How Big Company Recruitment Processes Can Improve

Have you ever been frustrated and left in the lurch by inefficient or insensitive recruitment process? For close to 100% of you the answer is YES. And you’ve probably just copped it… because what else do you do?!

Well I believe it’s time for this to change. It’s OK to call it out and in doing so perhaps you can be part of the solution that stops others from enduring the same pain.  

For now though please trust me with this and just START reading this actual experience below (and see if you can stop!) of somebody I know, who I will call “Chris”.

This is both hilarious yet very real, and disturbing to boot. It’s typical of too many similar stories I have heard. So here are Chris’s words (not mine) follow: 

I recently had a very bizarre and deeply deflating experience with a major mining corporation.

It went something like this:

1.     Phone call, hey Chris there’s a senior level job advertised that fits aspects of your background maybe you ought to apply.

2.     Reticence, could I really work for those dysfunctional %$$#%@!!! Could I do it again?

3.     Some further tentative enquiries to contacts inside the company who are involved with recruiting for the role, yeah definitely should apply for that job mate.

4.     Surrender. OK I will give them the benefit of the doubt. I will apply. Getting a corporate job would make a huge difference to my family’s finances and standard of living. It would also utilise me full time and enable an effective contribution of skills and experience again (?). Maybe I could help with enrolling some of the youngsters into the fascination and challenge of the task? Now, that would be good and useful.

5.     OK mate, where do I get the role description and send application to? It’s all on the website, submit your application there mate.

6.     Write cover, update CV and answer various inane and irrelevant questions made for recent graduates. Website is a piece of spaghetti and takes multiple attempts to lodge both cover and CV but after much swearing I eventually get there. I’m issued a login ID, fancy profile and complex password I will never remember (not that’s it likely to be of any future relevance).

7.     I then get a form robot-response indicating I will be “shortly” emailed back with the outcome of the application.

8.     One month passes. Track down the company contact who suggested it would be good idea to apply. What’s going on I say? Ah nothing, it’s still being recruited, you will definitely be contacted with an outcome - offer of an interview or rejection - that’s what the website does mate.

9.     Another month. Same conversation as outlined in point above.

10.  Third month (plus) passes and I have forgotten about it .

11.  Two weeks after I had forgotten about it, out of the blue, I receive a call centre style phone call (numerous background calls audible) from somebody with heavily accented spoken English. Ah Sir, you applied for job XYZ, shit that’s right, I remember, yes I did.  What is your salary expectation sir? What do I say? What’s this all about, I haven’t been asked for an interview, I don’t know details of the job, how can I answer that question properly? I’m sorry Sir, we must have an answer to question before we can proceed. Nah sorry can’t do that cold, why don’t you type in a suitable figure for me. OK sir that will work, we will be in touch.

12.  Following day receive a call around 9.00am from same call centre, Sir, are you in city ABC today? Yes? Can you please attend an interview at the following office 12.30pm today. What today you mean, in a few hours? Yes sir. By this stage I’m so dumbfounded I just say yeah sure, why not? Mr EFG (who happened to be the person who encouraged the job application) will meet you there for an interview.

13.  Go to interview. Exchange pleasantries.

So what can I do for you EFG? Ah, just wanted to have an informal chat. OK so what’s the job about mate..? Who, what, when, where, why etc. Ah well I just wanted to talk about the corporation and where we’re headed and how we are now changing our policies, going in different directions and have a new organisation structure. OK, what did you want to say about it then mate? Silence, bit of irrelevant blather. Then, I have this (foolish) thought I should try to engage this guy on some of the specifics: well mate how does this role fit into the new organisational chart, what’s its purpose, what’s it supposed to achieve? Ah well that’s still in flux, just wanted to chat today. OK do you want to talk about my experience, qualifications, skills etc? Nah that’s all in your CV and we know about you. So, I try to broaden the discussion out: What are your key strategic objectives and in what parts of the world do you believe they can be best achieved? Do you like this commodity or that, are you only seeking to develop the giant world beaters etc? Yeah sure, size and longevity doesn’t matter so much as it once did, as long as the profit margin. So on……..

Then I realise I’m asking all the questions and the answers are vague and uninformative. If I don’t ask then silence. Is this some kind of perverse and cryptic personality test? Eventually I ask are we done mate and what’s happening next?

Ah mate thanks, you’re good, and you understand perfectly what’s required (???). Can you come back before the end of this week for a second full panel interview? We will ring you. Somewhat confused, I say OK.

14.  Nothing, no call. Attempt to follow up that bounce around, try again and a couple of weeks pass. Eventually I get a connection with EFG, mate you doing that second interview or not? Sure, we are, we will call for sure.

15.  Another two weeks pass, call out of nowhere can you come in for that interview? When? Can you come in today or the next?

16.  Go in, a panel of several people. Introductions of names but no idea or disclosure of their roles. Reluctantly, I ask. Ah we work for the commodities group, that’s all. OK. Sit down, ask what can I answer for you? This time I am determined to stop at that point. Silence, nothing, 10s, 20s, 30s. I crack and speak, so what’s the job about etc. I eventually get a rundown about the new corporate organisational chart and ask the odd question to clarify. So what about the specific job, what’s the task, what do you hope to achieve from it, how can I contribute, where does it operate, does it support business unit or is it greenfield strategy? Shit, damn it, I’m asking the questions and running the interview again. Why don’t this mob ever ask me anything or discuss the details of the job? What weird psychological plays are they in to?. I await some sort of wrap up but eventually have to initiate the conclusion and thank them for their time etc. I then ask well now what? Oh, we be in touch in next day or two. Great, that again!

17.  One week passes, I contact them and ask what’s happening. It’s still in train mate. That happens two more times.

18.  Then three weeks after the second interview I receive a single line email: “your application for role XYZ has been unsuccessful” Great, what the hell was all of the past six odd months about? Surely they could have knocked me back in fortnight or so?  Regardless, there’s some relief of not having to actually decide whether to take the job or not. OK, better do the right thing, so make contact, thank them and ask for feedback etc, Nah mate, not required, we decided to go in another direction (whatever that means or is) but we have another similar role coming up for recruitment, are you interested? $%^#@$!&#$!!!! (Another internal candidate ready for promotion, how about you be a mug again and assist with fulfilling our turgid recruitment process requirements mate?)………………………

Moral to the story: I should have gone with my gut at the start and was foolish to give them the benefit of the doubt this type of experience just makes me even more cynical and dispirited and that’s bad, really bad.  

As a trailer.

I looked at a job post a while later from the same  company and the topic sentence describing the role read:

“Manage a team of highly experienced techno-functional experts delivering high value offerings to the customer base”

If you understand this then you have one up on me. Or do millennials and HR types really understand this stuff and I’m a complete dinosaur?

Regardless, I couldn’t help myself and sent the following mash up of Churchill to comment upon this job description to another acquaintance who works for the same company I had been recounting my ridiculous “recruitment” process experiences with:

“Never in the field of human communication was so much said, by so few, that means so little, to so many”

I expect a response in about six-nine months along when a request to attend an interview in 30 minutes time on the week-end to discuss it.

I hope you had a good laugh with that… Wasn’t that classic story jam-packed with all sorts of nasties that you’ve experienced or seen? There are so many other topics that hang off the above. Ageism may be one.

I’m sure Chris’s experience surprises no-one. Considering the recent likes of systemic failures that led to the Juukan Gorge events is it any wonder big companies too often don’t get recruitment right and candidates are treated with similar disrespect? No, of course not…

The big message is: regardless of market forces, regardless of the roles and companies, one unfailing thing remains. People need to be treated with dignity and respect. If companies fail to do this by exhibiting this sort of behaviour then the only people who will work for them is the desperate (who will leave as soon as a better offer comes in) or the equally disrespectful, leading to a company culture that further enforces bad behaviour.  

To end, of course I acknowledge there are highly competent, very well-meaning HR professionals and line manager at all big companies, but change is needed and perhaps all of us can be part of that change. 

PS. I have to confess something. I really struggled with the question of whether to publish this or not. An article such as this can be so constructive (and hopefully it is) but can also be construed as being very negative and – to a recruiter – a bad signal some in the market who may take offence. (Am I dangerous? Too critical? Will I turn on a prospective client one day because I call out some of their HR/recruitment practices?)... Well I’ve made the call to publish it anyway… I hope this encourages others to speak out as well – all with a view to positive and necessary change.