If You Don't Want the Job, Don't Apply-April 2014

If You Don’t Want the Job-Don’t Apply! It looks like Spring may finally be here, and companies are hiring again anticipating a good year. Despite some good news on the hiring front, last week the latest unemployment figures revealed an uptick to 6.7%. The experts claim that the REAL unemployment figure is close to 13% because so many of the unemployed have dropped out of the job search process. But how about the group that continues to passively look for work? Where do they fall in the equation, and why do they continue to apply for jobs when they really have no desire to work? As the economy has improved, many of my clients have begun to add staff. If you’re a business owner, this is a considerable leap of faith to add payroll and benefit expense in anticipation of work that your company may or may not actually receive. The recruitment and selection process, when successful, can be a rewarding assignment, particularly when you find the right candidate and provide a talented addition to the team. It can also, however, become frustrating when candidates fail to show for an interview without even the courtesy of a phone call. After many years in human resources, this behavior continues to be a mystery to me. These candidates have taken the time to submit an application or resume for the position and in many cases complete an initial phone screening interview. After spending the time and effort to do so, they simply don’t show up. I keep wondering what could be the reason for such action. Did you get another job in the interim? Did you have a personal or family emergency that prohibited you from making the appointment, or did you hit the lottery the night before and no longer have to worry about working? While I guess any of those scenarios could occur, the likelihood is the candidate just didn’t care enough to pursue the opportunity. I wanted to see if my theory was correct, so after a particularly frustrating series of “no show” interviews I contacted the candidates to find out why they failed to keep the appointment. Out of the 8 candidates I attempted to contact, 5 failed to respond, 2 told me they took another job in the 2-3 day span of time between accepting the interview and the actual interview date, and one even stuttered as he told me his father-in-law died that day. It reminded me of my teaching days when “the dog ate my homework” and “I got a flat tire” were common excuses. I thought that perhaps this may be a generational issue, but that proved to be incorrect as well in that the candidate’s ages ranged from 22-50 years old. My greatest fear is that this apathy towards working has become the new normal. Being out of work has become an accepted state of affairs, and passively looking for a job to satisfy a spouse or family member pressuring you to find a job has become commonplace. So to the group of potential applicants out there that want to sleep late and continue to live off your parents I have a distinct message. “Stop Applying and Wasting Everyone’s Time!” There are plenty of ambitious folks looking for work and ready to do whatever it takes to get the job. Don’t flood the company with your resume and cause someone to take the time and effort to track you down only to have you blow off the interview. Let the ones who are really driven take your spot. That way employers can focus their efforts on recruiting and retaining the best talent.