The biggest frustration for any job seeker is when a job application is made and no response is received. This applies to whether the original application is made via a recruitment agency or direct to the Company. Ask anybody looking for a job and they will be able to recount to you a story or two or three and more of when this has happened to them.
And I am in that boat as well. This edition of the blog is not a rant about recruiters or Companies but a plea for professionals to be aware of their responsibilities to their customers - the person looking for a job.
I totally understand that when there is a vacancy in the current climate there will be considerable interest shown by applicants. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Well you know what I mean.
But in these times of electronic information exchange it doesn't take an awful lot of work to send off an email to a bunch of people who have not been successful this time around and won't be invited for interview. You never know the people you have selected for the first round of interviews might not come up to the specification and there is a "hidden gem" in those other applicants.
I've been tracking my responses from businesses and recruiters and, to be fair, recruiters generally have been good to excellent in terms of keeping me up to date with my applications. Indeed, some even phone me to give me personal updates - now that is fantastic customer relations. These recruiters know that at some point Iain will be back in work and will remember how he has been treated and maybe there will be an ongoing relationship - yes you will know it as business development activity.
But on the other hand, many companies don't answer at all. Those that have the online recruitment application processes will automatically generate a receipt of an application but you never hear anything else. I have a specific example of applying for a job, hearing nothing else about it and then seeing it advertised again!!!
What do I do? Apply again? Assume I've been unsuccessful? Forget about it?
Guess what - this business to which I refer has just been shortlisted for a Recruitment Award.
Ok maybe this did turn into a wee bit more of a vent of my spleen than I initially intended but there you go. My message is that we still have the vast majority of recruiters and businesses performing well in their recruitment/customer processes but a small minority let them down. So it would be wrong to tar these groups as all the same and no good. They are predominantly excellent or, at least, well on their way to excellence.
As always please feel free to comment, and share with others. And, of course, look at my LinkedIn profile and contact me to discuss any HR roles or opportunities for me to get involved with your business.
(c) Iain Williamson 2012
I know recruiters are time bound, but I think alot of it comes down to nailing down the specific requirements of the job so people can de-select themselves. If the job requires specific industry experience (or some other key criteria), say so. Yes there will be people that ignore that crieria, but then they are the ones that shouldn't complain if they don't get a response! If you can't offer what it asks for on the tin, don't apply! Yours humbly opinionated!
ReplyDeleteAs long as we are products to sell by agencies we will be treated as such. We should guide colleagues to agencies which are good; recruiting companies will follow. May I give a mention to Lisa Wormald at Harvey Nash for candidates and companies alike.
ReplyDeleteThere is no excuse for ignorance - even if people have applied in hope rather than judgement.
I totally understand your frustration Iain and would happily get on my soap box about this subject. At the start of the recession we started to get quadruple the level of responses to adverts. We had let go of our Team Administrator and our team were stretched and stressed. Our competitors and clients were putting disclaimers on their adverts stating "If you do not hear from us in 48 hrs, please assume your application has been unsuccessful". Dilemma! Candidate care has always been the core value that we work to and my view is that every candidate experience should be a good one. We don't always get it right but we strive to treat everyone as we would hope to be treated ourselves. Thanks Rob for the mention.
ReplyDelete