The term Ghosting has become quite popular, and a common term now utilized throughout the dating world.  Even The Business Insider defines it as “the act of cutting off all contact with someone you’re romantically involved with, without offering an explanation.”  Unfortunately, this term is now bandied about in describing the behavior of a company or recruitment firm that interviews a candidate and then never contacts them back about the outcome.

The job of hiring is difficult and takes a great deal of time and energy by those involved, but so does the job search.  Imagine being out of a job for several months, applying to potentially hundreds of jobs, and getting few interviews.  However, you are excited about those interviews you do receive, that is, until there is no follow up, no call, no letter, and ultimately no response of any kind.  How would you feel?

There is never, never, an excuse for ignoring candidates and just leaving them hanging, refusing to call them back.  There is also no excuse for the following:  “if we decide to interview you, we will call you.”  What has happened to civility in the job hunt?  Recruiters, headhunters, HR, hiring managers, or whoever it is doing the hiring or contacting of candidates has a lot of explaining to do.  You simply won’t, or are too lazy, to get back with those you have interviewed.  We aren’t talking about the Applicant Tracking System and the lack of response there (don’t even get me started on that subject), but we are talking about the common courtesy you should show candidates YOU called for phone interviews, or better yet, interviewed in person.

While I understand it can be awkward to tell jobseekers they weren’t selected for a position, you still owe them a call.  They care greatly, and deserve to be notified of the outcome.  However, you choose to leave them hanging, not returning calls, and are, should I say it, rude, if they do happen to catch up to you via phone.  You started this journey – you advertised the job, they spent an hour or more on your system applying for it, you phoned them, you interviewed them, it is your job to get back with them and give them closure!

The Ghost is not in the Machine, it’s in the Hiring Process!

How about we come up with an easy way to give people the unpleasant news?  This doesn’t mean they are going to like being told no, but the candidate will surely appreciate the gesture of a call.  Here is just one example that can leave a very positive impression:

“We really enjoyed getting to know you, and wanted to get back with you as soon as possible.  We had a candidate with more of the particular experience we needed, and while you weren’t selected for this position, you should definitely apply in the future for other positions with our organization.  Thank you so much for your interest in our company.”

Short, sweet, tells them someone else has been hired, encourages them to keep applying.  This person will now go and say nice things about your company, and your follow up skills.

Ghost them instead, and they will most likely no longer apply for any job at your company, and will gladly spread the word about how you treated them.  This is the case with three of my clients within the last month who were promised a call back about the next steps within days (not weeks).  Every one of them had the experience of being called, being brought in for an interview or extensively interviewed over the phone recently, and then nothing, just silence.  Each followed up, and each received no response.  This didn’t happen over a two day period, this is over the last month.

The Ghost is not in the Machine, it’s in the Hiring Process!

I then hear a lot of my recruitment and HR colleagues saying they don’t understand why jobseekers say bad things about their company online.  However, you are making it more difficult for you and your company when the candidates are treated as if they aren’t important enough for a short phone call.

Yes, sometimes the candidate wants to hear why they didn’t get hired in more detail.  Just tell them the other person had more experience and don’t get into the subject of what they can do better unless you are a retained or contingency recruiter advising them for a future, potential position.  Let the jobseeker know again that you are encouraging them to continue to apply for jobs of interest, and wish them great success.

Leaving people hanging is just impolite.  Help a candidate out and give them a call to tell them yes or no, or keep them updated on the process when it takes longer than expected – it will make you feel better, and help them to move on.

 

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses.  After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm.  Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals.  She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 50-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area.  She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Human Resources, Job Search
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Respect the Jobseeker’s Valuable Time

August 23rd, 2013
Respect the Jobseeker's Valuable Time

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Whether my clients are discussing their frustrations with the current job search environment, or seminar, workshop and career fair attendees are venting, some complaints remain constant, and one of those complaints is “why are companies wasting my time?”  I know organizations are busier than ever, and employee and management hours have increased, but if you are going to take the time to write a job ad, put that ad on your website, job board, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., or gather referrals from employees, seek out retained recruitment firms, or publicize it in any way that includes collecting resumes – then review the resumes, do interviews and hire someone!!!

Would you like to know why jobseekers call and “bother” you about your job openings?  It’s rarely the common assumption of desperation or anxiety issues – it’s because they receive no answers and would like to know something… anything.  This is both a lack of decision-making and a disregard for jobseeker time and energy by the organizations that put these ads out there and then don’t follow through.  I literally just received a call from one of my clients about a local organization which put an ad on their site for a specific job months ago.  This particular job is a great fit for my clients’ experience, but they can’t even get a group of employees together to review resumes to set interviews.  My client is careful about NOT bugging them, only calling every few weeks to check on the progress, but this client also needs to change their focus on this organization if the job is filled or the interview process has already started.  And let’s not even get started on companies refusing to let jobseekers know by a simple email if a job has been filled for which they applied.

Hiring Managers, HR Managers and Recruiters tell me that they are annoyed by jobseekers calling to check on whether jobs are filled – well right back at you ladies and gentlemen.  Having pointedly called you out, please don’t think I am unsympathetic to your plight.  As anyone who reads my blog, LinkedIn profile, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook posts, goes to my seminars, etc., knows, I’m a former HR Director.  Our company never put an ad out that didn’t include evaluation of resumes (and this was pre-ATS or Applicant Tracking System, for the company), interviews and then hiring someone within a reasonable amount of time (weeks, not months)!  Furthermore, I am still involved in HR, advising organizations to facilitate their job search process, including interview and selection of candidates, so I am keenly aware of the issues around job search, the ATS systems, and time limitations. You’re crazy busy, I understand, but you’re contributing to the very issue you complain about consistently.  Processes must be established to help eliminate this problem, making your job easier and offering the due respect that jobseekers deserve.

If a jobseeker spends what can be an hour or more to fill out all of your ATS system requirements, and expend time and energy to personalize their resume and cover letter, shouldn’t you offer them the respect of completing the job search process in a realistic time period.  Shouldn’t you follow up and let them know the outcome with a “Dear John” email if they aren’t selected for interview.  Every company I have assisted in the job search process knows up front that this will be how their process will progress – no stalling, no excuses, no posting of fake jobs or jobs for which you don’t have permission to hire yet, no complaining about jobseekers checking on interview and hiring status, and… a follow up email will go to all candidates who applied regardless of receiving an interview.  I will even help the company craft a simple email template that can be sent to all candidates not selected for the available position (interview or no interview).

This isn’t rocket science and the disrespect shown is costing you good candidates.   Applicants talk to other potential applicants and do tell them how shabbily they were treated.  The ill-treatment of jobseekers reflects on your company poorly, and this information gets passed around to others, and many of those jobseekers may choose not to apply to your company.  I hear candidates talking about this at career fairs all the time, and the other jobseekers often say they won’t consider that organization anymore because it is most likely symptomatic of the overall treatment of employees. While you grumble that you cannot find qualified applicants, some of those qualified jobseekers have decided your company isn’t worth the time for an application – as their time will be wasted with a litany of excuses, you will simply ignore them, or won’t treat them appropriately as employees.  Despite the fact most jobseekers worry a great deal about finding a position, people will only put up with so much before they don’t apply to your job postings any longer or never apply in the first place.

So, why not make your life a bit less problematic as an employer, and treat the jobseekers with the respect they deserve:

–Don’t put out any ad for an employee without a plan for reviewing of resumes, holding interviews and making a hiring decision within a realistic period of time – meaning one to three months at the most.

–Do make your ATS system user friendly and stop asking so many questions that tell you very little to nothing.  Instead, ask three or four specific questions that will give you real information about candidate qualifications for the actual job along with having them attach a resume AND cover letter.

–Do send candidates who don’t make the interview cut and those that do but aren’t your chosen hire a simple email or letter stating that you have “gone in another direction,” decided on another candidate with more experience,” etc.

–Answer the phone or call back those that contact you when you are slow to interview and hire.  All you have to say is you will send them an email or letter if they aren’t selected and call them directly if they are chosen to interview.

Simplify the hiring process by following the above suggestions.  My corporate clients do, and there are zero complaints.  Candidates have even sent them thank you letters or left thank you phone messages for actually responding so their job search time can be spent wisely.  Ultimately the respect you show a potential employee will pay huge dividends far beyond that individual’s experience and your time spent ensuring a quality outcome.

Categories Job Search
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