Thanks but no thanks
A friend of mine was commenting that she went for some interviews recently with a company. (Call them ACME Widgets). She went through a whole lot of trouble preparing for her interviews, researching the company, the people working there and so forth. All the rights moves for someone going to an interview.
After her second interview, one week went by and then another with no response. She sent an email to the interviewer and left a voicemail with no response. I told her that she probably scared them away. Yes, the bruise on my left eye is recovering quite nicely.
In all seriousness, after a couple of phone calls she finally got a hold of the interviewer and he said, "We appreciated your interest but we decided to go with another candidate." No apologies, no explanations for the lack of follow-up. Nothing.
What struck me was that this seems to be happening with alarming frequency. (And the company she interviewed with was a reputable brand.) At dinner the other night, friends commented on the same kind of thing happening to them in the past.
I understand all job postings have the standard "We appreciate all applications but only qualified candidates will be contacted" mantra, as HR departments are stretched to respond to all applicants. Fair enough. But when someone takes the time to interview with you, the very least you can do is reply to them. Yes, even if you decided that hell would freeze over first before you ever hired them.
I told my friend if that was how ACME treats people before they become employees, heaven knows what happens once they become one! As bitter a pill it was to swallow, she was better off elsewhere. Sure enough she landed a senior position at another firm.
As much as we marketers want to monitor what people say about us, our companies and our brands (via website, blogs and so forth) a little consideration or courtesy for others never hurts.
