I've come to the conclusion recently that employers rarely treat candidates with the same level of respect with which they themeselves expect to be treated.
Candidates, whether in the interview process or responding to a job posting, should be handled in a thankful and respectful way . . . not as an inconvenience to be put up with. Thankful, in that the employer should be happy (thankful) that the candidate is interested in working for them. I'm continually amazed by how many candidates tell me that they have received no response whatever. (Disrespect)
Candidates in the interview process spend hours researching the employer, trying to find out as much as possible so they can conduct intelligent due process and ask smart questions. Wouldn't you find out everything you can about a prospective future employer? Talk to everyone you know, read everything you can find? Premier candidates do . . .(Respect)
Conversely, I've been in interviews where a member of the employer team has obviously not taken the time to even read the candidate's resume. They certainly haven't read any of the supporting materials that (in this case) we present to our client (the employer). They haven't devoted enough time to prepping for the candidate to be able to conduct an insightful interview. (Disrespect)
Candidates always send a thank you to the employer, whether by email or hand written. This is not about those few candidates who don't get it enough to thank the employer for their time. (Respect)
Why shouldn't the employer thank the candidate for their time also? The candidate has made a significant investment of their time for the employer. I think it would be an unexpected and very powerful statement by the employer, if someone would send a hand-written thank you note to the candidate! That statement would be "We do respect you and it's how we treat all of our employees!" Would that make a candidate want to work for that employer even more? Wouldn't that candidate tell all their friends and colleagues about the employer that actually thanked them for applying?
I think yes! (Respect)
Simple, powerful! Free!