An HR Low: An Essay Contest
Based on my extensive job search, I've identified very disturbing trends that are occurring in the world of HR and recruiting. Prospective employers often ask me how I'm finding the job search process. If I were to answer this honestly, I would describe the process as "disrespectful, shocking and inexcusable." Some of the behavior that HR and recruiters have exhibited during this process has truly been appalling. Just recently, I have come across something which seems to be happening more often that is in the "inexcusable" category. Before ever having a conversation with anyone from the prospective employer (neither phone nor in-person), the recruiter/HR personnel send an initial email asking you to complete a series of very, very detailed essay questions to be delivered in less than 24 hours! I just received one of these and it was just crazy. The questions themselves would constitute a very lengthy in-person interview. But I would tell everyone I know..."Do not respond to this kind of request." It is a red flag that you are not dealing with a professional company. Not only is this an unfair, one-sided process, but the candidate has no idea where or to whom their detailed information will be distributed. Moreover, "essay" questions do not allow you to have a two-way conversation to share details about an aspect of your experience or skillets let alone communicate everything you can bring to the table as a person. This behavior is shameful. After receiving this particular request, I conducted more research and found that the vast majority of current and past employers provided a negative rating on an employer review site. They were all very specific in their criticisms, the salary ranges were far below market rate and most reviewers wouldn't recommend the company to a friend. Of course there will be candidates who will acquiesce because they are feeling desperate but I would really caution job seekers against it. It sets a very dangerous precedent. Just another really sad and shameful example of state of the current business world.
Ugh - sorry this has been happening to you, Nancy. And thank you for this warning. I hope I don't go through the same thing.
I can't agree more with you! It is very impersonal; they're not getting to know us as humans. We do so much and so many times get nowhere! I am glad someone other than myself sees this; I miss the old way!
It is actually worse than you think. The recruiters don't read your resume. They scan it for key words. They take a stack of resumes and scan through them. The resumes with the highest "Key Word" count gets thrown into "Call" bucket. The recruiters typically are paid minimum wage, don't really care about your personal situation, all they know is that you have met their requirements to move your resume forward. You may send out 100 resumes and only one or two or perhaps none ever make it to the hiring company. But I will bet that every College and on-line learning program on the planet has called you. When you apply for a job on the internet you need to read the fine print. You usually have to agree to have a college recruiter call you and harass the crap out of you. They are rude and again don't really care about you, they only want your money and a commitment to go to school. Get there number and block it. They get the phone number from your resume and when you tell them you are not interested they immediately hang up, no good bye, no see ya, just click. Its because they are getting paid by the lead, you are just wasting there time if you say you aren't interested.
Heres my advice. Go straight to the company web site and skip the recruiters. Sometimes you cant do that, but try first. Turn your Resume into a "Key Word" gold mine. Trust me, I found it doesn't even matter if you have sentences that actually make sense. Just make sure the company gets your best Resume. I have actually gotten calls with what I thought was a bad resume but it had a lot of key words. Good luck and its and ugly world out there, keep your chin up. It will work out.