I recently did something I haven’t done in a long, long time. I applied for a position at a Fortune 500 company…online. And I actually received a prompt response. Yea me.
Okay, let’s back up for a just a moment. This wasn’t for a full-time position as an employee. I haven’t applied for a “permanent” (HA!) job for over a decade. No, this was for a consulting position.
I told my wife after I saw the posting that I was going to go ahead and fill out the fairly lengthy and laborious application, even though of course I have a detailed LinkedIn profile, full resume and references and all that in several places online.
My wife said in response that going through a web portal with lots of other people as a nameless, faceless candidate for a position at a giant company would be a colossal waste of time.
She did get that part right, at least at the outset. After going through and filling out all of the start and end dates and salaries and supervisors of all of my past positions that I thought relevant, I got called away.
By the time I got back to my computer this application had timed out. Drats. I bet that wouldn’t happen if they were using TempWorks software.
Anyway, I did finally finish it and to be honest, soon forgot about it. I actually didn’t hold much hope I would hear anything, but there’s always a chance.
It wasn’t two days later that I received a VERY pleasant email reply from a recruiter at this company. She thanked me for my interest, and then asked if I would supply a couple of other things for their consideration.
I did that, didn’t hear anything for a day, then got an email on a Saturday morning no less, apologizing for the delay and then asking if I would please just do one other thing.
Then she said she would present my information to her internal team, and they would soon be figuring out if their needs and my skills and experience were a fit.
I remember hearing the owner of a very large national staffing company speak at a recruiting conference that early in her career she realized that recruiters and the people in HR might be a candidate’s first touchpoint with a brand, and for some, they might be the only contact with a company.
Recruiters and the people in HR might be a candidate’s first touchpoint with a brand, and for some, they might be the only contact with a company.
This woman I was dealing with totally got that. I could tell she really felt a responsibility to represent the brand and the company in the best manner possible.
So I told her that in an email. I didn’t get personal or familiar or anything, but just affirmed that her dealings with me were exemplary, and that they far exceeded my expectations.
And that was the last exchange we had. A month ago.
Just a couple of days ago I decided to give it one more shot, and wrote kind of a mea culpa email apologizing if I had gone off script. I really just wanted to explain that I value feedback when I receive it from others, and that I wanted to provide some for her in this instance.
Of course I also said it would be nice to get a progress report in terms of where she and her team were in the evaluation process, and whether or not I was still in the mix.
And again, radio silence. In fact, I can’t imagine I will hear any more from her at all, particularly if she happens to read this post.
Now I have worked for – and with – some of the biggest brands in the world such as Nissan, Audi, Mitsubishi and Pfizer. I know about corporate speak and decorum and how to conduct myself, and maybe I am totally overthinking this.
But for any corporate recruiter who might be reading, did I cross some line? Did I goof my chances up by straying just ever so slightly from the corporate script?
Of course I realize from a legal perspective they can’t come back and say I am not experienced enough, or I’m too experienced (as in old!), or I want too much money and so on.
But after this great dialogue we had going, and as far as we did get, I am surprised in the end communication just stopped and there was no closure.
Do I have a right to expect that?
Enlighten me please.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
David: Good to see your good writing and good thinking again. Nice story.
Dennis
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
great story David…confirms my suspicion that good intentions notwithstanding, large organizations have got their hands cut off what with their own failure to execute and the lethal precedent of lawsuits at every step of the hiring process
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Thanks for your comments guys. And Gregg, you alluded to a reason perhaps why the corporate types have to limit the communication to the point of ceasing to be good brand ambassadors.
I still would love to hear from a working corporate recruiter about scenarios such as the one I described, and what exactly your “rules of engagement” are.