Staffing News
January 1st - 2023
The Dangers of the short-term approach to your career ... (don't be scared to say no)
Staffing News
Posted By : Peter Learn
January 1st, 2023
The Dangers of the short-term approach to your career ... (don't be scared to say no)
As a professional recruiter with almost 15 years of experience, I have worked on thousands of different jobs and seen many trends come and go. One of the most alarming and potentially damaging mistakes is people's short-term approach to their job search.
In the last month, I have had at least two job seekers agree to interviews and then not show up at the scheduled time. Even worse, they were embarrassed and afraid to follow up with me to help reconcile the situation. Although rare in my personal experience, more and more job seekers have become distracted and choose to move on without explanation, rather than provide clarity and closure for the initiative.
Recruiters are tied in with a lot of different companies, not just the one that you blew the interview with. If they are tenured, they have also built solid relationships with many HR people and often act as a sounding-board.
You never know who you are blowing off. The message that skipping an interview with no notice sends is a clear one:
- I don't respect other people's time
- I am unreliable
- I am not trustworthy
Job seekers also make the mistake of thinking that the company will blame the recruiter and not the job seeker.
These may sound like harsh statements but they are in fact tame compared to the things that real employers say when their limited time has been wasted. Most of the relationships with my clients are long-standing and they know that I do my due diligence. They simply blacklist the candidate in their database and move on, which can definitely come back to hinder the job seeker.
This is an easy situation to prevent by following three simple rules that will have positive results for all parties involved (including the job seeker):
- Only agree to interview for positions that you are actually interested in. Don't be afraid to say "No thank you".
- Refrain from agreeing to a time thinking that you can make it work. Make sure that it works first, before committing to the interview.
- If you change your mind, contact all parties to let them know. If there are extenuating circumstances, be clear about what they are, offer an apology, and provide alternate times.
Treat your career and the people involved in it with respect, professionalism and watch your opportunities and success start to grow.
