Decency of a response...
Discussion
When receiving speculative CV's or approaches to your business by people looking for jobs, do you have the decency to acknowledge the letter/email or just ignore it?
Really gets on my tits when people don't even have the common courtesy to fire a quick email off to you thanking you for your interest etc?
Really gets on my tits when people don't even have the common courtesy to fire a quick email off to you thanking you for your interest etc?
I was made redundant in September 2008 and have only just found a new job with the contract being sent out to me this week 
Inbetween time I estimate I have contacted almost every agency covering my sector (Banking operations and project management) about roles they have posted on the web sites I am registered on. I have had good experiences with about 5% of the agencies (returning calls and emails, being able to have a technical discussion on role etc) with the other 95% being total oxygen thieves. My experience tells me that they work on a "scatter gun" methodology hoping that if they send in enough CV's to a client one of them will get the job and they will get the commission. Any failures are totally ignored with no feedback provided.
So to sum up.....recruitment agencies are 95% pond life with very few exceptions. Now I am back in work at a level where recruiting staff will be within my remit I anticipate many agencies will be taken off of the preferred supplier list of my new employer
Inbetween time I estimate I have contacted almost every agency covering my sector (Banking operations and project management) about roles they have posted on the web sites I am registered on. I have had good experiences with about 5% of the agencies (returning calls and emails, being able to have a technical discussion on role etc) with the other 95% being total oxygen thieves. My experience tells me that they work on a "scatter gun" methodology hoping that if they send in enough CV's to a client one of them will get the job and they will get the commission. Any failures are totally ignored with no feedback provided.
So to sum up.....recruitment agencies are 95% pond life with very few exceptions. Now I am back in work at a level where recruiting staff will be within my remit I anticipate many agencies will be taken off of the preferred supplier list of my new employer
If you receive an offer through the post for a good discount on double-glazing, do you write back to them thanking them for their interest?
Of course, when you send out a CV, it's the most important thing in the world to you, but an employer may well be getting dozens or even hundreds of speculative CVs every single day, and responding to those in whom they're not interested is not the most important thing in their day, so don't take it personally.
Of course, when you send out a CV, it's the most important thing in the world to you, but an employer may well be getting dozens or even hundreds of speculative CVs every single day, and responding to those in whom they're not interested is not the most important thing in their day, so don't take it personally.
Not fussed with a CV, but recently I had an interview, which went very well, the guy told me it had gone well, and he had a few more people to interview and would let me know in a few days, 2 weeks later he hadn't got back to me and ignored my email asking for feedback on why I hasn't been chosen.
I never have expected a reply to a speculative letter or CV, because having been on the receiving end of hundreds of the damn things, you simply can't reply to them all.
However once my details have been forwarded for a position, I do expect an agent to take a minute to let me know when an application is unsuccessful.
Over the last 10 months of job hunting I found that good agents do tend to keep you updated. There are a lot of poor ones that don't, so vote with your feet. In my experience their lack of professionalism often extends to other aspects of their work, not just their comms skills, and are best avoided.
However once my details have been forwarded for a position, I do expect an agent to take a minute to let me know when an application is unsuccessful.
Over the last 10 months of job hunting I found that good agents do tend to keep you updated. There are a lot of poor ones that don't, so vote with your feet. In my experience their lack of professionalism often extends to other aspects of their work, not just their comms skills, and are best avoided.
AB said:
When receiving speculative CV's or approaches to your business by people looking for jobs, do you have the decency to acknowledge the letter/email or just ignore it?
Really gets on my tits when people don't even have the common courtesy to fire a quick email off to you thanking you for your interest etc?
It depends, once in a while someone sends me a letter/email and CV that clearly demonstrate that they have made an effort, they have found out something about the company and are selling themselves in the right context. They have put themselves out and, whilst I didn't ask them to do it I would respond with something. Really gets on my tits when people don't even have the common courtesy to fire a quick email off to you thanking you for your interest etc?
But the vast majority of unsolicited CVs come from people who have made no effort, they've just got a standard CV and email that they are batting out to as many people as possible, or at least that is what they look like. Those I just delete.
Of course you also have to factor in spam filters, if you are sending a CV as an attachment from a hotmail account, or similar, there is every chance nobody will read it at all.
AB said:
When receiving speculative CV's or approaches to your business by people looking for jobs, do you have the decency to acknowledge the letter/email or just ignore it?
Really gets on my tits when people don't even have the common courtesy to fire a quick email off to you thanking you for your interest etc?
Always, without a doubt, no matter how stupid the application was, even during the dotcom boom when everyone thought they were a web designer.Really gets on my tits when people don't even have the common courtesy to fire a quick email off to you thanking you for your interest etc?
Edited by ShadownINja on Monday 4th January 14:46
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