That's the headline in a recent Ad Age article. Sub-Head, "It's a Great PR Move for Prospective Employers". I completely agree with Paul Gumbinner, the author of the Ad Age article. Paul writes,
"After an interview, it's surprising that only about 60% of candidates send a thank-you note (an even smaller percentage sends them after visiting with a recruiter). Aside from being an expression of good manners, a short note expressing interest can go a long way toward promoting a person's candidacy.
Of course, much has been written about thank-you notes in terms of job seekers. But I wanted to tackle something that, to my knowledge, has not been suggested before: Interviewers should send them to candidates, as well.
I would like to propose that this should be the policy at every advertising agency."
It should be a policy at every single employer, period . . . not just agencies. I know most job seekers would say, "Hey, how about a simple acknowledgment of my interest in your company?" It's extremely annoying to me that the vast majority of employers (75%+ ?), don't even bother to acknowledge receipt of a resume or inquiry. Most employers are a black hole for resume submissions and as such, are committing PR suicide. I've written about this previously with "Screw You, Candidate!"
In the near future, skilled employees are going to be at a premium. Once you factor in their experience, career goals and fit with an employer's culture, they will be even more limited. Yet, companies don't take the opportunity even acknowledge an interested candidates' resume. They should thank every single applicant and treat each one with respect. Respect is the foundation for retention and for hiring. If respect exists in a corporate culture, so does employee retention. You can't recruit someone with disrespect!
Respect (obviously) even goes beyond retention and recruiting. It shouldn't exist for self-serving reasons. It should exist because it's the right way to do things . . . everything.
Yesterday, I tweeted the article "Respect: A Key Ingredient for innovation". The Innovation Tools blog goes on to state:
"Respect is a key ingredient for successfully bringing a new creation to market. In other words, innovation. At the highest level, senior managers should have respect for both the future of the organization and for the people they are responsible for guiding.
The senior management team needs to be seen by the troops as having their best interests in mind, and not just pumping up the stock price. If the senior managers are viewed within the company as being self-serving and unconcerned about the long-term success of the firm, the creativity and focus needed across the company will not flourish."
Why is a lack of common sense, civility and respect so much the norm? Is it laziness, selfishness or (heaven forbid) expense? Do employers consider themselves to be "too busy"? How many of you will ever work for a company who never bothered acknowledging your interest or failed to treat you with respect?