Inhuman Resources

Grace D. applied for a job at a major telecommunications firm. She had several interviews and was optimistic that she would be hearing from them soon. She wrote thank you notes to the folks she met emphasizing her interest in the position. She waited a week. She sent a 'thank you again/still interested email". And waited some more. Still nothing. After several weeks, she called the HR person. HR person ignored call. Finally, after two months she got through. The HR person said,
"our headcounts have been altered." D was utterly mystified and assumed that she had been mistaken for someone else. She reiterated her identity, refreshing the HR crone's memory on the job application. The HR crone repeated "I know who you are. Our headcounts have been altered." Finally, D asked for a translation. HRC said, "The job was eliminated before it was ever filled."

Beware of corporate doublespeak jargonese.....


Graces would never behave this way.

If the HR person were a Grace, she would have responded to email and phone inquiries. Graces don't leave people hanging in any circumstance--and really, how long does it take to send a blast email to all the applicants informing them of the decision? Even the most Machiavellian Grace would do this. An HR person who treats applicants with respect and courtesy (even if you don't offer them a job) gains a good professional reputation. This leads to potential advancement for both you and your company.

Confused? Here's a little illustration--


After interacting with Grace the HR person, Rejected Applicant said:
"Unfortunately I didn't get the job, but the HR person was really responsive and at least let me know when the decision was made. I appreciated that."


After interacting with Grunt the HR person, Rejected Applicant said:
"Unfortunately, I didn't get the job, but the HR person was so rude and incompetent I'm not sure I would have wanted to work there anyway. She never returned my calls or emails and I had to find out 2 months later by practically stalking her that the position had been eliminated."



If only Graces ran the world.....