Recruiters, I’m talking to you/us.
I have a confession to make, I have ghosted candidates in the past. Emails and phone calls asking for follow-up have gone unanswered. I’ve sent short notes with little detail about why they didn’t get the job. Thankfully over the years (20 in TA) I’ve matured and as I shifted into leadership positions made sure my teams followed up and consistently provided some level of feedback to candidates. It is important for me to hire team members with high emotional intelligence (EQ) in order to ensure empathy is at the forefront of the candidate experience they provide.
Personally, this fall I experienced my third layoff in the tech industry; not all, but some of my experiences echoed my old behaviors (what goes around comes around), such as getting a “thanks but no thanks” note on Thanksgiving day or getting a rejection note within seconds of applying (must be a fast reader). A number of people affected by the current spate of tech layoffs have shared their many similar or even worse experiences with in-house and external recruiters.
Candidates, you need to understand there are several reasons for this type of behavior, not excuses, but realities.
- Burnout is real in TA and can impact someone’s ability to feel empathy and/or execute their jobs in an efficient and timely manner
- Underresourced is a very big and common challenge within TA orgs which for high volume roles can make it hard to follow up with everyone consistently.
- Feedback at times can be limited from a hiring manager which trickles down to what the Recruiter can provide to the candidate.
Recruiters, with advances in Applicant Tracking System technology, it’s easier than ever (if set up correctly) for you to set up processes that can provide a better experience for applicants and candidates when it comes to feedback, scheduling, etc.
Your reputation should be everything to you. Every time you provide a positive experience either by placing someone or just giving feedback on their resume and/or networking advice, you build trust and put good karma out into the world.
Being out of work and looking for a new job is stressful enough. It’s tough out there for many people, so let’s give everyone a little grace. Try to be an empathetic, positive force in the job market and I promise the rewards will come back to you tenfold!
