Okay, so if you've read my recent posts, you've seen that my company hosted 4 career fairs last month- one each in ME, NH, RI, and AL. All were a success, if you count success as providing an opportunity for local businesses to meet face to face with job candidates. I am proud that we did them, and believe we offered a benefit to a great many job seekers and employers in the markets we serve.
That being said, I'm still rather dismayed about some of the attitudes and behaviors of the employers who say they're looking for great talent, but do not engage job seekers and are not fully prepared for the occasion.
Now, don't get me wrong. I really don't fault any employers make the effort to be there. The problem, as I see it, is much more interwoven in our business culture. Rarely, if ever, are decision makers present at such events. That being the case, the entire value of the face to face meeting is watered down and almost completely lost. Also, in many cases, the people sent to staff the booths are fully informed on the skills and experiences required for the specific openings. Again, I don't believe this is the fault of the people staffing the booths, or of the HR dept in general. It has merely become status quo... good enough.
And adding on to the discouragement for some of the job seekers (trust me, I heard from dozens directly, and hundreds through our survey forms, so I'm not making this stuff up- while the majority of attendees ranked the event very well, some of the higher level seekers felt disappointed by the occasion), is that once they do have a good conversation at this type of an event, they are sent home to fill out an application online.
My goodness!!! Let's place decisions on the most fundamental pieces of a company in the hands of online resources! FOR REAL?! This sometimes seems like some type of Orwellian nightmare... Oh, yes, I liked you, and think you'd make a great candidate, but our computer will prescreen you and let us know if we should follow up.
I spoke with a company last year that really drove this point home for me. One of their long term employees moved out of state with her husband who was in the military. After 2 years, she returned to the area and tried to get her job back. It was mandatory for her to now go through an online application and screening resource administered by a third party. You know where I'm going with this... SHE FAILED TO GET THROUGH THE PRESCREEN! Her manager, who was relaying this story, was very clear that she was an excellent employee with a great track record and work ethic. Now, because the decisions about this 3rd party administrator are made at the corporate level, this manage CAN'T HIRE THE BEST PERSON, and has no recourse to circumvent the system.
Okay...so maybe its just early on a Tuesday morning... but that's what I think I think!
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