Hello? HELLO? Ah, there you are.
Is etiquette and common courtesy all but gone in this age of instant messaging, email, social media, and mobile phone?
Its hard to imagine a single instance where a person cannot get in contact with another. Its even harder to concoct a legitimate excuse as to why you couldn’t get back to an email, tweet, or voicemail. Spam filter, maybe. Twitter dumped your DMs or history. Or maybe a major power outage in your neck of the woods would be the only legitimate excuses as to why you never received a ping.
Excuses, Excuses
Pesky cold-calling salespeople and telemarketers aside, there is no legitimate reason a person cannot return an email. An inexcusable reason would include ignorance, no interest, or most likely – old-fashioned rudeness. Even if to say “Sorry, I’m not interested at this time”. Ignorance is just rude. How about applying for a job, especially a posted job? When an organization publicly puts out a request for applications, wouldn’t it seem easy enough to at least acknowledge an applicant? Even with an auto-reply. This simple act is an overlooked part of your customer service plan. I’m not talking about Microsoft or similar behemoth corporations that receive 10,000 applications a day. I’m talking about local businesses – companies you trade with regularly and might even be acquainted with in your community.
This New York Times article should be required reading for everyone in recruiting and human resources jobs. Bottom line: Treat applicants with common courtesy and respect and they will remember your brand.
My correspondence karma is out of whack
A couple of times a year, I receive emails from recent grads looking for an entry-level spot in my design studio. Obviously its just me in my studio, although I certainly wish I was able to take on enough work to warrant some staff. Do I just delete these emails? Hell no. I’ve been there, kid. I’ve been hanging on a thread waiting for a response, yes or no, that there may be some interest in my awesome work. Nevermind these are unsolicited emails, I’m happy to tell you the situation in a few brief sentences; wishing you good luck on your search.
Our paths may never cross again, but you never know. Its a little different when its me replying to a posting closer to home. Some of these little businesses, some of whom I have patronized, don’t even acknowledge the submission.
A few have eventually invited me to interview, then never follow up with a yay or a nay – although I do, and receive no response. Do you think I’m going to visit your business again? Probably not, or at least not without remembering how you ignored me. Not because I’m just mad or whiny about not being hired, but because it was bad customer service. Yes, I was a customer or a potential customer.
Had you only acknowledged my submission to your ad (which wasn’t unsolicited) I would understand that a more appropriate candidate was chosen. That’s just fine, congratulations. I can move on.
The wool over my eyes
The worst offenders of all are those organizations that put a free ad out on Craigslist just to appease their board or to avoid any speculation from their governing bodies that a job was indeed ‘open to the public’. If you have someone in mind to move up into a sweet, coveted position, then just do it. Don’t post an ad that gets tossed around the local community, driving up interest and applicants, while having no intention of conducting any interviews. Your m.o. is not lost on those who showed interest. Word of mouth travels fast.
This is even more important (and relevant) if you live in a small community or do business in a niche industry. It really is a small world after all.
The art of getting back
Its not that difficult to reply to an email or respond to an unsolicited sales pitch or applicant that you aren’t interested in. At minimum, set up an auto-reply stating job applicants stating they will be contacted by a certain date if they are selected for interviewing. Result: I won’t be standing by biting my nails for a response from you, I won’t try to contact you to see if you hired for the position yet, and I can move on to the next quest. Replying on some level builds a little respect between us regarding one another’s time and effort.
Again, you never know when our paths will cross again, and I will remember how you treated me.
