Job Search Etiquette

Recently, I have had the pleasure of catching up with my friends with the unemployment status. I have a few friends that have been laid off or their positions were eliminated and we were discussing the Job Search Etiquette. As a job searcher, there are a few things that you want to do to maintain your professionalism and ensure that your own personal brand is not damaged. With the job market being what it is the employers are in a position of power. This position is something that they were not accustomed to until the recession hit us all in a major way. That is the one with the upper hand.

As a non-profit professional, I have had many different roles. One of the audiences that I worked with was the Human Resource professionals at an association for electric cooperatives. I would write content for the conferences based on "Succession Management" which is under the premise that there is going to a be a shortage of talent in the workforce. However, right now the opposite is true, especially in the Greater Washington DC Metro Area. The geographic location will determine where you fall in the unemployment rate, and from what I am hearing in the news it is significantly lower than the national average. On top of this, DC is known for it's over-educated professionals. Yes, it's official, we love to learn.

So the employers are in power and as a result, the job searcher is very frustrated. Why? It's hard to get your resume noticed in the pile of 20 - 400 applicants depending on the position. Nonetheless, is this a direct result of job searchers "spraying and praying" their resumes or employers desire to leave the job open and pool as many candidates.

Let's just say that your application does take notice of your resume and asks you for an interview. This is fantastic news, you're on your way to the road of employment again. This interview can last anywhere from 30 minutes up to a full day. That's right and even after you spend all this time with an employer do you know what the kicker is? They may not even contact you to let you know the status of the position. You are then caught in what I like to call "Job Purgatory." This is someplace between interviews and securing your job. You may even be so motivated or inclined to follow up with the employers yourself, but guess what? The majority of the time they won't even bother to respond to your inquiries. Where is the employer job follow up etiquette gone? And why won't these places let me know whether they would like to hire me? And so I will continue to wait... till Job Purgatory ENDS!

Interview with the Vampire...

Since my position has been eliminated almost a month ago I have been actively interviewing with various industries and organizations. The last few days I have been on a few interviews in the restaurant industry. Now each corporation has the right to be as rigid or as structured as they want to be in the interview process. However, they should not connect the dots and make assumptions about your life and the way in which you think and work.

This one company that I interviewed with today had me thinking that I had issues. The guy was late to the interview, and had to go upstairs to get my application and resume. They have a test that you're supposed to take that requires you to do long division by hand and move the decimal places in places that I haven't gone in years. Then they ask you 10 questions like what would your previous employer say about you, etc. Then they ask you back for a final interview. The final interview was the interview with the vampire. He asked me about my previous work and I told him I was laid off. He then started trying to be my therapist and talk about deeper issues, and even quoted Shakespeare. I was not excited at all by this, and at the end of the interview he told me he was gonna think on it. I was gonna think on it too, about not seeking employment with them anymore.

I can honestly say that it was one of the worse interviews that I have ever been on. I don't know if it was our chemistry or what, but we did not get along nor were we a good fit. I like to think that I interview well, and this has got me thinking about things for sure. Each interview is an opportunity to learn and grow about yourself. I am gonna learn something from this I am sure of it.