
The E-Snub - mshafrir
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/complaint-box-the-e-snub/?ref=nyregion
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j_baker
If there's one thing that really annoys me, it's getting e-snubbed _after_
having an in-person interview. Getting snubbed after sending in my resume is
reasonable. I can understand it after a phone interview. But surely when I
travel long distances to interview, I at least deserve a "please drop dead"
email.

~~~
gamache
I remember a similar situation a couple years back, when I was thinking of
working in EE. Many calls with the recruiter, two in-persons, and then
crickets. Nothing.

It frustrated me at the time, at least until I came to my senses and got two
Perl jobs within a week.

But I admit, it felt pretty good when a few months later, I accidentally
dialed the recruiter and interrupted her sleep. I still keep her in my address
book, just in case. Treat people fairly and they might forget it; treat them
poorly and they'll remember for sure.

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Periodic
I'm the process of looking to change areas and so I've been talking with
various companies about employment. So far, the only company that has
e-snubbed me is Google. I'm not sure what happened. After a phone interview,
in which I was assured they'd set up another interview shortly, the
communication just stopped. After a few days of no contact, I emailed the
people I had been talking to, the very people who had been calling me the week
before to verify timing, and I haven't received a reply.

Perhaps I should be calling them so they can't duck out on me, but it feels
rather unprofessional to simply ignore someone or have a promising candidate
fall off their list without anyone noticing. I don't think I want to work with
that department at Google anymore.

~~~
potatolicious
I too have been e-snubbed by Google. In this day and age I don't really expect
a reply after an interview if I flunked it (though it would be nice), but
emailing your recruiter a few days after the interview and having that email
go into a black hole is not at all professional. Hell, last time this happened
I pinged my recruiter twice, both messages disappeared into the ether.

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rosshudgens
"See Randomness" by Paul Graham fits here. Yes, you didn't get the job, but
the person never meant to make you mull and wait. You just weren't their first
priority, put e-mailing you back on the back burner, then went off to do
something else and forgot.

It's unfortunate and inconsiderate, but it's part of life. After a week, give
up and move on to the next one.

~~~
petercooper
I'm not even sure you should wait a week before moving on to the next one. In
situations where you're going to get little courtesy (as in the majority of
job hunting), you might as well blitz your way through as much as you can and
then cherry pick from any positive responses.

~~~
ekanes
That's true, and if you think about it, that's what the employer is doing as
well. Simultaneously moving forward with many people, and choosing the best
match. Nothing wrong with it on either side, as long as everyone is courteous.
A reasonable employer should have no problem with this.

~~~
petercooper
_if you think about it, that's what the employer is doing as well._

That's true! It's "obvious" but that thought hadn't occurred to me - thanks
for the insight :-)

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earl
This is a pet peeve of mine.

I don't blanket email my resume places. If I send it to your company, I've
done at least a couple hours of research on your company (home page,
crunchbase, glassdoor, first page of G results, etc) and written a custom
cover letter explaining why I'm interested, where I think I fit, what I can do
for this company in particular, and how I think that matches its needs. Good
companies, in particular, send an email saying yes, no, or maybe inside two
days (to an interview, obviously, not to a job). And if the answer is no, it's
not personal; just not the right fit / right time etc.

Companies that don't email me back? I keep a spreadsheet with their names.
Companies that don't give me a quick no thanks email after a phone screen or
test or in person interview? I actively share that blacklist with friends.

Edit: Also, companies that email me back promptly -- even if the answer is no
-- go on my spreadsheet of companies to look at first next time I'm thinking
about a new job. What I want is an employer that treats people with respect,
even when they can't be forced to do so or have no investment in that person.

------
RyanMcGreal
Can we agree that the period in which prepending a conventional term with "e-"
could be considered clever ended at least ten years ago?

~~~
petercooper
Even if it's not clever, it certainly illustrates the gist of the story in a
succinct manner. I had an inkling of what the post was about from the headline
alone, so knew I might enjoy reading it.

