EXPERT WARNS EMPLOYERS: ‘BLANKING FAILED APPLICANTS IS REDUCING YOUR PROFITS’
Companies who claim they only have time to reply to successful candidates are risking the reputation of their brand, an industry expert has claimed.
Will Shepherd, Managing Director of recruitment specialists PPS Works, warned that arrogant attitudes towards unsuccessful candidates are costing employers custom – as ignored applicants punish them by shopping with their competitors in future.
“If a young graduate invested several hours applying to one of the big supermarkets and felt hurt by a lack of courtesy, you could see the competitor finding a new customer by this channel,” Shepherd explained. “We all know consumers can be very fickle and poor treatment is a good reason to spend elsewhere.”
He also warned recruiters not to use the current ‘buyers market’ as an excuse for dismissing the hard work that candidates put in to their applications.
“The difficult jobs market means employers really do have the pick of the cream of the crop right now, but they should treat with caution those who do not make the cut.
“Whist job applicants realise they are not going to get every job they go after, they will have invested a substantial amount of their time in job hunting, which is an arduous process. Many will feel they are within their rights to expect at least some form of communication thanking them for their interest.”
Attacking the typical recruiter response that replying to everyone is simply too time-consuming, Shepherd pointed out that new technology mean there is now no excuse.
“If a company has invested in an Applicant Tracking System, then to properly reject a couple of thousand candidates would cost no more than a couple of hundred pounds,” he said.
The alternative – blanking them – could prove far more costly than this in the long-term. “The invisible impact if you don’t let applicants down gently could have a big financial impact, even over a short period,” Shepherd warned.
The expert’s message is clear – recruiters must realise that poor treatment of candidates is not in their company’s best interests.
“There can be no doubt that showing respect for the candidate from the start can only help organisations strengthen their brand,” he said. “It is an issue that should be taken far more seriously.”
*Do you wish recruiters were more polite?
What’s the worst experience you’ve ever had when applying for a job? And the best?
The worst experience I had was with a small wealth management firm that advertised the position of tax broker for which I have applied but never heard of my application status even after the deadline was closed. One month ago I found advertisement for this position on the same website and it is only 2 month passed since the deadline for it was closed. So, why not send me e-mail telling me that I am not the candidate they are looking for!!!
Companies used to actually tell you that you hadn’t been successful? :O Though seriously, how hard is – at a minimum – an automated rejection email, rather than “If you don’t hear from us after X months…”
Yes, they did. And you’re right – it sounds positively quaint now!
To be fair, I have a had the odd rejection letter (from an admin post in the local paper and a council grad scheme, for example) and automated e-mail rejections. But it’s still a very small minority of recruiters who make even that tiny effort.
I recently applied for a role via the CV and covering letter route, which was requested. After a week of submitting the application, I followed up with an e-mail to check on progress. It’s now been a month since initial application, and I’ve still not heard back! I feel that’s incredibly rude to not even give an acknowledgement – I feel it’s definitely tainted my impression of the company.
I think it is absolutely disgusting the way job seekers are being treated these days. I don’t care how busy employers are it takes less than one minute to send a simple email saying I’m sorry you were unsuccessful. I understand they receive possibly hundreds of applications for one position and I do not expect them to email each and every single one of those people, however the select few that they have actually chosen to come in for an interview well don’t we deserve at least a simple email letting us know we were unsuccessful? They obviously have no understanding of how excruitiating it is waiting to hear back from a company you have interviewed with and even when over a week or two of time has lapsed we still have the pathetic hope they perhaps we still might have a chance of being offered the position. It’s funny how you people hiring employees are able to persistently call and email me to arrange interviews yet when I send you an email following up from the interview you just ignore me. You are absolutely pathetic scum and you all think you are so high above the people you are interviewing. I hope karma does in fact exist and one day you receive yours.