Back in the old days, job seekers typically received letters advising them of the status of their job applications. Now, candidates are lucky to get a rejection letter after an interview, let alone a letter telling them they weren't accepted for an interview.
There are lots of reasons given, some legitimate, some not, for not notifying candidates. Hiring Managers are overwhelmed with applications and email and there are discrimination issues and they need to be careful and so on and so forth.
That said, in my opinion, everyone who interviews for a job should get the courtesy of an email or letter letting them know they weren't hired.
That's why it was refreshing to read in The New York Times (Complaint Box - E-Snub) how Neal Hirshfeld turned the tables on Human Resources when he heard nothing after interviewing for a job.
Neal got revenge. He email the managing editor to say he had accepted the job. That got plenty of action - email messages and frantic phone calls from Human Resources.
I'm with the job seekers who love Neal's story. As he writes "...they tell me they love it, absolutely love it. In fact, it's been something on the order of a collective cheer."
And, for those companies who are lacking it, it's time to put a little courtesy back into the hiring process.
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Good for Neal. We get calls all the time from job seekers wandering what is going on with the job. You would think that with today’s technology that it would be easier to let the job seeker know if they had the job or not. I would think that typing a letter, licking the envelope, addressing, stamping and walking it to the mailbox was more work than
typing up a quick email (even if it was a template email) and getting back to the job seeker so they can more on.
Amen. well said Paul!