Tia Torch on Monday 12/03/2012 at 12:50 PM
I work with adults with disabilities and although my clients are those that are competatively placed, they tell me what they have gone through when they meet the employer. Some of the clients disclose others do not but many of the stories are the same.
I find it deplorable that the people who are interviewing have such poor professional behavior, I often tell my clients good thing they found out about the culture at the business and gives them thought as to whether they would want to work in such an environment.
Brian Pillsbury on Sunday 01/20/2013 at 10:17 AM
Great article. While many employers are conscientious re: how applicants are treated, there are several others who steamroll applicants. I've often been struck by the hypocrisy that can occur in some hiring situations. Employers expect candidates to be available, responsive, polite, etc., yet they don't always return the favor. A colleague of mine always reminds us that part of our job when employing people is to make the candidate want to work for us. I have definitely been on the other side where I didn't feel welcome or valued at all during the process. Incidentally, Alice, I'd love to follow you on twitter. I didn't see an account for you, though.
Benjamin Neeley on Saturday 12/01/2012 at 04:04 PM
This is a great article and I couldn't agree more. I managed a corporate recruiting department for a number of years prior to returning to graduate school to pursue career counseling. I made it a priority to set up systems and processes for notifying applicants of where they were in the process. Besides being good business practice, it is also the right thing to do as a human being. I can't tell you how many applicants thanked me for putting forth this effort. If your organization uses an applicant tracking system, it is easy to set up template e-mails to notify individuals of their status. We had about 7 or 8 different e-mail templates we could use depending on candidate disposition. All it took was two or three clicks to thank unqualified applicants for their interest, and keep candidates in the interviewing process informed of their status. I was proud of these procedures, because, like so many of us, I know what it feels like to not hear back from an organization following an application or, worse yet, an interview. The real challenge may be convincing upper-level management of the importance of implementing these follow-up procedures. I certainly heard once or twice "why are you spending time communicating with unqualified applicants?" This article outlines some great arguments. On a side note, I just joined the NCDA and am happy to be here! Great article!