January 7, 2010

Is the 'call-back' an endangered species?

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I got an e-mail from a long-suffering job seeker the other day that is a clear sign of our times--only I can't quite tell if it's good or bad.

"Somebody actually called me back to tell me I was no longer under consideration!" chirped the job seeker, who I'll call Phil (not his real name). The fact that he was turned down for the position he had applied for wasn't Phil's point. It was the way the news was delivered--a call-back from a real, live person--that prompted the exclamation point.

"As you know, job hunters today are boggled at how impersonal the job application process is these days," Phil wrote. "With job-posting websites, automated resume screening technology and ambiguous application tracking software, to actually hear a hiring manager's voice can be an absolute thrill."

For months, Phil, like so many other local engineers, has been looking for a job in the aviation industry. This particular call-back, which came from a defense contractor, was made as a courtesy to let Phil know that the position had attracted too many applicants who better fit the contractor's needs. "It was amazing!" Phil wrote. "In six months, the best I had received was an e-mail stating that the company wasn't in a position to hire."

Such exuberance over not being hired speaks volumes about the sad state of communication that often exists between desperate job applicants and overwhelmed HR departments. For those out of work, it's bad enough to have to sell your personal brand 24/7 to everyone you meet every day while your nest egg shrivels. To then be ignored entirely after you have sent in your application can take an emotional toll on the job seeker over time.

In my own recent experience, the only two times I can recall when I got a personal call-back to let me know I hadn't made the cut was after a second interview had been made. To get such polite and considerate treatment without having an interview or a personal meeting is truly rare.

"For the masses who are feeling alienated and unloved in a world of impersonal job hunting, this story is almost heroic," Phil added.

So what is your experience with call-backs? Is Phil's story a sign that hiring managers are making more of an effort to treat applicants like human beings? Or is this just an anomaly? Please share with me any anecdotes you have about how hiring managers have treated you. (And let's hope that next time Phil can be happy in a less ironic way.)

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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5 Comments

Debbie Y on January 10, 2010 4:23 PM | Reply

Phil speaks the truth LOUD & CLEAR. People are doing the hiring are just not responding to those of us who are putting our all out there day after day. And, I find it quite ironic when the posting asks for 'excellent customer service skills' and yet, there isn't common courtesy to let the applicant know they are out of the running. I find it hard to believe they are too busy to make a phone call....are they afraid of the response they may get from the applicant? Why, it this job market are people forgetting the 'people skills' that can be so important to those of us searching, searching, searching??? It's a very sad reality in these desparate times.
And, it's ok if no one gets back to me....

Garrett on January 10, 2010 10:49 PM | Reply

I really feel your pain, I have been at it a relatively a short time (about 3 months) but I have yet to get anything other than automated responses. I feel as though I could have 20 years experience and 3 degrees in related fields and not even get a call back for an entry level position.
Kind of Disheartening, But we must always press on (right?).
Anyway enough of my rambling, Back to re-writing my resume.

nothingness on January 13, 2010 8:08 AM | Reply

About a dozen years ago, while job hunting, I was under consideration for an amazing position. I got the 'call back' and was disappointed.

However, within a couple months later, the candidate they chose didn't work out at all, and I got a new 'call back' asking me if I would consider the position again. I instinctively knew I had some degree of leverage, and was able to successfully negotiate a very nice salary and accept the position under most favorable terms.

Call backs are terrifically encouraging, and in my case, helps to let you know that the employer was duly impressed with you enough to not depersonalize the interviewing process. Never give up!!

Chuck on January 13, 2010 11:43 AM | Reply

Companies that don't treat their employees with respect, don't show respect for their applicants, either.

Your contacts with the HR department tell you a lot about the whole company.

JP on January 13, 2010 3:54 PM | Reply

I sometimes get the impression from a lot of websites and "organizations" that they aren't even real. Some seem as if they are a facade designed to make them look bigger or more official than they are. for example there are a ton of sites out there boasting of opportunities for "Green Collar Jobs", yet many of them have yet to even respond to me in even an automated form.

I believe that the next job I eventually land will be found by cultivating real, tangible personal relationships where I can look someone in the eye, shake their hand and make a connection. Getting lost in all of these 1's and 0's is starting to seem like a waste of time.

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