Dear Friends,
I have been in the recruitment industry for some time now and have noticed some peculiar problems faced by consultants and candidates applying for jobs at some of the reputed companies. At first, I thought it must be due to their busy schedules and work pressure to meet the targets. Over the years, I realized that is not the case.
I have met several candidates who complained that the recruiting team members of the companies never revert back. Many candidates were told during the initial Tcon that they would get a call within a specified day. In some cases, the candidates were informed to be ready for the Tcon or face-to-face interview within a certain number of days, which would be confirmed again through mail.
As the due date arrives, no calls or intimations about the date of the interview. When these frustrated candidates - many of whom are senior candidates - call back the company's telephone number, the person at the reception (in most cases a security guard) informs that the recruiter/HR is in a meeting. Some recruiters/HR instruct the reception not to connect any calls to them. Any message left to be passed on to the concerned recruiter/HR is never attended to.
If one is lucky and their call is answered by the concerned recruiter/HR, then begins the journey of a series of promises to get back for an initial Tcon with one of the senior personnel within a certain number of days. When that does not happen, the candidate takes the initiative to know if anything is happening; another story opens up - the hiring manager is traveling, sick, or anything that can buy more time. If you trust them and call back again after a week or 10 days, you might get a reply that the particular position or job is put on hold for some time. Reasons: 1. The company is going through restructuring, hence they want to re-evaluate the said position and come back later if they still need it. 2. Sometimes these on-hold positions are internally filled. 3. And any reason that can be used to shoo away the applicants.
Sometimes when a candidate calls a company recruiter/HR, they are informed that they are in the office but just stepped out for a coffee with their colleagues. When one calls back a little later, one gets another reason. If this process goes on (if the candidate has the patience), he/she will get numerous reasons why the recruiter/HR is not in his cubicle/chamber/seat.
In most cases, the non-accessibility of the HRs/recruiters is the most annoying thing. It seems most of them are there to mislead candidates. In many cases, the job descriptions posted on various portals and websites carry insufficient information, and many candidates are misled due to that. Many have faced embarrassing situations during the interview process where they find that the company is looking for a person with a certain experience and exposure which the candidate does not have. Who is at fault here? Obviously, the recruiters/HRs.
Companies lose worthy candidates in the process. On many occasions, the company either recruits a less worthy candidate or does not hire and wastes valuable time in the process. A job description that spells out the right information or requirements will attract the right candidates and eliminate all unwanted ones in the process. In all cases, the HR department is solely responsible as they do not gather all the required data from the concerned department that is hiring and simply copy-paste an old job description and post it in the company's careers section or on any job portal or share it with their favorite consultants without foreseeing any unfavorable situations in the near future or are simply incompetent to assess any such eventuality.
Many candidates who apply at least deserve a simple reply to their applications. This does not happen even after an initial interaction. I have seen and read so much that HR is a responsible job and without them, a company cannot function efficiently. I personally see the HR department as a liability, cost center, and a parasite that does not contribute any revenue.
Many others here will not agree with me, but these are based on my observations and experiences. Many will try to defend, but reality is very frightening.
I invite everybody for a healthy discussion.
Regards,
Sheela P
From India, Bangalore
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2I have been in the recruitment industry for some time now and have noticed some peculiar problems faced by consultants and candidates applying for jobs at some of the reputed companies. At first, I thought it must be due to their busy schedules and work pressure to meet the targets. Over the years, I realized that is not the case.
I have met several candidates who complained that the recruiting team members of the companies never revert back. Many candidates were told during the initial Tcon that they would get a call within a specified day. In some cases, the candidates were informed to be ready for the Tcon or face-to-face interview within a certain number of days, which would be confirmed again through mail.
As the due date arrives, no calls or intimations about the date of the interview. When these frustrated candidates - many of whom are senior candidates - call back the company's telephone number, the person at the reception (in most cases a security guard) informs that the recruiter/HR is in a meeting. Some recruiters/HR instruct the reception not to connect any calls to them. Any message left to be passed on to the concerned recruiter/HR is never attended to.
If one is lucky and their call is answered by the concerned recruiter/HR, then begins the journey of a series of promises to get back for an initial Tcon with one of the senior personnel within a certain number of days. When that does not happen, the candidate takes the initiative to know if anything is happening; another story opens up - the hiring manager is traveling, sick, or anything that can buy more time. If you trust them and call back again after a week or 10 days, you might get a reply that the particular position or job is put on hold for some time. Reasons: 1. The company is going through restructuring, hence they want to re-evaluate the said position and come back later if they still need it. 2. Sometimes these on-hold positions are internally filled. 3. And any reason that can be used to shoo away the applicants.
Sometimes when a candidate calls a company recruiter/HR, they are informed that they are in the office but just stepped out for a coffee with their colleagues. When one calls back a little later, one gets another reason. If this process goes on (if the candidate has the patience), he/she will get numerous reasons why the recruiter/HR is not in his cubicle/chamber/seat.
In most cases, the non-accessibility of the HRs/recruiters is the most annoying thing. It seems most of them are there to mislead candidates. In many cases, the job descriptions posted on various portals and websites carry insufficient information, and many candidates are misled due to that. Many have faced embarrassing situations during the interview process where they find that the company is looking for a person with a certain experience and exposure which the candidate does not have. Who is at fault here? Obviously, the recruiters/HRs.
Companies lose worthy candidates in the process. On many occasions, the company either recruits a less worthy candidate or does not hire and wastes valuable time in the process. A job description that spells out the right information or requirements will attract the right candidates and eliminate all unwanted ones in the process. In all cases, the HR department is solely responsible as they do not gather all the required data from the concerned department that is hiring and simply copy-paste an old job description and post it in the company's careers section or on any job portal or share it with their favorite consultants without foreseeing any unfavorable situations in the near future or are simply incompetent to assess any such eventuality.
Many candidates who apply at least deserve a simple reply to their applications. This does not happen even after an initial interaction. I have seen and read so much that HR is a responsible job and without them, a company cannot function efficiently. I personally see the HR department as a liability, cost center, and a parasite that does not contribute any revenue.
Many others here will not agree with me, but these are based on my observations and experiences. Many will try to defend, but reality is very frightening.
I invite everybody for a healthy discussion.
Regards,
Sheela P
From India, Bangalore
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Hi Sheela,
Every coin has two faces. You are right to some extent. Even we have to behave sometimes like this, but there are some reasons behind this. Every reason we can't discuss with the candidate.
First of all, every recruiter needs to close some openings in a specific time period, that's why he/she posts jobs and schedules interviews. But a recruiter should conduct a telephonic interview with the candidate to save the candidate's time and money. Initial screening can save time for both.
Secondly, sometimes management or the concerned HOD who took the interview doesn't give the correct and adequate feedback on the candidate. Thus, the recruiter has to wait, and consequently, the candidate has to wait. To avoid this, we can send an email in the evening to all persons and ask for feedback. Rejected candidates should be informed immediately, and profiles on hold or shortlisted should be intimated.
The concern regarding delayed responses is that recruiters play a safe game. They shortlist and offer a candidate, and until he/she joins, they don't put the 2nd and 3rd options on hold; they keep them chasing. I know it's not good.
But it's part of the job. We also face challenges when candidates back out after accepting the offer letter or don't show up after confirming interview timings.
It goes on... It's a cycle!
From India, Mohali
Acknowledge(0)Amend(0)
Every coin has two faces. You are right to some extent. Even we have to behave sometimes like this, but there are some reasons behind this. Every reason we can't discuss with the candidate.
First of all, every recruiter needs to close some openings in a specific time period, that's why he/she posts jobs and schedules interviews. But a recruiter should conduct a telephonic interview with the candidate to save the candidate's time and money. Initial screening can save time for both.
Secondly, sometimes management or the concerned HOD who took the interview doesn't give the correct and adequate feedback on the candidate. Thus, the recruiter has to wait, and consequently, the candidate has to wait. To avoid this, we can send an email in the evening to all persons and ask for feedback. Rejected candidates should be informed immediately, and profiles on hold or shortlisted should be intimated.
The concern regarding delayed responses is that recruiters play a safe game. They shortlist and offer a candidate, and until he/she joins, they don't put the 2nd and 3rd options on hold; they keep them chasing. I know it's not good.
But it's part of the job. We also face challenges when candidates back out after accepting the offer letter or don't show up after confirming interview timings.
It goes on... It's a cycle!
From India, Mohali
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