Temp firm's rudeness came home to roost

HR Magazine, Dec, 2004 by Jim Reitz

I couldn't agree more with your September article "Rude Awakening" about the right way to treat job applicants. I was especially tickled about the individual who went on to found a firm that directly competed with the ad agency that had treated him shabbily during his job interview.

I also had an opportunity to teach a similar lesson to a firm. During a period of unemployment several years ago, I interviewed at a very well-known temporary agency, not once but twice, each time for a different job within their organization. Both times, I had the rudest, most insensitive job interview experiences anyone ever had to endure. (No, I didn't learn my lesson the first time because I figured it had to be an "off" day.)

The second interview was conducted by no less than the director of HR! Well, no more than a couple of years later, guess who attempted to solicit my high-volume (100-plus) temporary help business at the company where I wound up as director of HR? I wrote them a letter reminding them who I was and that I would never do business with any organization that treated people in the manner I was treated. Like the message in your article, I explained that they needed to consider that today's job applicant may be tomorrow's reference or potential source of business. I closed by relating how much revenue our current temporary vendor was receiving from us (seven figures annually) and told them to consider this the cost of doing business--their way.

Cruel? You bet, but score one for everyone who has ever had to endure this type of ignorance in response to their honest attempts to find a job.

Jim Reitz

Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

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