A friend sent me this text the other day:
Well, no news on my front. Can you believe this company? Early Friday, we agreed on a starting salary and a start date, and they had me complete a New Hire Form.
Then they set up a meeting late Friday titled “Review Job Offer Details.”
That meeting was rescheduled because a VP needed to sign off on the offer paperwork. Then on Tuesday [the following week], they scheduled two more interviews.
I was told that I would be reporting to someone else [other than the first person they’d told my friend about], but that this change wouldn’t affect my offer.
Then on Thursday, I was told that there was no position, only contract (temporary) work.
I haven’t heard from them since.”
A lack of common courtesy — and common sense
I could honestly write a book (maybe I will) about all the lousy treatment employers are dolling out to job applicants these days.
Hey employers! We know it’s still a buyer’s market for talent, but that’s no reason to forgo common courtesy, let alone common sense.
And we know you’re busy, blah, blah, blah, but so is everyone else, including your appli-cants. Plus guess what? Your applicants are also anxious, because looking for a job these days is an anxious proposition.
And if you can’t care about that, consider all the money you’re throwing away on false stops and starts, multiple rounds of interviews, and time spent crafting advertisements, revised job descriptions, and so forth.
You can’t just file this under “the cost of doing business.” Uh huh. This is flat-out waste.
It reflects on your business
Oh, I just had a thought. You don’t actually have a service or product for sale, do you? Because unless it’s gas, water, or electricity, that applicant you just jerked around probably won’t buy it.
And I shudder to think that you might be a non-profit surviving on public donations. Way to turn interest in your organization into financial support for your mission.
In other word, get your act together, please.
Seriously, I’m begging you.