Searching for the one

It's not a secret. I had an interview with my employer for another job within the company. The waiting, though, sure gets to you. Ironically (or not... it could be a freak coincidence), I opened up my email to find the current Gallup Management Journal offerings. This included an article titled Job Applicants Are Customers, Too written by Bryant Ott, Nikki Blacksmith, and Ken Royal. If you want to read it, you'll have to get a GMJ subscription.

I digress.

They explain the frustrations of the job seeker when dealing with potential employers, and how the seeker's treatment reflects on the corporation. The quote I found the most interesting is:

Job applicants were most likely to mention frustrations regarding the lack of communication prospective employers demonstrated. Whether it was the wait for the results of their application; the length of time between applying, being interviewed, and being hired; or not hearing from the hiring organization at all, 22% of respondents cited a lack of communication as the most aggravating aspect of their job search.

Yep. Like waiting for months to hear about a position and then receiving a letter in the mail. I've got a binder with a number of these in there from library jobs. They never mention what you need to better yourself for next time. Negative! Like not getting an email on the status. Negative! Like not receiving a phone call until when you call them and they tell you that the position has been filled. Negative!

Why not focus on the positive for once? A potential employer could tell the rejected job seeker, "Thank you for applying. We decided to go with another applicant. Before your next application, you could brush up on Skill x, communication y, and your attention to detail. We look forward to seeing your growth." Would that really be so hard? Especially for the candidates that received interviews. I'm not saying to coddle the applicants, but show compassion. It's rough going through a job search. It's highly stressful.

Really? Am I asking for too much????