Sunday, November 18, 2007

The Major Complaints from Job Hunters

Having been in the search business for more than 35 years (gasp), I have heard a lot of extremely funny things from job hunters. Like the one from the person who wanted to change jobs so that he could get home earlier to take his dogs for a run (take resume; place in garbage). Or the one who wanted to change firms to end an affair.

Yet, in the midst of the applicant stupidity I often hear, there are a few useful things that as an employer you can offer.

1. A sense of your timetable for making a decision. It is useful to a job hunter that you are interested in to know that first round interviews will take three weeks; you might discover at that point that the person is midway through second rounds at a competitor with a comparable role and adjust your plans or manage your departments expectations (I am not suggesting that you must change your plans; I believe that all information is useful and this helps you get useful information).

2. Let them know if your timetable changes. Make a quick call of email to a candidate you are interested in to let them know if there is a change in the timetable.

"I just wanted you to know that we will be back to you in one more week with our plans for moving forward. The delay was caused by a (vacation, a desire to meet with an internal candidate, an introduction that was made that your manager wanted to assess)."

3. Give Constructive Feedback for Why You've Chosen Someone Else. The feedback "too light" has no meaning. Deficiency in a particular skill required, concern about "fit," except in cases where you are rejecting an individual from a diverse population, divergent leadership style are valid reasons.

Observing these three courtesies (and many others) will help your organization foster an environment of being a fair and courteous employer and desirable in the marketplace.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
 Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.

Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series

Plus

Posted by at
Labels: , , ,