Looks like interviews are excellent platforms - for teaching. For Learning. Ever since I set out on my job hunt, each interview has contributed to my learning curve albeit not always in a pleasant way. Not-so-surprisingly the lessons learnt on these stops are actually those etched in my brain strongest. Now look here, am not really applying for jobs as a fresher. I am not one. These are managerial positions yet if candidates for such levels are treated like cattle waiting to get a vaccine in a farmland and that too by a recognised name in the market, its sure to leave you zapped.
Yes. This happened just yesterday and I simply have to rant about it because its not something one can take lightly. There were about 35 candidates (yes there was a crowd) who arrived at the premises of a very well known organisation - which for the benefit of all I shall refer to as the 'National Centre for Atrocities in Practice' or the 'NCAP'. All the candidates, including myself, were present courtesy an email from an 'Omni' zealous recruitment consultancy. There was no job description attached, nor was any info provided on the eligibility criteria for the job. It was a walk-in organised with a time slot from 10.30 to 1.30 before lunch. Needless to say, going by the organisation's credentials (after all it was the NCAP), people bunked office, feigned illness, cancelled or rescheduled appointments and were there for the interview. Some like me decided to be there early with a view of being First In-First Out. However, this was not to be.
10.30 a.m.: I was the fourth person to arrive at the prestigious address. There was no system of registering on arrival nor any person in sight who would provide guidance on what's going to happen next. There was just a circle of sofas, on which were seated those three people who had arrived before me, two side diwans, a couple of chairs and NO FAN, NO AIR CONDITIONER, NO BREEZE. The temperature was 30 degrees.
10.45 a.m.: More people arrived. Each one entered and occupied a seat on the circle of sofas. One entered and occupied a chair. Everybody simply stared into space and kept looking at non-operative AC vents. The temperature was 30 degrees.
11.00 a.m. : The place started filling up. By now, the early arrivers had started making small talk between themselves with the famous ice breakers being, "Have they taken your CV yet?" "Do you have any idea about the job description?" "Did you also receive the email?". Some smart ones, walked up to the door of The Famous Interviewer (lets call him 'TFI") and asked what was going to happen and were calmly told, "You will be called". There was still no fan. No breeze. No Air conditioner. The temperature was now 32 degrees.
11.15 a.m.: TFI walks out of his comfortable, chilled cabin and asks everyone for their resumes. Everyone jumped and in the end the famous guy had no clue, who had arrived at what time and who was there for which position (we got to know later that there were about 3 positions for which candidates were called). Nor did he have the courtesy to ask people the same. Among those who were seated, the ice had broken, the conversation now veered towards how hot the ambience was, how inconvenient the entire arrangement seemed, how unprofessionally the NCAP was handling the interview process. Someone mentioned that at least five years of sales experience was needed, which created unrest as the majority had about 4 years and not necessarily in sales (I belonged to the latter). The circle of sofas was completely occupied and so were the diwans and the chairs. The temperature was 32 degrees outside.
11.30 a.m.: The first name is called and this name belonged to someone who conveniently had arrived at 11.15. Just fifteen minutes back! and why -her resume was on top of the pile that TFI had collected, she was the last one to submit it to him, thats why. The first wave of murmurs, silent curses and subtle glares passed the hot, by-now sweaty, impatient crowd waiting outside TFI's cabin. Oh yes, there still was no fan, no ac and a passing by peon refused to open the doors which led to the garden, so no breeze as well. The temperature am sure was more than 34 degrees inside.
12.00 a.m.: Second name called. More people arrived. There was now a mini crowd standing. However TFI was not bothered. A few got really agitated as they had to get back to office. People were wondering if it was worth the wait especially if they did not have the rumoured five years experience (not me, I was determined to sit out till the end :P). When TFI came out, some surrounded him and asked him to announce the eligibility criteria. The response: "Please wait, there are a few positions, you will be called". Aaaarrrrgggh. The temperature? Yes the same.
12.30 a.m.: Just two names called yet. The atmosphere was heavy with a mixture of salt and H2O, and every new person who walked in was subjected to a perfect combination of a hostile stare combined with an analysis of 'Can he/she be qualified as competition' and preceded by one comment, 'Damn! Another one', which some voiced silently, some vociferously, some as a joke and some as a part of their mobile conversations. None though were really bothered about the interview. By this time, all they wanted to do was get it done and over with. As I said to the girl sitting next to me, "The NCAP were doing a good job of 'warming' us up for the interview". Pun intended. The temperature? You guessed it wrong. It was rising inside. I can bet £50 that by now it had reached 36 degrees.
1.30 p.m.: Same situation, 5 people called. One lady who was present thanks to an employee recommendation was given preference and was called as soon as she arrived accompanied of course by the recommender. Seeing the lack of professionalism, some of the crowd left as they could wait no longer due to prior appointments. Some like me went in to TFI, and let him know we are leaving and then left. Some took the day off from work and decided to wait it out till the end. The only constant - the sweltering ambience.
To think this is how a highly recognised organisation treats candidates who could be future employees translated as internal stakeholders. If this is how one's first experience is going to be with a company, the immediate conclusion drawn is that its not a fit place to work in. Making people wait unnecessarily, just because they are on the needy end of the spectrum is highly unprofessional and unethical. Why do companies think that its only the candidates who need them? Does a company not require the human resource? Why don't companies respect the fact that they are not the only ones giving time, the candidates are also taking the time out to meet them, so doesn't that hold any importance?
If people are not treated right, they pass the wrong message, which in turn harms your company image and may actually evade you from attracting the right talent. The first impression may not always be the last impression but it sure is a 'lasting' impression and definitely hard to erase. Companies need to realise that the torch-bearers of their image are not just those handling corporate communications/ PR, but the other departments as well, especially the HR.
The interactions of an HR manager or HR person with a potential employee may actually make or mar the deal. Forget compensations, benefits, allowances. Just basic human affinity is even more important - liking the people whom one will be working with in the future is crucial because no amount of monetary aspects can replace it. Also you never know, a refuted job seeker could actually turn into a potential contact tomorrow or maybe an important external stakeholder!
As a famous Persian proverb goes - "He who wants a rose, must respect the thorn"
Yes. This happened just yesterday and I simply have to rant about it because its not something one can take lightly. There were about 35 candidates (yes there was a crowd) who arrived at the premises of a very well known organisation - which for the benefit of all I shall refer to as the 'National Centre for Atrocities in Practice' or the 'NCAP'. All the candidates, including myself, were present courtesy an email from an 'Omni' zealous recruitment consultancy. There was no job description attached, nor was any info provided on the eligibility criteria for the job. It was a walk-in organised with a time slot from 10.30 to 1.30 before lunch. Needless to say, going by the organisation's credentials (after all it was the NCAP), people bunked office, feigned illness, cancelled or rescheduled appointments and were there for the interview. Some like me decided to be there early with a view of being First In-First Out. However, this was not to be.
10.30 a.m.: I was the fourth person to arrive at the prestigious address. There was no system of registering on arrival nor any person in sight who would provide guidance on what's going to happen next. There was just a circle of sofas, on which were seated those three people who had arrived before me, two side diwans, a couple of chairs and NO FAN, NO AIR CONDITIONER, NO BREEZE. The temperature was 30 degrees.
10.45 a.m.: More people arrived. Each one entered and occupied a seat on the circle of sofas. One entered and occupied a chair. Everybody simply stared into space and kept looking at non-operative AC vents. The temperature was 30 degrees.
11.00 a.m. : The place started filling up. By now, the early arrivers had started making small talk between themselves with the famous ice breakers being, "Have they taken your CV yet?" "Do you have any idea about the job description?" "Did you also receive the email?". Some smart ones, walked up to the door of The Famous Interviewer (lets call him 'TFI") and asked what was going to happen and were calmly told, "You will be called". There was still no fan. No breeze. No Air conditioner. The temperature was now 32 degrees.
11.15 a.m.: TFI walks out of his comfortable, chilled cabin and asks everyone for their resumes. Everyone jumped and in the end the famous guy had no clue, who had arrived at what time and who was there for which position (we got to know later that there were about 3 positions for which candidates were called). Nor did he have the courtesy to ask people the same. Among those who were seated, the ice had broken, the conversation now veered towards how hot the ambience was, how inconvenient the entire arrangement seemed, how unprofessionally the NCAP was handling the interview process. Someone mentioned that at least five years of sales experience was needed, which created unrest as the majority had about 4 years and not necessarily in sales (I belonged to the latter). The circle of sofas was completely occupied and so were the diwans and the chairs. The temperature was 32 degrees outside.
11.30 a.m.: The first name is called and this name belonged to someone who conveniently had arrived at 11.15. Just fifteen minutes back! and why -her resume was on top of the pile that TFI had collected, she was the last one to submit it to him, thats why. The first wave of murmurs, silent curses and subtle glares passed the hot, by-now sweaty, impatient crowd waiting outside TFI's cabin. Oh yes, there still was no fan, no ac and a passing by peon refused to open the doors which led to the garden, so no breeze as well. The temperature am sure was more than 34 degrees inside.
12.00 a.m.: Second name called. More people arrived. There was now a mini crowd standing. However TFI was not bothered. A few got really agitated as they had to get back to office. People were wondering if it was worth the wait especially if they did not have the rumoured five years experience (not me, I was determined to sit out till the end :P). When TFI came out, some surrounded him and asked him to announce the eligibility criteria. The response: "Please wait, there are a few positions, you will be called". Aaaarrrrgggh. The temperature? Yes the same.
12.30 a.m.: Just two names called yet. The atmosphere was heavy with a mixture of salt and H2O, and every new person who walked in was subjected to a perfect combination of a hostile stare combined with an analysis of 'Can he/she be qualified as competition' and preceded by one comment, 'Damn! Another one', which some voiced silently, some vociferously, some as a joke and some as a part of their mobile conversations. None though were really bothered about the interview. By this time, all they wanted to do was get it done and over with. As I said to the girl sitting next to me, "The NCAP were doing a good job of 'warming' us up for the interview". Pun intended. The temperature? You guessed it wrong. It was rising inside. I can bet £50 that by now it had reached 36 degrees.
1.30 p.m.: Same situation, 5 people called. One lady who was present thanks to an employee recommendation was given preference and was called as soon as she arrived accompanied of course by the recommender. Seeing the lack of professionalism, some of the crowd left as they could wait no longer due to prior appointments. Some like me went in to TFI, and let him know we are leaving and then left. Some took the day off from work and decided to wait it out till the end. The only constant - the sweltering ambience.
To think this is how a highly recognised organisation treats candidates who could be future employees translated as internal stakeholders. If this is how one's first experience is going to be with a company, the immediate conclusion drawn is that its not a fit place to work in. Making people wait unnecessarily, just because they are on the needy end of the spectrum is highly unprofessional and unethical. Why do companies think that its only the candidates who need them? Does a company not require the human resource? Why don't companies respect the fact that they are not the only ones giving time, the candidates are also taking the time out to meet them, so doesn't that hold any importance?
If people are not treated right, they pass the wrong message, which in turn harms your company image and may actually evade you from attracting the right talent. The first impression may not always be the last impression but it sure is a 'lasting' impression and definitely hard to erase. Companies need to realise that the torch-bearers of their image are not just those handling corporate communications/ PR, but the other departments as well, especially the HR.
The interactions of an HR manager or HR person with a potential employee may actually make or mar the deal. Forget compensations, benefits, allowances. Just basic human affinity is even more important - liking the people whom one will be working with in the future is crucial because no amount of monetary aspects can replace it. Also you never know, a refuted job seeker could actually turn into a potential contact tomorrow or maybe an important external stakeholder!
As a famous Persian proverb goes - "He who wants a rose, must respect the thorn"
So well written mom!! hats off.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine this is the atmosphere of a well renowned company!! Trust me u r worth of much much more and u will get much much better then anything else anybody else InshAllah.lov.xx