Your Employment Brand Sucks
I see a lot of articles, blog posts and comments from non-HR job seekers out there that complain about never hearing back from recruiters and hiring managers. Even those that are flown across the country for interviews, put up in hotels and given gift baskets (for crap's sake!) are sometimes left hanging with no offer and no "thanks but no thanks" communication.
Well guess what? It happens when HR recruiters and hiring managers are hiring HR pros too.
The good news about this is, the HR job seeker knows right away that they would not have wanted to work at the communication-challenged company anyways. I mean, if they can't even send a 3 sentence decline letter or email after an interview what else is going on there? Then again, the HR job seeker may lament, "See? This is why they need ME - to improve their employment brand!"
I tend to have the former reaction rather than the latter. Remember the generalist job I blogged about? I had two in-person interviews and a couple of emails back and forth with the hiring manager. Then communication from their side dropped off with no closure. I probably wouldn't have taken the job if offered, but still. Similar things have happened with other jobs I have applied for over the past few months as well.
Something new and different happened in my job search lately that not only surprised me, but really chapped my hide.
I applied for an employee relations position with a well known company with about 40k employees nationwide. I met or exceeded all of their minimum requirements and the description of the job sounded like a great fit. I was contacted for a phone screen and NAILED IT like you wouldn't believe. Most of the questions, of course, related to employee relations situations I have handled in the past. The in-house recruiter loved me. She even went so far as to tell me she really liked my energy and felt my answers were thoughtful and thorough.
Well, hot damn!
Their salary range was on the low side (my minimum requirements were close to the top of the range). The phone screen was longer than most. She told me she would be in touch as soon as the hiring managers reviewed her notes and if I didn't hear from her within a week to call her back. A week goes by. I don't hear from her. I wait a couple more days and call her and leave a voicemail. She calls me back the next day and tells me they just extended an offer to another candidate who had more focused experience in employee relations.
WHAT?
I know not everyone recruits the same way I do, but from her reaction on the phone screen I believed I was a shoe-in for at least an in-person interview. I NEVER compliment candidates on their answers to my questions unless I really, really think they will be a slam dunk for in person interview and I want to woo them. I pride myself in being able to gauge a hiring manager's opinion of a candidate prior to presenting them.
So WTF?
I suppose she either recruits differently, someone who did just as well on the phone screen was willing to take less pay (and they are very concerned about money) or maybe I am just delusional.
Oh, and I never tell a candidate why they weren't selected or what was better about their competitors. It's just too much of a slippery slope in my opinion. That and in my early days of HR I had people actually try to argue with me about it. I say, "We selected a final candidate, extended an offer and it was accepted. We really appreciate the time you took to phone screen/interview with us and wish you the best of luck" either via phone or letter.
Grrr.
Maybe it is me though. Maybe I need to revamp my answers, tailor my examples, prepare a little more.
Maybe I need to go eat a piece of ice cream cake. Yeah! That's it!
20 comments:
This happened to my friend (an HR pro) when he was interviewing as well. All these companies would tell him how great he was and how interested they were. Then he'd lose the job. Personally, I wouldn't do it in an interview either. Even with people I like I don't like to get excited because there's always the background checks and we end up losing a lot of people there.
On to a personal story..
When I was last job searching I interviewed with a department of 3. Things went very poorly between me and one of the interviewers but the rest seemed to like me. At the end of it the HR Manager asked me to promise that I would tell him if I was considering another interview and in turn he would promise to get back to me. He made such a big deal about it that I believed him. Weeks went by and I heard nothing. I called and left a message, he never returned it. I called again and got a hold of him and he said "I'm sorry I'm not sure who you are but we're bring candidates we're in for interviews." I told him I was interviewed at which point he goes "Oh Rachel! We're still doing a few interviews." Three months later (yes 3 months) I got a letter saying I didn't get the job.
I've been guilty of not always doing things quite right myself, but it's usually because the candidate stinks. I *know* that's not the case with you, Wenchie, so I'm with you. WTeff? :>) I can tell you're especially upset since you're going for sweet junk instead of salty!
Rachel - Excellent point about background checks, especially in the human services industry!
'netta - You know me too well...!
I have a philosophical question on this general topic--it's been on my mind recently so I hope you don't mind me squeezing it in. I'm in an academic setting, and we do two interviews (first with the committee, then with higher-ups) and often know the candidates well--they may have been part-timers at our place for years. We always call everyone who does a first interview to tell them if they've moved on, typically within 48 hrs of the interview. The finalists also get a phone call either way. My question: is a phone message okay for the non-hires, or should the bad news be delivered live? Often the people we have to say no to are really, really invested in getting the job and we've known them for years. My thought is that a message is okay; first, if we have to wait until everyone can be reached it will either slow down the process or result in people getting bad news via the grapevine, and second, people don't have to put on a good front when listening to a message but they do when they get bad news personally. (And yes, I have to make these phone calls, so I've got a vested interest here.) The other side would argue that it's a matter of respect--it a cop-out to leave a message when the candidate has invested so much time and effort with us. Academics is its own weird world, I know, but I wonder how the HR specialists might feel about this. Thanks for any thoughts!
Hey Anon, thanks for stopping by the blog!
Personally, I do not leave messages to decline candidates. I leave a message that I need them to call me back.
Why? Because I know if I received a message declining ME I would be bummed I didn't have the chance to interact with the caller and gauge their interest in me for other positions.
Then again, a coworker once told me that I was giving candidates "false hope" by leaving a message for them to call me back.
In the end, whether you voice mail, speak directly, send an email or send a letter I think what matters is the professional courtesy of closing the loop and speaking/writing in a professional manner. It's one of those HR Wench Rules of Life: "Whatever you do, don't be an a-hole".
Hmm, I only ever did rejections via letter - although in a more intimate setting, I can see how a phone call would be more appropriate. I understand the false hope thing with a call back message, although if I was offering a job, I usually said so if I had to leave a message. That usually got them to put some hustle in calling me back.
I am an unemployed HR professional in scenic Michigan. I've been interviewing pretty consistently since I lost my job in January of this year, and I've blogged about my Greatest Hits (Misses?).
My favorite experience was having a panel interview with SEVEN people and then hearing Bupkis. Nada. Zippo. Well, I did get an automatically generated email 3 months after said interview saying that someone else was selected. Nice.
I'm not asking for flowers and a sappy card from potential employers saying "deep condolences for not getting the job." But would it kill ya to send an email?
It sounds like it came down to money. Sometimes no matter how good the person is they will still take the cut in service level for the save in salary.
All in all, a very sad commentary on the state of society.
Also, when I interview people, I NEVER give that great of a feed back unless I'll be hiring them and sending them out to work. To me, it's like dangling a carrot they can't ever reach. Or a Twinkie.
Lisa - Michigan folks are always welcome here! Thanks for stopping by the blog - I will have to check out yours as well!
Heather - I would kill for a Twinkie right now.
A Twinkie of amusement, hopefully. Check out my blog at www.defineservice.com
I'm sure if my HR dept at my old job knew about it, it would have gotten me in to trouble :)
What can I say Wench most HR people, yes even recruiters, are WIMPS! They cannot deal with bad news and avoid giving it. They hope by not calling you will go away and they will NEVER have to give you bad news. And when you call them back they wince when they find out it is you on the phone.
One thing we seldom, if ever, train HR people on is HOW to deliver bad news. I guess we expect because they have such good people skills (snicker) that they will automatically know how to do it.
Wow... Sorry to hear about this. You have a right to be frustrated.
The worst thing that could have been done is what happened. The interviewer crossed the line by making those "favorable" comments to you and then not offering the job.
The reality is there is always someone out there with "more experience".
There is someone out there that is biased.
Sometimes these decisions were made before the interview...
Bummer.
Heather - thanks for the link, I will be checking it out!
Michael - I don't know if *most* HR and/or recruiters are wimps, but I've definitely met some like that. I think a lot of what it is is lack of recruiting strategy. (OMG, did I just say something pro-strategy? Ack!) I think if the "non-responders" were more strategic they would see the need for an employment brand and do whatever they could to market it appropriately (i.e. each applicant is a customer).
Chris - Yes, and there is always someone prettier and thinner too. Oy!
Well sometimes it amounts to people becoming all about number and we all (at least those in HR) that Human Resources no longer has Human Relations.
Depends on the Culture of the company and how they are promoted to society.
Jennifer from Vegas
Jennifer - I think we should just say the heck with it and go out for happy hour!
Such a frustrating story Wench, and I can't tell you how many times my friends and colleagues have experienced something similar. I think at the core of the problem is a lack of personal accountability to the candidate. I say "personal" because many recruiters may have metrics which focus on time to fill versus new hire fit and employee sustainability. There is a balance here but more organizations publicly state a desire to keep a warm applicant pool yet do a crappy job ensuring that these future matches are kept warm and happy during the waiting game. As you suggest, this probably shows the this isn't the best match for you anyway. It also reinforces the common belief that it is truly via personal connections that one secures a job in today's market. Keep up the good fight!
This is so disappointing to read this - I make it my personal mission that every applicant gets closure - every single person who applies for work at my university hears back. Period.
That being said, it's all electronic. We no longer do letters - we send email, finalists not selected receive phone calls from the hiring manager/committee. Those who don't have email will have to log in to see the status of their application.
I work in higher education and 99% of our hiring is done by committee. Sure it takes a while but everyone gets closure.
I too am in Michigan where I don't need to tell you about the unemployment rate. One big mistake I see is the nastiness I receive when notifying candidates of the position selection. Seriously, I get 2-3 nasti-grams a week from candidates not selected.
HR people have LONG memories. I know those people and if they think that I won't remember their nasty emails about not hiring them, well, they are wrong.
Strange huh?
Mark - It's absolutely all about personal responsibility. Couldn't have said it better myself.
Maven - I'm totally fine if I just apply for a job and never get an email or call...but once I have a phone screen and/or in person interview they best be closing the loop with me!! :)
It's interesting that you get so many nasty-grams. As a recruiter I have gotten those, but they have been few and generally far between. Personally, I look at any communication from a company as a chance to market myself for now and for future opportunities. I always wish the selected candidate and the company the best of luck and ask them to keep me in mind for future opportunities, etc. Always leave it on a positive note! :)
Yeah, I had an experiance just like the one you had yourself and I must say it sucks.
I was being inteviewed for a entry level position, and the requirements were so basic I would have expected a quadriplegic to do it. I already told the clown I had worked in the position for close to two years and already knew my stuff.
Then he started getting into more advanced fields. Asking me questions like,"Do you have an applicators license?" Uh no man, and what happened to entry level? Then he starts to go on about sh!t thats not even related to the position as if it matters. He rambles about his personal life as if I met him at the bar. I forgot I was in an interview. I don't want to hear how you aspire to become an engineer you fruitcake I just want the job!!!
1 hour later as I begin shaking the sleep out of my ass I make back home only to find out a week later, that he has considered someone with more extensive experiance? What the hell!!! After sitting across a desk for an entry level job staring at this lame ass for over an hour you think he could've not got my hopes up. At least skip the small talk.
As a Director of Recruiting and having been in the industry for 10+ years, I get a chuckle when people think they have "nailed" a phone/pre-screen or an interview and expect an immediate offer.
There are always two ways to envision your background, experience, and interviewing abilities... either YOUR way... or the Employers! And funny how perception can vary between the two!
All those out of work - Happy Hunting!
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