Rude awakening: treating job applicants courteously will have to become standard operating procedure for employers as the labor market tightens

HR Magazine, Sept, 2004 by Gene J. Koprowski

Keep Applicants Updated

One area that job applicants often complain about--and that employers should be sure to address--is a lack of information regarding their status.

The recent economic uncertainty may have made this problem even more pronounced for applicants because sometimes employers who wanted to hire quickly changed their plans, worried that there might be additional terrorist attacks.

"Many employers were vacillating," says Gerry Murak, president of Murak & Associates, a corporate turnaround consultancy in Williamsville, N.Y. "They would decide that they wanted to hire and place an ad in the paper. And then when an adverse news event was happening--an uprising in Fallujah or the terrorist attacks in Spain--they would change their minds, even though they received hundreds of resumes for the job opening and had interviewed people for the job."

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The problem was that many applicants had no idea what was going on. They were left hanging with no information, which they interpreted as hostile, brusque and unfair treatment by employers, experts say.

"The main thing that applicants hate is when you, the interviewer, assume that you have an unlimited amount of time to pursue candidates, when you elongate the process unnecessarily," says Huling. "When you treat the candidates as if they will always be ready, and you can decide when you will be ready, you have made a big mistake. Companies can never forget that candidates are interviewing them, too."

Experts say there are two key things HR and hiring managers should do immediately after receiving a resume--especially in times of economic uncertainty that increase applicant stress and anxiety: "If you receive a resume, let them know that you received it," says Huling. "And thank them for their interest in the company."

There are other essential things HR professionals should do after an interview is completed. Say an interview goes well, but the candidate isn't the right fit for the job. Market to that person anyway by sending a letter thanking the applicant for taking time to be interviewed and thereby contributing to the company's hiring process, says Huling.

Huling says it is important to continue to update applicants throughout the entire hiring process--until the position is filled or you change your mind and no longer wish to fill it.

"Tell applicants what is happening now," says Huling. "Let them know that 350 other people have applied for the position and that you are still interviewing. That is useful information. Do not leave people hanging, always hoping that they might hear from you."

Huling says that in the nanosecond culture of the Internet age, there is no excuse for failing to communicate with applicants--at the very least by e-mail.

"We should be ashamed if we behave in a way that is not courteous," says Huling. "We are all just people, and each of us is just one decision away from being on the other side of the hiring process. We forget the small, human courtesies that enable us to help each other. It's like the doctor who becomes a patient with cancer. Only then do they understand what kind of doctor they want to be and how patients are treated."