Ask the Headhunter: Is This How Online Recruiting Really Works?

A Reader Asks:

Can you help me understand this? I'm a software contractor. A year ago I started posting my resume on the Internet with three employment websites. It has been an incredible boon to my job search. Only about one out of 10 employers who call me actually has an appropriate opening, but that's been enough to keep me continuously employed at generous rates.

What has me befuddled is the number of employers who've sent me rejection letters for jobs I never even applied for. Despite the fact my resume clearly states I'm looking for contract work and won't relocate, these companies send me a letter implying I submitted my resume to them for a regular, full-time position in another part of the country!

I never submitted my resume to these companies. Clearly, they are just picking my resume up off the Internet. No harm done since I'm being turned down for jobs I wouldn't want anyway.

Don't you think this is bad PR on the part of the HR departments?

Nick's Advice:

Sometimes, HR departments don't seem aware of how such behavior reflects on their companies. You see, resumes from databases are processed electronically to make the "first cut." It's a numbers game, and that's a shame.

I think I'll go off on a rant.

Note to anyone who sends resumes to HR departments: These are the people you may wind up interviewing with. You may even wind up working with them. So think twice about how you're going to approach them.

Note to job hunters who don't want their current employers to know they're "looking:" It's wake-up time - do you know where your resume is? Unless you've paid attention to your privacy settings, your employer can find it as easily as any other employer can.

Note to vendors of resume-processing software: Is this reader describing a bug or a feature in the systems you sell to HR departments? Remember: What you're selling isn't a database. You're selling help matching people to jobs. When technologists point out that your technology is hurting, not helping, the hiring process, you ought to pay attention.

Note to CEOs: Does your HR department's mandate read, "Make our company seem inept in the eyes of the professional community from which we're trying to recruit?"

Note to boards of directors: Is your HR department is spending investor's money on a junk-mail system? How high tech.

I love it when employers proclaim that, "People are our most important asset!" Well, then, they should put people back into the recruiting and candidate selection process to avoid such nasty database mistakes - and the unintended consequence of generating really lousy PR.

Thanks for sharing this unfortunate artifact of America's Employment System. Ah, I feel better now. :-)

Copyright © 2010 Nick Corcodilos. All rights reserved. Ask The Headhunter® is a registered trademark. Nick Corcodilos is president of North Bridge Group, Inc. and the author of two new e-books, How to Work with Headhunters and How Can I Change Careers? He shares his contrarian advice and hopes to learn a lot from you, too. Got questions or comments? Please join the discussion!

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