I’ve been doing a study for the past few months with several friends on how companies respond to job inquiries.

With the economic environment the way it is, I want to be able to share this information with the groups I manage to better help those individuals secure positions that make sense for them.

I’ve been encountering several very disconcerting behaviors during this time and any company out there that has a “talent acquisition team” or who uses generic people to do their interviewing (screening, etc.), you need to read this.

Here are some major issues I’ve personally encountered.

The company uses a general Talent Acquisition Specialist.

Who happens to have absolutely no idea at all about specialty IT or media positions.

If the person interviewing for a Social Media Manager position doesn’t know what social media is or how it’s used, they’re useless as an interviewer.

The company doesn’t permit the recording of the call.

This means the person on the other end not only doesn’t know what you’re saying but is also probably writing down the wrong things, which will likely get you tossed in the trash even if you’re perfect for the position.

Missouri is a one-party state, if you’re here (or any other state), just say that you want to record the call so you can be sure not to miss anything.

The company doesn’t have a proper follow up procedure in place.

If you call someone and they call you back and then you ghost out on them (don’t return any communication), it reflects very poorly on your company.

Take a minute to follow up with each person to say that you’ve hired someone else, canned the position, whatever.  You’re burning bridges otherwise.

The company uses generic e-mail addresses and doesn’t have the sender include a signature.

This was a funny experience, I was actually contacted out of the blue by someone who saw my resume online, their e-mail said:

We’d like to discuss an open position with you, please call us at your earliest convenience, plan for 10-15 minutes for this call.

Recruiter 3

Notice, there’s no phone number.  So how exactly was I supposed to call back to tell them that I wasn’t interested?  Even though I’m not interested I’ll still contact them in case I am ever interested in the future or in case I know someone and can refer them.   So what I did was I looked up the recruiter’s e-mail address online (via the other recruiting posts she posted).  And they refused to get back to me.

Then, when they did send me a new e-mail (with a phone number) the recruiter tried to pass it off like it was a computer glitch and the first e-mail should have said that they weren’t interested in me … um, if you contacted me, you’re interested.  Not the computer.

All of this made me think so much less of the company that even if I was looking and they offered me a job, I would refuse.

The company expects the world for $25,000 / year.

This speaks to the item below as well, if you can’t be bothered to look up current salaries, then don’t post the position.

And when you do post it, give a proper salary, benefits, and perks.

Don’t screw your potential biggest asset.

The company asks the candidate how much this position should pay.

If the recruiter and company can’t be bothered to look up current salaries for the position they’re offering then they shouldn’t offer the job.

This is a BS move for recruiters to do that pigeon hole’s the candidate, “What do you think you should make for this job???”

The company asks the recruiter to ask how much the candidate is currently making.

Did you know that almost every company out there has a confidentiality clause in the contract you sign when you’re hired that says you won’t reveal your salary or compensation or benefits to anyone?
Company and recruiters stop asking this.  And don’t say, “Well, I’m going to write down that you refused to disclose your salary.” If you have a confidentiality clause and I break it, I’m in trouble.  Same goes for any company I work for.

The company has the candidate go through several interviews to get to the point where they might be considered.

How rude! You expect this person to give up all of their time for you to probe them?  If you like them and they have the skills, and have demonstrated the skills, hire them in on a Right-to-Hire basis.  No benefits, very little paperwork, you get them working with you for 3-6 months and hire them as a full time employee if they do well.

Candidates aren’t show dogs, don’t make them jump through hoops.  Their time is just as valuable as yours.

The company requires a degree.

Read my article about Degree vs Skills. Degrees these days are useless unless you’re a Doctor or Lawyer.

Can you honestly tell me you’d take someone fresh out of school with no experience but who has a degree over someone with 10 years in the field but no degree?

Summary

That should give you an idea of some of the horrible things that are currently happening in job recruiting that are preventing really great people from being hired.

At this rate, it’s no wonder there are a lot of amazing candidates out there with no job prospects.  Especially those in the high end tech field.  You wouldn’t have a janitor interview a surgeon for a job, would you?  So why are companies doing what they’re doing?