After applying online, I was contacted for a phone screening with the recruiter. It went well. I was then called in for an interview. I met with two women and we ended up talking for well over an hour. I left the interview feeling very confident that my skills and personality matched what they were looking for. The day after, I sent follow up thank you emails to my interviewers. Two weeks passed and I heard nothing so I followed up with the recruiter. I received a stale and impersonal response which said “we have decided to pursue another candidate”. With a solid background in HR and years of recruiting experience, I found her response lacking. A recruiter should encourage candidates, be kind to them, and care about their futures. Recruiters go on journeys with future job seekers and develop relationships. In 2019, this should not be a “personal” response. This was not an automatic email but her response showed a lack of care. You’re dealing with people’s futures. Appropriate responses should be “hello ______, thanks for checking in! I’m sorry for getting back to you so late. Unfortunately, we decided to move forward with a candidate who had more experience with ______. However, ____ and ____ loved learning about you and I encourage you to check our job board for other positions that may be of interest to you! Thank you for applying and please reach out to me if I can be of any assistance in the future. I wish you the best in your job search!” This is not too much to ask and is an example of a typical response from a good recruiter. Despite the generic response that I got, I even followed up with a kind message in which I asked for feedback on how I could do better in the future and that I’d love to be considered for other opportunities. She never even responded. For a top law firm, and for a job close to 6 figures, this communication isn’t up to par and reflects poorly on the company. I’m 100% okay with not being chosen, it obviously wasn’t meant to be, but now I wouldn’t apply to the company in the future. If they treat potential employees with borderline rudeness and silence, how do they treat their actual employees?
