This is a response to the blog post by Mervyn Dinnen here.
There is inevitable duplicity built into the entire recruitment process. Would you advise a candidate to be scrupulously honest, and offer “full disclosure” in a discoverable way online?
Lies being told.
1. Candidates appear at interview, pretending that they already want the job, when they can’t possibly know until they have satisfied themselves with the particulars of the employer and the job. A job seeker who expects to be wooed, and expects the employer to “sell themselves” is usually given short shrift. Like dating, employers only like people who already like them.
2. Candidates tell the employer that their’s is the only job and company they’d want to work for, even when they have other interviews on the go.
3. Candidates often accept jobs (as I advise them to), as the best offer on the table, knowing that a better offer may come from elsewhere.
4. Employers tell candidates that they were their first choice, even after having offers to other candidates rejected.
5. Employers hold off rejecting candidates until they have a firm acceptance from their first choice; thereby potentially messing with a candidate’s view of other jobs.
The “theatre” of the application, interview, negotiation and offer processes is like a dance, where each party is assessing the other, and deciding whether to commit to a long term relationship. It’s clear that all of these steps should be handled discreetly. It simply wouldn’t do for either side to be brutally honest, whether it be the candidate discussing his options on Twitter, or an employer being candid with staff members not involved in the recruitment exercise.
All of these activities must, by necessity, be carried out behind closed doors. Save the announcements on social media channels for after the deal has been struck.
PS. Hat tip to this article by Recruitment Dad.
