For the first time in years, due to this plan-demic, I found myself looking for work. To my shock and horror, I became acquainted with a new world of employers who lack decency and basic courtesy during the recruitment process.
Let me give a super-quick background before I go any further.
I applied for a job with a company in which I was perfectly qualified for. As a matter of fact, it would have been in their best interest to hire me since I already had additional skills that are attractive for “succession” and I would have hit the ground running. They sent a generic request that I do a pre-screen assessment that took over an hour to complete. They didn’t invest a single minute with speaking with me so that I could highlight my skills. They simply rejected me based on some AI algorithm personality test that forced a selection of only either ‘agree’ or “disagree’ (nothing in the middle) and with ZERO CONTEXT.
Their LAZY methods have candidates doing mental aerobics on the silliest questions such as “I sit in a room and think to myself ‘If only people knew what I was thinking'”. WHAT KIND OF STUPID QUESTION IS THAT?!?!?! Who thinks that way?! And if you ever did, what was the scenario that would make you say that to yourself in your mind?! They rely on this ridiculous personality/behaviour assessments that they use as their god.
Anyways – I’ll dedicate a post to that later.
The point! I was in management for many years. I conducted hundreds of interviews. I always approached each candidate with respect. Respect for their time. Respect for their humanity.
HERE ARE MY TIPS FOR JOB HUNTING & BRIDGE-BURNING DURING A PLAN-DEMIC:
- INTERVIEWING GOES BOTH WAYS!!!: Remember that YOU are also interviewing the prospective company! Don’t EVER feel like you’re their slave or that you have to bow down and lick their boots to get a job! Don’t act desperate for the job – even if you are.
- TIME IS MONEY: Don’t waste countless hours on pre-interview screenings and behavioral assessment before they give you the basic courtesy of meeting you. (I’ll dedicate a post to this later.) If your resume was good enough for them to contact you, it’s good enough to spend a 5 minute chat to get to know you.
- SIGNS OF A CRAPPY EMPLOYER: If they are unprofessional and inconsiderate in the interview process, they’re likely a crappy company to work for. Move on! (Example: Sending an auto-generated email asking you to do a behavioral assessment or pre-screening that takes 2 hours, before spending even 5 minutes in an interview with you. It shows that they don’t care about your time; Or after the interview, promising to follow-up on a certain date and not fulfilling that promise. It shows that they’re unaccountable and disorganized.)
- WHEN AND HOW TO BURN A BRIDGE: If you come across such a disrespectful employer, you don’t want to work for them anyways! So, make sure you delete your profile information from their website, and request that any assessments that you performed also be deleted. These companies share your information with third parties, so just contact their privacy department and withdraw your consent. Make sure to ask them to confirm once they have completed your request.
In conclusion, it may sound like I am a spoiled baby…maybe sour grapes? No! It’s because there are many people – good people – who are only unemployed due to the tyrannical measures unleashed upon us – not because we are unable to work! Crappy employers realize that there are ‘plenty of fish’ to choose from, and as a result, they are using heartless methods and AI pre-screening, rather than human connection to find candidates.
Yes, I get it – there are hundreds of applications to sift through, but the basic thing that any employer can do is make time to read resumes. Make time to interview with a candidate that appears to be qualified. It only takes 5 minutes to have a conversation. Use HR to help pre-screen. Use the full leadership team to skip a pointless board meeting and dedicate that hour to vetting candidates. But, only good, caring, non-lazy companies do that!
It’s sad what many garbage employers are doing to people at a time like this. That’s why I say that if you find yourself being treated like a slave by one, go ahead and burn that bridge! You don’t want to work for them anyways. Trust me!
