Starting before Covid-19 and gaining speed throughout the pandemic, there has been a growing degradation of the interview process. It’s become commonplace for job seekers to lament that they’ve been rudely treated. Their stories contain the same thread, consisting of ghosting, little to no feedback from interviews, last-minute cancellations of meetings and dismissive attitudes on the part of human resources and hiring managers.

The frustrations and rage of the job seeker were exemplified and amplified in a vulnerable post by an experienced human resources professional, Lisa Smith, who shared her unnerving and heartbreaking story on LinkedIn. The social media platform, unlike Facebook and Twitter, does not foster viral content. The white-collar-focused platform focuses on one-on-one interactions, primarily related to career matters. In the context of the site, Lisa Smith’s post went wildly viral, receiving over 20,000 comments and likes.

In the post, Smith launched into a litany of all the mistreatment she was subjected to, while in pursuit of a new job. After being asked to drive 2,000 miles for an interview, Smith found out that the hiring manager wasn’t available and another person—unbeknownst to Smith—took over. This person requested a video call. Needing a job, Smith went along with the switch, didn’t complain, but wondered why this couldn’t have been done at her home. Before trekking back another 2,000 miles, the interviewer told her that she was “concerned” about Smith “not fitting in,” pointing out that she talks differently than everyone else. The interviewer said Smith, a Californian, would stick out and is not the right fit for their southern team.

After searching for months, Smith has heard it all. At one interview, the manager was unprepared and said, “Wait while I look at your résumé; I haven’t seen it yet.” Then, after mulling it over, he curtly said, “You actually don’t have the experience we’re looking for.” There have been plenty of “thanks for applying, but we’ve chosen another candidate” and a dismissive “have a beautiful rest of your week” after being rejected.

Smith has heard so many times, “I don’t know why they went with the other candidate; they just liked her better,” that she has to suppress her inner rage. It doesn’t phase her anymore to hear, “I’m sorry for calling 35 minutes late. Do you have time to talk now?”

“I just heard back from my only prospect and, while some might think hearing this is a good thing, I’m ready to scream if I hear one more time that they are going with the other candidate, ‘but know we really liked you and you were our second choice.’”

Smith continued sharing her dilemma, “Not kidding at all, I have heard this from over 10 places. Being second choice is not any better than being twentieth choice and does not change circumstances at all. Especially when no one will tell you what this person has that you don’t if you’re so great. I’m done with this job search. Its pointless, cruel, and demeaning And yes, I’m very mad, wouldn’t you be?”

Summing up her experiences, Smith wrote on LinkedIn, “I have NEVER in all my years of recruiting or in my own job searches seen such horrible, rude, inconsiderate behavior. PLEASE read the résumé first. Value applicants’ time, too. Make time to speak to the candidate and be present. Stop saying you only need a B.S., then hire someone with a M.S. Quit overlooking the unemployed. Learn what emotional intelligence is. Stop ghosting.”

Speaking on behalf of her fellow job hunters, Smith lamented, “People are really struggling right now. My situation is not unique. We don’t need to deal with inconsiderate behavior [on] top of everything else going on. Just because you’re fortunate enough to still have your job doesn’t mean you don’t need to or can’t show empathy to candidates who might literally be looking at the job you’re interviewing them for as their last hope. Just be kind.”

Her candor and transparency about her travails resonated with hundreds of other job seekers. They flooded her page with their own sad stories of mistreatment.

She also received an avalanche of sympathy, support and advice from well-meaning empathetic people. Many people asked for her résumé so that they could share it with potential leads. Recruiters, human resource professionals and managers offered their assistance. The outpouring of support, camaraderie and commiseration was powerful. As horrendous as the rude, incivil and inappropriate behaviors of the interviewers were, it was heartwarming for her to see all of the love.

If this was a movie, someone on LinkedIn would’ve swooped in with a fantastic job offer. Unfortunately, we’re living in the real world, which is plagued by a pandemic causing massive job losses.

Speaking with Smith, she’s still on the job search. However, there is a real fear. Now that the rules over evictions have elapsed, she worries about what may happen to her home. She is considering relocating to a place that has more jobs available compared to where she resides in California. There are more opportunities in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City, but the costs of living in those cities are exorbitant.

Smith epitomizes the reality of millions of Americans. As children, we are promised that hard work, going to school and getting a college degree would be the ticket to a nice, comfortable middle-class life. You’d get the white picket fence in a pleasant suburb, have kids and one day retire. Instead, the U.S. has seen 60 million people filing for unemployment since the start of the outbreak. Millions more are underemployed, thrusted into jobs below their education levels, skills and experience, taking roles just to have health insurance, retiring early due to lack of alternatives and pivoting to the gig economy.

With such a dire situation, you would think that senior-level corporate management would demand that their employees treat job seekers with dignity and respect. The horrible treatment has caused agony, dismay, loss of self-esteem, mental health issues and depression for people who are in between jobs or desperately trying to leave a bad situation and find a better job.

To be fair, recruiters and corporate employees say that they are understaffed and overwhelmed. It’s so easy to apply for jobs online that they’re inundated with résumés and can’t possibly get back to every submission. They’ll claim that the people who submit résumés are not suitable or the applicants don’t live up to expectations. It’s believed that feedback isn’t offered out of fear of complaints of discrimination and possible lawsuits. In light of all of the uncertainties, companies don’t know what to do—so they do nothing. They’ll interview, but hold off making decisions, as news of a second wave of the outbreak strikes fear and states are starting to enact lockdowns again.

Hopefully, as more intrepid and bold job seekers speak out about their mistreatment, executives will take notice and push for treating people with dignity, respect and courtesy in an empathetic way. Smith may be the agent of change that’s much needed in the interviewing and hiring process.

Source: Forbes