Rejected. Again.

Today's job market is one of the strangest I've ever seen. Right now I'm hearing that this is the perfect market for job seekers, but if that were true, would I be a year and a half into the job search?

18 months, 150 applications, dozens of cover letter rewrites, less than fifteen interviews, but still, no job. How? People have asked me that more than once this past week. I can only laugh in response because I don't know. I can say that I'm appalled by the way candidates are being treated by potential employers. If you are in the market for a new job you need to know that you are not alone and if (heaven forbid) you are a recruiter and treat people like this, then you need a bit of a reality check.

1. It is highly inappropriate to be interviewed and then be ghosted. But it happens. Trust me I would know. Because it happened to me. It happened to me seven times. If you are taking someone's time to speak with them on the phone and then the next step of meeting with them in person or even over zoom then you owe them an email. At. The. Minimum. I can't count on one hand the number of times I've had a video interview then NOT received a follow-up email. And trust me, I've been the best kind of candidate, saying thank you, asking about the next steps, and even sending a thank you email within 24 hours of the interview. It is completely inappropriate that you, as a recruiter, don't even take the time to send a 'we went in a different direction' email.

2. Rewriting your entire resume on an application defeats the purpose of a resume. If you think that by asking a potential applicant to fill out fields on your application that they have outlined in their resume makes you look more 'professional' or more 'sleek' someone lied to you. Through their teeth. We get it, for documentation's sake you need everything inputted into your program, but if that's true then don't also ask for someone's resume. By not asking for a resume though, you are missing a huge opportunity to get a picture of your potential employee's personality.

3. Email templates exist. I understand that back in the day it was difficult to send a 'sorry, we've gone in a different direction' email but in today's technological advances we now have something called email templates. These templates allow someone to write an email (that they would send often, like in the case of telling an applicant that they won't be receiving an interview) and be able to send it quickly, without a lot of work. When I submit an application then receive an email that says "due to the number of applications we receive we can't respond to every application... blah, blah, blah..." there's a good chance I will never hear from the company, ever. It makes me cross their name off my list automatically and proves that I did just waste my time filling out the application.

4. Don't discuss interviews with employees unless you ask asking their opinion. I recently learned I was not hired by a small company because I put boundaries on my time. As in, unless there's a big deadline I will be leaving the office at 5pm, completely reasonable right? Well, according to the owner it was the wrong answer to his question. But wait? How did I learn this was the reason I was not hired you may ask? I was recommended to apply because I was friends with the wife of one of the company's salesmen. My friend heard about the owner's anger over my boundaries from her husband, who heard it from his team lead, who heard it from the management team, etc. you get the picture. The owner ran his mouth and it flowed, fairly quickly, through the company. As hard as it was not to receive the job offer, I was glad that I didn't have to learn the hard way about the toxic company culture that would have come with the offer.

5. The way a recruiter treats candidates is a good indication of how the company treats its employees. Unfortunately, for me, when I struggle to get information from a recruiter I assume it might be difficult to ask questions and receive answers in a timely manner in the position. If the application and interview process takes weeks, it's a clear indication that the company will be slow to implement changes in policies when issues are brought to the company's attention. As a recruiter, you are the first impression a candidate receives of the company, make sure it's a good one.

The job market is not a fun place to be right now, but as a recruiter, you have the opportunity to make it just a little bit better. Because you never know where else your path might overlap with someone you decided to ghost after their third interview.