Okay this is just a quick rant about the contempt that the majority of recruitment agents have for the poor mugs that are forced to use their services. It also applies to a majority of employers, in my experience, so take note everyone!
In these days of e-mail and automated systems, why is it so difficult for people to tell you that you are not suited for a particular role? In my experience, there is a culture of lack of response in the recruitment world. I appreciate that they are busy people, especially in the current climate, where I presume there are more applicants per role than in recent times. Even so, how difficult is it to send out an automated response along the lines of, “Thanks for your application, which will be carefully considered. We cannot reply personally to every application, but please assume that if you don’t hear from us within 7 working days, your application has been unsuccessful.”? I know one agency that does have such an automated response. The majority of the rest leave you hanging in the air.
When you get to the next stage, you would think things would improve. Far from it. Your CV is put forward to the company, and you might reasonably expect a yes or no to an interview. Again, no such luck. Of course, you will get a positive response, but how long should you wait before you give up waiting for a negative response? I have had a situation where I was offered an interview a full 3 months after my CV was submitted! I had in fact contacted the agent several times in the first month, and they had promised to update me regularly – perhaps I should have jemmied a frequency out of them!
The final stage, waiting after the interview. You might think, after personal contact, that the company would be gracious enough to inform you that they have rejected you. Nope. Many companies do not, either personally or through an agent. You usually have to contact them. Again, they treat you with contempt. Call me old fashioned, but surely a little courtesy wouldn’t go amiss at this stage? They can’t possibly be interviewing that many people for a single specific vacancy. Now that I am gearing up once again for my next job search, I hope things will improve, but I am not going to hold my breath. End of rant.