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Iain Mackinnon

28 Nov 2011 | 17:11

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The spotlight is on youth unemployment and it’s common to hear young people complaining that they don’t hear back, in any way, from most of the employers they apply to. It’s common, but is it right?

The latest contribution to an interesting discussion on PM’s LinkedIn group about apprenticeships is from Felicity, who says: “As a young person myself, I feel it's very important to give young people a foot on the ladder. Currently every job I apply for I'm not even getting a response, negative or otherwise.” She goes on: “I believe this is down to my lack of job experience”
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No, it’s not, Felicity: it’s plain bad manners. I also think it’s bad business.

They may well not be interested in your application because you lack experience but, if so, they should say so. Obviously there’s some cost to an employer in responding to every application, but businesses have used stock responses for decades and universal use of e-mail reduces the cost to almost nothing.

If whoever reviewed her application could simply note it ‘inexperienced’, the most junior person in the team could send her back the agreed form of words – and Felicity would know where she stood.

And is it really too much to ask that if the reason is not inexperience, the employer will have more than one stock response to hand? Felicity would not be left with a false assumption, and would gain some better information to use in her jobsearch.

I get quite a few ‘on spec’ applications to my company – and I make a point of responding to them all. I’m not recruiting and don’t expect to do so, so I say that, and I usually point people to the website of another professional body I’m a member of where they can find a good list of other consultancies. It takes a minute – and quite often I get a note back with what are obviously genuine thanks.

My business is tiny, so the same pressures don’t apply as in larger firms, but if you translate my behaviour (which I can’t help: it’s just the way I am) into business-speak, I’m protecting and enhancing my brand.

That’s why I think businesses make a mistake when they fail even to acknowledge an application. One day Felicity may well be in a position to make a business decision which will matter to your company, whether it’s buying your products or choosing a business partner when she’s reached the Board (go for it, Felicity!). Is it really such a bright idea to have brushed her off so carelessly?

People like Felicity are hungry for some clues to help them improve their chances in tough times. Simply acknowledging that’s she’s made an effort to make contact, costs you almost nothing. Giving her even a single line of explanation back along with the thumbs-down costs very little more, but it’s an important contribution that every business could, and should, make.

Comments

1. At 15:48 on 12 Dec 2011, Mara Thorne wrote:

I couldn't agree more, Iain! I think it is not just rude but also callous not to respond to any candidate. It is many years since I was unemployed but I have not forgotten how much store I set by every job application I sent, and how anxiously I awaited a response. Until I had heard back from an organisation, that application was still potentially "live" and represented hope. Furthermore, I would urge HR departments (or managers where there is no HR function) to word their "stock answers" sensitively, so as to avoid giving the candidate the feeling of having been punched in the stomach when it comes. It costs no more to word the rejection letter nicely, complimenting the person on their CV, and thanking them for their interest in the Company, than it does to say, effectively, "You're not good enough for us". I vowed that when I did find a position, I would always bear in mind how it feels to be desperate for work, how fragile your self-esteem, how easily you can be pushed into despondency. It's a pity so many recruiters nowadays seem to have lost their humanity.
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