Picture the scene: middle manager, right side of 50, but with a face that no longer ‘fits’ with his employer of the past 20 years. He’s ‘sent down the road’ with a cheque, and now he needs a job.
His offering is a strong career built on demonstrable, proven success and a blemish-free disciplinary record. To be certain, he pays a CV specialist to ensure his applications fit the exact requirements of prospective employers. He reads self-help pamphlets, researches using the web, and writes personalised letters of introduction. He feels confident and optimistic.
But from this point, the recruitment industry sets out to trample that spirit and reduce an out-of-work candidate’s sense of self-worth to zero by completely neglecting two fundamental cornerstones of civilisation – good manners and basic courtesy. In many cases, it appears to be deliberate policy.
Recruiters simply fail to understand that when our man attends an interview, he has made an emotional and financial investment. And yet he tries in vain to prise any sort of progress report out of you. He leaves messages on your voicemail (where are you all day?) and sends e-mails and letters – and in nine out of 10 cases, he is met with a wall of silence.
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Was he out of step with current thinking when, as a manager, he acknowledged every job applicant and responded to every interviewee with an outcome?
If you are a recruitment manager, please ask yourself this question: is this how you treat job applicants? The world may get the chance to find out when you’re ‘mystery shopped’ in research for the book our jobseeker is now writing. Will his application to join your company be a positive experience, whatever the outcome? He’ll be in touch soon.
