The black hole

Question

How often are any of you (who are looking for a new job) disappointed and frustrated by the lack of communication from HR or a recruiter. you have the first screening. then silence.  you follow up once. no reply. again. no reply. I'm in this boat now and I'm taking it so hard!  a simple 'we need more time' or 'thanks but no thanks' .... is that too much to ask?  why do employers do this and what should you do about it?

Sacha Seraydarian · Answer

I empathize with you so much, I too have been looking for a role while currently out of work during the pandemic. I have had the same experience where I have interviewed for a role, followed up and total silence. Being a leader in recruiting all candidates who interview for a role deserve the loop to be closed via email or phone call after the time they have taken in the interview process, and out of respect to the candidate. While leading recruiting teams I have seen some recruiters not follow-up because they don't know how or are uncomfortable to 'pass' on a candidate, the recruiter is too junior to be a full life cycle recruiter,  they are over worked and disorganized(not using the system to help them manage their work), they don't understand the impact of a candidate's experience, & the overall recruiting process is messy and they aren't able to manage the company's(client) expectations and set expectations w/the candidates(customer), finally during this time the recruiting industry got hit hard with layoffs(it always does during recessions) they are probably way under staffed .  None of it is ok..and I have experienced a lot myself.  To the comment on HR/Recruiting believing it is ok to be rude....unfortunately many companies have lost their connection to their employees  as human beings and see them as tools to reach a financial goal...companies have lost touch that that their employees are THE company-I believe this spills over into the candidate experience.  
I am really sorry to learn so many people are experiencing 'ghosting' as part of the interviewing process...especially now.

Christine King · Answer

This is not new behavior from HR departments or Hiring Managers. Unfortunately, some feel the world is their oyster and common courtesy gets thrown out the window. I counsel people to be as proactive as possible without stalking. For example, during the interview ask questions like 'When should I expect to hear from you', or, 'I understand you're so busy, would you like for me to follow up with you at the end of the week?'. As another FGB mentioned, it's critical to keep the search train moving while you're in follow-up mode.

If you're told they'll get back with you, and you haven't heard after about a week, I'd circle back to them.  You can ask questions like, 'Just checking in to see how your search is going and if you have a timeline of when you'll have made your final decision? Would you like for me to check back with you then? Or, you could open the discussion with somethiing like, It was a pleasure meeting with you. I enjoyed hearing about your team and feel I'd be a great fit. I wanted to see if there's any further information I can provide you about my background that could help you make a decision?'

The idea is to keep asking questions without being a pest. Try to have them give you a follow up date so when you ring them back, you can tell the gatekeeper 'so and so' asked you to call.

Best of luck! Keep your chin up, the positivity flowing and you'll land the one you want!!!

Deborah (Debbie) Johnson · Answer

I had a very prominent employer email me for an interview, set up 3 different appointments for interviews and no show for every single one of them. Each time I followed up with concern for the interviewer's welfare.  The first 2 she apologized and rescheduled, the third time crickets.  Very hard to understand.  When I went on the companies website, I saw my application had been marked as not selected.

Laura McCann · Answer

I find the lack of response ridiculous!!  And I am a HR professional!!  I have no problem sending a quick note to candidates and will always respond if they reach out to me directly.  This is one of my pet peeves about other recruiting/HR organizations.

Maria Paula Calvo · Answer

I strongly agree with the fact that this is not Covid related and that this behaviour has been around for many, many years now.  One senior colleague in HR once told me that some recruiters used this behaviour as a supplement to the process since they test through it the candidate´s resilience, their eagerness and drive to go for what the want to achieve, even their patience. I believe we could all acknowledge that nowadays those skills have become more relevant than ever for any candidate aspiring to a role at any level of an organization. However, it is hard to believe that this practice is so spread out and being applied so consistently across companies, hiring firms, and the like! So, on the other end, one thing we can do is to work with our expectation settings and assume from the very beginning that this will happen: if it does´t, it will be a nice and encouraging suprise! And if it does, you do need to set up your on follow-up timeline and decide by yourself how many times you want to retry before getting to accept that either this is not the right opportunity for you and the Universe is preventing from you to make a mistake or that the recriuter does not follow regular protocols for politeness, but as time elapses the possibility that a decision was already made without you on the spot grows exponentially. So do your best, make sure you always use good manners and: Be ready for the best but prepare yourself for the worse! Like that you will save a large portion of disappointment.

Lynne Cogan · Answer

What should they do? It would be nice if they followed up. But ghosting has become a way of life. Besides, you don't have any control over their behavior.

What should you do? (1) Do the appropriate follow-up for wherever you are in the hiring process. (2) Keep looking for a job until you have a signed agreement and have started working.

Anne Van Wagener · Answer

In my experience over the past few years, this is NOT new... even with what I would consider very experienced recruiters. That said, obviously there are more people in the market applying due to the current climate. I recently had 2 rounds of interviews that went really well and was expecting to move on, and then radio silence. It's definitely hard not to take it personally, especially when you're excited/interested/in need, it can be deflating... It's been important for me to personally acknowledge my disappointment and frustration as part of the process, and use it as a way to refine my approach and the kind of companies I'd ideally like to work with. I have also learned who I trust to talk to about my job search... in a nutshell, I'm talking much less to general 'family & friends' and more to people who are good listeners, who are direct, actually helpful and don't gloss over things with well intentioned, but annoying feedback. Thanks for posting this! It came at exactly the right time and was a good reminder that the struggle is real and we all need to support and lift each other up more than ever!

Rebecca · Answer

Hello! I'm sorry you're frustrated. As an HR professional and recruiter myself, I can say that a lot of companies are having to pivot their expectations for roles and deal with internal communication delays themselves, and may not feel they have enough details or enough staff to communicate properly. If you haven't been given any timeline, it's certainly appropriate to follow up and ask for clarity, but at the end of the day all you can do is submit your best application, see if you have contacts in your network who can put in a good word for you (COVID is a good time to be building networks btw!) and keep the search going; it's important to keep submitting and eventually the right opportunity will click.

Becca Carnahan · Answer

It's really tough and very common. Polite and timely follow up is always appropriate but it may not change the employer's behavior or lack of institutional transparency. Keep your job search moving by looking at positions online but focusing more of your time on networking. 65% - 85% of jobs are found through  networking and when you have relationships built at a company you may have a more transparent view into their process. Good luck!

Alyssa Williams · Answer

I feel this, I don't think it's Covid related. I was looking prior to covid and would send good work with crickets all the time! I think Rebecca is right. I don't like to think our network matter that much because I find that bias and unfair, but it sure seems to be the way things work!

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