"We will let you know" - The most infamous HR statement

Raghav, a young professional got a call from Ms. Priya, a HR recruiter with one of the leading recruitment consulting firms and he was scheduled for an interview. Raghav attended the day long interview process which lasted for 30 minutes and got back to work the following day. After a month, Raghav got another call from the recruiter and he was informed that he has another round of interview tomorrow. Raghav aced the interview only to hear the HR say "We will let you know". Raghav is now 60 years old and a CEO, he is yet to hear from Ms. Priya.

Well, I am sure that the above scenario rings a bell in all of our minds because we have all heard "We will let you know" from a recruiter more than "Have you had your food?" by our mother.

Leaving the emotional and goodwill arguments aside, let us look at why this happens a little more categorically.

1. The recruitment process is done on a piece-meal basis these days. There is this consultancy which sources and schedules interviews. The HR in the company communicates with the candidate thru the consultancies thereby increasing the layers which impedes clear and prompt communication. Since the candidate is shielded from the actual decision makers, the delay is catastrophic from an employee experience point of view.
2. The decision makers are always on the look out for a better candidate. Like how we regret buying a mobile these days only to find out it is obsolete in 6 months time. The hiring manager feels there is always something better out there and thus keeps postponing their decision.
3. The job market is more employer pro than employee pro. This is purely because of the supply chain skew where supplies are more and demands are less.
4. The JD gets shaped up only after looking at a few candidates. Employers do not try to find the perfect match for their JD but keep on changing the JD and end of the day no one fits it more than the other.
5. Finally, an employee is taken for granted because their needs are individual whereas the employers needs are organizational. It is kind of a group dynamics bully on the lonely employee who is trying to become a better person whereas the organization can afford another one if not for him/her.

So Ms. Priya, you will definitely get called sometime in the future and it will be too late to change or even regret when you hear Raghav say "We will let you know".

(C)KannanManoharanWithTheWords