Comments on: Job Seekers Want to Know: “Why Don’t You Call Us Back?”

By: Nemetona

Nemetona — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:35:48 +0000

Just been taking in responses on this contentious subject, as the “interviewee”. I finished a contract in London end of December 09 and have been looking for work since, as a Senior PA/EA. I have come to expect zero response rate from online applications made either through recruiting agencies or directly through the employer. This is just the nature of the beast in my opinion. At speculative CV stage, it’s not too much of a mental hardship if applications are met with complete silence.

However, I heartily agree with most here that, if I make the effort to commute an all-round two and a half hour journey to the City for an interview (which I just have) in which I’ve taken the time to research the company, arrive promptly, look extremely polished (in fact immaculate!) act enthusiastic, ask all the appropriate probing questions…then I expect, no matter how small the company, or limited the “HR” resource, that the interviewer will take all the few minutes required to send a “blanket” email to those in the final outcome NOT considered for the role.

In this case I was informed by the lady whose role was to be vacated next week, so progress needs to be quick, that I would receive an answer today. I haven’t, and have doubts I will at all; considering I even sent the obligatory “thank you” email after the interview, I feel a bit miffed to be honest.

I have been on the other side of the fence (again, small company) and no matter how snowed under, I took the time to put myself in the candidate’s shoes and provide a timely answer.

None of us unemployed want to be in this position; rejection hits just that much harder because often it accompanies financial hardship, insecurity, anxiety, a huge question mark hanging over your employed future you would rather not have. So, in short, yes…if I make the effort to present myself professionally I take a pretty damning view of a company that doesn’t just because the what’s-in-it-for-me doesn’t apply to an unsuccessful candidate.

As insightfully indicated, one “remembers” those companies where discourteous behaviour seemed appropriate to their dealings with candidates. It doesn’t reflect well as a whole…no matter how anyone here objects.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:34:01 +0000

To Bill’s comment:From the recruiter’s viewpoint, there is no reason to call any applicant to tell them they didnt get the job.

Poor Attitude You never know if that applicant you didnt call back will obtain a position where he/she might need the services of a recruiter. Pretty short sighted

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:31:12 +0000

I am being called back for a 6th interview. I have had 1 phone interview with the owner ,1 in office interview with the owner, 1 breakfast meeting with the owner 1 4 hour interview with 6 staff members, had to take a 2 hour personality test then a 2 hour call with the person who is paid to discuss the results with me. The owner said he would call today but nothing. Would should I do to get closure?

By: jerry

jerry — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:21:56 +0000

I’m coming in late on this one – first time on this site, got here googling the question at hand – why don’t they call one way or the other when they say they will…I was inclined to agree with those who say no response should be expected on initial application, but several posts have suggested any employer who is soliciting email resumes should find it relatively simple to auto-respond, and if they are not clever enough to figure out how, they may not deserve to have me. If they can’t handle email traffic they should put an ad in the paper and accept applications by mail. Thats the way it used to be done and replies were pretty much commonplace. Now if you get an interview and they say they will call you back and don’t, you would have to wonder if they had any intention of calling you back in the first place, which of course would mean they were willing to lie to your face, unless they wink when they say it. The post above says don’tquit looking even if you think you had a good interview, and that seems like good advice, but what do you do if you get an offer and accept it, only to have someone you gave up on call you with another offer? Do the hiring companies have any sense of urgency to select the right person, or do they expect people to turn around and un-accept a position in order to take a job with them? Really, communication with applicants is not just polite, it makes good business sense.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:17:54 +0000

Everyone is looking at this from only the applicant’s perspective. From the recruiter’s viewpoint, there is no reason to call any applicant to tell them they didnt get the job. Chances are the applicant wont answer your call, so they have to call back for endless phone tag. Even when you talk to the candidate, they will begin to ask questions on why they didnt get the job a la a bad American Idol audition and there are people out there that are looking for any reason to file a lawsuit. And finally, the recruiter’s job is to hire the best candidate in the shortest amount of time while keeping the company on solid legal grounds. Our customers are not applicants, but the company and hiring managers. In other words, recruiters view applicants like you view salespeople. We dont follow up for the same reasons you dont follow up with telemarketers, car salesmen, etc plus fear of legal complaints if the applicant doesnt agree with the reason not to hire them. My suggestion: Dont stop looking for jobs just because you think you had a good interview. You must keep searching at 100% just in case someone else is chosen.

By: Pat

Pat — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:48:21 +0000

COMPLETELY understand not contacting all people who APPLIED for a job, but recently my wife had two in-person interviews with two different companies and never heard a word one way or another from EITHER. Certainly a short “thanks, but we’re going in a different direction” call can’t be THAT time-consuming. It’s 30 seconds, people! Again, I would expect this of people who INTERVIEW, not everyone who APPLIES.

Interesting, also — one job was through a recruiter. A couple days after the wife was promised a response there was a job posted on craigslist that sounded A LOT like the job she had just interviewed for. Right area of town, right size company, right responsibilies, even the right software package. Now we’re just thinking the company wanted to get out of paying the recruiter and just tried to hire on their own.

By: Jon

Jon — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:05:19 +0000

well i went on an interview recently and the hiring mgr was 1/2hr late! then as he apologized he wanted to stop at the cafe for some food!? this is a huge corporation so I just rolled with it. then we sat in the cafe to conduct the interview. i was shocked. she asked maybe 2 behavioral questions and the rest of the time was spent explaining the job duties and small talk. I asked 4 questions that took her about 1/2hr+ to answer but I got the “HR or myself will call you next week either way” nothing ever happened. but at the same time I was still applying and going on job interviews so I didn’t dwell on it. But i have to say out of all the job interviews only 5 companies out of 12 RETURNED A CALL TO LET ME KNOW I DID NOT MAKE THE CUT. I landed but come on. I guess its best practice to not respond to any applicants. And some of these companies I’ve gone on second interviews and again NO RESPONSE. its just how it is now a days so I guess we must accept as there is no such thing as courtesy today. Its a bad market, way too many people out of jobs, too much competition. There is no room for being courteous. We just gotta “roll with it” and “press on” and never look back.

By: Maurice

Maurice — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:15:24 +0000

That should have said “do not apply”

By: Maurice

Maurice — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:14:33 +0000

TIPS FOR RECRUITERS!
1) Set an auto reply saying that due to the high volume you will only contact serious prospects, this way you manage expectations and avoid frustration
2) Be clear and strict in your ads what you look for, i.e. something like:
“Please do you apply if:
- you are not fluent in French
- have not managed budgets in excess of £1M
- etc.”
This would limit the number of applicants, and allows you to be more personal with the genuine applicants.

By: Unemployed Marine

Unemployed Marine — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:25:50 +0000

What I have found is after you have dedicated time and effort to write your resume, get a good cover letter, show up for your interview and have the said interviewers walk you through their company, giving great feed back about your behalf —

— telling you later that they either decided their budget couldn’t afford to hire me OR they outright tell you after providing security checks on their own budget that someone they thought walked off — came back and so you don’t have the position.

This has happened to me three times in the Memphis area — and I’m about praying for work at the moment.