Janell interviewed for the perfect job three times. The hiring manager loved her. The last step was a courtesy approval from the VP.
That was in mid-June. Janell followed up regularly as she should, persistent but not a pest. After about six weeks the hiring manager stopped responding. Finally eight weeks after her final interview Janell noticed the job was reposted with a different title.
Evidently Janell was not getting a job offer although no one told the candidate.
After analyzing the two postings, it seemed the new posting asked for an additional certification that Janell does not have.
Janell’s experience raises some important questions about the hiring process:
• Why did it take eight weeks to make a decision?
• Why didn’t anyone get back to the candidate?
• Why did the qualifications change when the job was reposted?
• Why didn’t the organization know what they wanted before they started interviewing three months earlier?
• How can the organization justify having the position vacant for so long? Isn’t that position important to the organization?
• What will Janell tell her friends and family about an organization that treats candidates like this? Think she is a raving fan? Will she have good things to say on social media?
• What is the impact on that organization’s brand if they treat candidates like this?
The hiring process in many organizations contains flaws like this. Candidates complain bitterly about the hiring experience. It takes too long. Hiring managers don’t know what they want. No one gets back to the candidates who are sitting on the edge of their chairs waiting to hear some good news.
We are not asking for the world. Just simple communication. Basic common courtesy.
Without even the most basic common courtesy, these kinds of experiences hit the organization’s brand broadside. It takes longer to hire when candidates step away from an inconsiderate hiring process or the word spreads outside the company. Productivity is impacted.
When I moved to Ohio years ago I remember other candidates advising me to stay away from the three P’s, three companies whose names begin with “P” who were notorious for long hiring process and bad employee treatment.
You don’t have to treat candidates like this. Be aware of how your hiring process impacts candidates. Be considerate. Communicate with candidates. Know what you want. Save yourself the hassle of having positions open too long and candidates talking smack behind your back.
We can help you evaluate your hiring process from the candidates’ point of view. Just drop me a line at Katherine@InterviewDoc.com or call me at 330-495-2337.
Read Hiring Process Potholes and the other informative articles in this issue of Soar to Success magazine.
