I was recently meeting some candidates for a fairly senior-level position in a client company. One of the candidates just didn't show up for the meeting. This was after some mail exchanges, a confirmation mail and a calendar invite sent from my side.
After waiting for about 10 minutes I tried calling this person's mobile phone. I was disconnected the first time. When I tried again, his wife answered the phone and informed me that he was 'unwell' and therefore couldn't answer the phone!
Now you would say that it is possible that he was really so unwell that he couldn't inform me in advance nor could he ask his wife to send me a message requesting for a change in schedule. But he well and truly shot himself in his foot by not making any attempts to contact me after this incident to apologise or to request for a reschedule.
He was obviously not interested in the role, but because of the way he dealt with it, he obviously faces a good chance of getting black-listed by most hiring or search firms.
Many senior-level people sometimes tend to do similar serious 'shooting their own foot'. And this can badly dent your credibility and image in the job world. Its a very small world out there!
Here are some things you can avoid doing and save yourself from the 'shot myself in the foot' disease. (Most of these sound obvious, but its amazing how often we see people ably demonstrating them!)
- There is nothing wrong in turning down an offer if you are not convinced about the company or the role or if the compensation package doesn't match your expectations.
But what is a clear 'no-no' is indicating your interest in the role, discussing the offer in detail, negotiating the compensation and then doing a disappearing act! Many professionals go through this process to negotiate a better deal with their current employer without realising the long-term impact of such actions on their credibility in the job market.
- And sometimes some job-seekers disappear in a similar fashion, but land up in a completely different company. And the search consultant and the potential employer have been kept in the dark about this possibility. This too reflects poorly on the individual and over time he loses the trust of hiring managers.
- But I think the worst of the lot are individuals who have accepted the offer letter, agreed on a joining date, and have constantly engaged with the search consultant and the hiring/ business manager throughout the process, and then have not showed up on the day they were to join. And they have not given any intimation to anyone about their change of plans! (This is literally like shooting yourself in both your feet!)
Some of the other minor symptoms of this disease include :
- Not showing up for the interview
- Turning up late without bothering to inform the relevant people
- Misrepresentation of information
- Providing fake documentation (eg. experience certificates)
- Bad-mouthing their previous managers/ colleagues/ companies
(This is only a representative list. I would like you to add to this list based on your own experience with people with this disease!)
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Now you would say that it is possible that he was really so unwell that he couldn't inform me in advance nor could he ask his wife to send me a message requesting for a change in schedule. But he well and truly shot himself in his foot by not making any attempts to contact me after this incident to apologise or to request for a reschedule.
He was obviously not interested in the role, but because of the way he dealt with it, he obviously faces a good chance of getting black-listed by most hiring or search firms.
Many senior-level people sometimes tend to do similar serious 'shooting their own foot'. And this can badly dent your credibility and image in the job world. Its a very small world out there!
Here are some things you can avoid doing and save yourself from the 'shot myself in the foot' disease. (Most of these sound obvious, but its amazing how often we see people ably demonstrating them!)
- There is nothing wrong in turning down an offer if you are not convinced about the company or the role or if the compensation package doesn't match your expectations.
But what is a clear 'no-no' is indicating your interest in the role, discussing the offer in detail, negotiating the compensation and then doing a disappearing act! Many professionals go through this process to negotiate a better deal with their current employer without realising the long-term impact of such actions on their credibility in the job market.
- And sometimes some job-seekers disappear in a similar fashion, but land up in a completely different company. And the search consultant and the potential employer have been kept in the dark about this possibility. This too reflects poorly on the individual and over time he loses the trust of hiring managers.
- But I think the worst of the lot are individuals who have accepted the offer letter, agreed on a joining date, and have constantly engaged with the search consultant and the hiring/ business manager throughout the process, and then have not showed up on the day they were to join. And they have not given any intimation to anyone about their change of plans! (This is literally like shooting yourself in both your feet!)
Some of the other minor symptoms of this disease include :
- Not showing up for the interview
- Turning up late without bothering to inform the relevant people
- Misrepresentation of information
- Providing fake documentation (eg. experience certificates)
- Bad-mouthing their previous managers/ colleagues/ companies
(This is only a representative list. I would like you to add to this list based on your own experience with people with this disease!)
That was a timely one Guru! There are instances wherein the candidate goes along with the hiring process only to realize that the prospective employers are not his ideal match.He may be hesitant to inform the headhunter what with all the effort already gone in. How does the Headhunter cope with this situation? He has a mandate to fulfill and expects the candidate to honor it
ReplyDeleteWhat about the flip side though? I have had an experience of going along with search consultant, appearing for 1 telephonic and 2 personal interviews with 4-5 senior personnel, and then kept in the dark for 3-4 months. I kept on checking up and was finally given some vague reply that the client is not proceeding.
ReplyDeleteTurning the interview into a monologue - not giving the interviewer enough time to speak. Usually results in a shortened interview and a hurried goodbye from the interviewer
ReplyDeleteThat was an apt compilation. I have experienced all of these symptoms during my role as a hiring manager. The "disappearing on the date of joining" (thankfully!) was performed by very junior analysts. But what a shock it was! I felt like driving over to his house and giving him a tight slap on his face. My overseas client was so upset with us that we nearly lost the entire assignment. I still recollect that day with a shudder!
ReplyDeleteSome other bloopers are -
1. giving a telephonic interview on a very bad (mobile phone) connection
2. Speaking too loudly or too softly (thereby irritating the prospective employer)
3. and I agree with "Anonymous" above - making it a monologue - going on and on in a response, without paying attention to the fact that the interviewer not only went back to his Blackberry, but in fact left for dinner while our man was chattering away!
Interesting Post ! I think this has more to do with our typical 'Indian' cultural norms wherein we consider it inappropriate to say no directly or convey the bad news upfront. Many of us also feel uncomfortable about decisively closing an issue as there is an abundance of choice.
ReplyDeleteIn most of these cases the candidate may not have thought that they shot themselves in the foot. As a senior HR professional I see this happening all the time. Senior candidates say Yes to an offer and then buy time to seek out other opportunities. They have chosen to be opportunistic as the market rewards such behaviour (at least in the short run !) Unfortunately there is very little individual companies can do except debar that person from future opportunities.
Conversely, as employers too we demonstrate similar traits. Most of us do not show the basic courtesy of informing those not selected (even senior level candidates) either directly or through the search firm. This is sad as we lose an opprtunity to create good will and build a stronger brand for our company.
It all boils down to culture. The flip side of our high tolerance for ambiguity is that we leave things unstated and unresolved..
Bang on, Kaushik. Indians will admit to everything but the truth - and all in the name of culture, when it suits them :)
ReplyDeletegood one !
ReplyDeletehiring manager's business should go on as per their convenience !
@ Anupam : Good points! I did a foolow-up piece on telephonic interviews.
ReplyDelete@ Kaushik : Very good insight on the cultural aspect. And how it adversely affects our credibility with senior professionals.
@ annonymous : Thanks all of you for your comments.
Guru, Look forward to your book on Best Practices for Senior Executives, who are looking to make a switch, and get hired. Your various blogs discuss something similar. Would prefer a full-blown book.
ReplyDelete