Job Seekers, You Will Be Lied To And Misled — Here Is How You Can Protect Yourself
Jack Kelly
Forbes, Board of Directors Blind, Founder and CEO of The Compliance Search Group and Wecruitr.com, Co-host of the Blind Ambition Podcast
When you interview with a company, you’d like to believe that everyone you meet with acts honestly and in good faith. Unfortunately, this in not the case—as you will encounter blatant lies, omission of crucial facts and, at times, be misled. I’m not suggesting that there’s a nefarious plot to trick you into taking a job. It’s due, in large part, to the antiquated hiring process.
Let’s start at the beginning; the job description does not offer any semblance to what happens in the real world. For instance, the job description doesn’t honestly tell you why the position is open. You will never read that the boss may be a tyrant who micromanages and belittles people in front of their colleagues. The description omits the fact the job is a revolving door and four other people held this same position over the last two years. The job listing avoids offering clarity as to what you will actually be doing on a daily basis, the hours required and the type of pressure or stress you will be faced with. Wouldn’t it be more honest and transparent to include in the job description the hours required, the real reasons why the job is open (no matter how embarrassing to the company), the toxicity of the environment, a little about the co-workers and what tasks you will really be carrying out on a daily basis?
The interviewer is quick to brag about the good points and conveniently neglects to mention the challenges, including the idiosyncrasies of the people you will work with. She may purposefully avoid informing you that there is no room for advancement. The manager won’t share that the job you have now is the job you will have five years from now if you take the offer. This is an important detail that is often glossed over. Similar to the job description, it would be only fair for the hiring manager and other corporate representatives to provide all the material facts, including the future career path (if any), the possibility for promotions and salary increases. These should be quantified and backed up by analytics instead of empty promises.
The human resource professional or internal recruiter may be cryptic about the compensation and try to see if they can hire you at a cheaper price. This sounds harsh, but it’s business, they claim. It’s nice to say that everyone should be paid handsomely, but they’ll say it’s not practical. Their theory is that the company has 70,000 people, and if each person is given x amount more, it’ll add up fast and the company will go bankrupt.
You won’t get real feedback after your interview. They’ll say some cursory polite things, but not what they really think. They won’t admit to it, but they’re afraid of being accused of discrimination if the candidate doesn’t get hired.
The one thing that has radically changed is technology. With the ubiquity of jobs posted on the internet, coupled with the ease of submitting résumés, human resources and hiring managers are inundated with resumes. They don’t have the time to politely address each and every submission. The value of an individual job seeker is diminished as hiring managers believe there will be another 10 resumes to select from tomorrow. The sense of applicant abundance makes each individual not that valuable—and they are treated in that fashion.
Here is what else happens:
- They’ll say that they like you, but don’t mention that there are three better candidates in line ahead of you. They keep you warm and invested in the process just in case they lose the top three other candidates and need a fallback.
- They won’t tell you that they will offer a larger salary to another candidate.
- They say they want you to come back for more interviews, but you never hear back because they found someone else and didn’t take the time to let you know.
- They say that they’ll make an offer, but they don’t.
- They say they’ll pay you x amount, but only offer you half of x. Their hope is that you have put in so much time and effort that you will take the lower amount.
- Nobody tells you that the manager is leaving and you find out once you’ve started the job.
- They say you will do x,y,z, but when you start, you are doing lesser or different work.
- They will say you are eligible for a certain bonus level, but it doesn’t happen.
- They won’t tell you that the company has problems.
- They won’t say that they are considering relocating jobs to other states.
- They won’t say the they are planning to downsize.
- They don’t tell you that there is a competitor that has a better product that will hurt the company.
- They won’t say that they are in talks and another company might acquire them, which will lead to layoffs.
- They don’t tell you that they have a toxic work environment.
- They don’t tell you that the group you are joining and your manager don’t get any respect.
- They don’t manage your expectations that the interview process will take up to six months and you will have to meet with 6-10 people.
- They don’t tell you why they didn’t choose you.
- They say they’ll get back to you on Monday, but you don’t hear from them until the following Friday.
The one major thing for you to do to protect yourself is to listen carefully and skeptically. Don’t be intimidated into not asking a lot of direct questions. Have the confidence to ask tough questions to ensure that you understand the job, its requirements and what tasks you will execute on a regular basis. Make sure that you are getting the best offer and come in at the right corporate title. Ask the difficult questions such as .... Please read the full article on Forbes
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Using my proven knowledge/expertise in Administration to the advantage of a Great Employer. Unfluencer??
5 年Often employers leave subtle clues as to the problems they are having , such as the working environment, the level (or lack thereof) of laughter, the body language of the subordinate at the interview and the primary's reaction to any questions.
Retired Marketing and Communications Professional
5 年I've experienced many of these and more. This is why I am now VERY selective as to which company and individuals I will work with. I've paid the price for not doing so in the past.
Social Impact Communications Consultant in the Opportunity Finance Sector | Narrative Shifter | Finance Sector Doctoral Researcher | Award-Winning Finance Journalist | Wealth Education Authority
5 年Jack, thanks so much for telling these truths. It’s SO bad out there, I’ve received similar treatment as a consultant. At least I can walk away in most cases (and have clauses in my contracts to make sure I can). Honestly, though, I’m nervous some of these things will happen during my capstone experience for grad school, especially with my background. After all, people feel like they’re getting “free help” or even an “intern” and can hang not graduating over my head. I’d love to know how to avoid that.