I got an email yesterday letting me know that I didn't get a job...
... that I applied to on August 4th, 2021.
I had already assumed I didn't get the role based on the fact that I hadn't heard anything from anyone at the company for over five months. That lack of communication certainly isn't great from a candidate-experience perspective, but it happens all the time.
It gets worse, though.
The role was a senior-level position, so after an offer was extended and accepted, a press release was issued to announce the person who would be assuming the role.
And that press release went out at the end of October... 119 days ago.
I'm not even a little bit upset about this particular rejection.
In fact, the company did me a huge favour by not considering my application, because if this is the speed at which the organization moves, there's simply no way they could have kept up with me and I would have been miserable there!*
But I think it's important to help companies get better when you can, especially as it relates to customer and candidate experiences. Plus, I like to be helpful.
So when I received the email, I replied to it.
In my message, wrote that I had applied to the role on August 4, 2021, that the press release announcing the person they hired went out to the industry on October 28, 2021, and that there really isn't any valid excuse for the excessive delay in sending out these emails. I encourage the company to do better in the future and wished them good luck.
Except there was an excuse. The recruiter, to her credit, responded to my reply. She wrote:
"The job wasn’t my role. It was not closed out when filled. My apologies for the delay."
This response began with a deflection, which isn't great, but ended with an apology, which is better.
Mistakes happen. All the time. But companies can't just rely on technology when it comes to people. In this case, there needed to be a system in place to ensure the open role was "closed out" at an appropriate time. And 119 days after a press release is issued cannot ever be considered "an appropriate time".
But here's the part that made me laugh, though.
At the very bottom of the recruiter's email signature, after her contact information, was this:
Our Values: Be Real | Speed Matters | Stewardship | Relationship Driven | Self Discipline | Show Awesome Character
(The bold text and underlines are not my embellishments; that's exactly how they appeared.)
Oh, the irony...
To those recruiters and HR people who read this post and think, "Wow, this is completely unacceptable... there's absolutely no excuse for this!"... kudos to you, and just keep doing what you're doing.
To those who realize they have some challenges as it relates to their "candidate experience" and want to get better... I can help you with that! (Send me a note.)
And to those who read the situation and think, "I mean, at least they got back to you", well, perhaps this image captures my response more effectively than words ever could...
* I tend to think fast and act fast. And waiting 119 days after the press release is issued to let the other candidates know they were unsuccessful in securing the role is... not fast.