The Job Seekers Manifesto

Throughout my life, I’ve gone through some epic job searches. Searches that have lasted for a year, no lie. And that’s when I had a job. So it should be no surprise that I’m nearing a year with no job in sight after I was laid off.

But this experience has given me an interesting perspective on what it’s like to search for a job. We hear so much about what job seekers should and shouldn’t do. How we should dress and act, what questions to ask. Research the company first. What our resumes should look like, and on and on.

But no one ever talks about how the interviewer or the HR person should treat us, the poor, downtrodden job seeker. Of course, every HR person knows what questions are legally not permissible to ask. What I’m talking about is simply how those HR people treat us as fellow human beings.

Believe me, I’ve met up with some wackos during my job searches. Certifiable nutcases.

The first and worst one that comes to mind is the guy who literally starting screaming at me during the interview over what he thought were inconsistencies in my employment history. Hey, if he thought there was something amiss on my resume (there wasn’t; I’m honest to a fault), why did he call me in for an interview in the first place? Why subject me to his tirade?

I left that interview shaken. I had to sit down and compose myself for 10 minutes. I was younger then, so my self-confidence (never high to begin with) was completely shattered. I thought I had done something wrong, when, really, he should not have called me in if he only wanted to berate me.

What I should have done, instead of just slinking away, was contact his supervisor to complain about his behavior, which was truly unnecessary. I was there for a job interview, not to rob his wallet. Alas, I did not. It took me quite a while to feel at ease again in a job interview after that bizarre experience.

Speaking of bizarre, I once went to an interview where the lady who interviewed me said she didn’t have my resume. So she then proceeded to sit at her desk and stare at me, never asking me a question. Instead, I had to recite my employment history to her, while she sat there like a statue, seeming annoyed and waiting for me to leave. Oh, she told me a little bit about her company, but that was it. It was as if I had no shot at the job simply because she hadn’t taken the time to put my resume on her desk. What a birdbrain!

Yes, I should have brought a copy of my resume (and I might have; it was so long ago, I forgot if I did or not). But shouldn’t she have had a copy on her desk if she knew I was coming in for an interview? She wasted my time…as well as hers.

There’s more. I remember going on an interview where I sat in the waiting room while a company-wide gathering was obviously taking place in a nearby meeting room. What was said in that meeting I do not know. Was the company just sold? Was it downsizing? All I know is the woman who interviewed me afterward was downright nasty to me. Look, I understand if something in the meeting upset her. But she had no right to take it out on me, a perfect stranger whose only crime was that I happened to be the first person she encountered after the meeting. She could have rescheduled the interview or told me the position was no longer open. You know, treat me with a modicum of dignity and respect.

Then there are hiring practices that simply defy any rational explanation. Like the time I was told by a supervisor that I would not be hired unless the receptionist outside his door approved of me. Just to be clear, I did nothing more than pass by this woman and she gets to decide whether I was qualified or not for the position! Need I tell you how that turned out? I didn't get the job. Guess she didn’t like the clothes I was wearing.

Looking back, the thing that makes me most angry is that I sat there and took their appalling behavior without question.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I have gone on a couple of interviews where I was ill prepared and not at the top of my game. It happens, but in my case, very few times. I get nervous at job interviews and come off, in some instances, like a stammering space cadet. But never, ever have I been rude to the interviewer. I come well dressed and strive to act polite and professional. Wish the same could be said for the aforementioned HR people.

Think about it: If I blow an interview, I lose out on a job. If the HR person acts unprofessionally to an applicant, nothing happens to him or her. Where's the accountability?

Above all, job seekers do not want to waste time going on an interview where they have no hope of getting hired. That also wastes the time of the interviewer. So both sides have something at stake.

Speaking of a waste of time: I once interviewed for a job at a publication where they called me back twice and made me take a test. No problem with that. But then I get a letter saying that while I was an attractive candidate (God, I hate that phrase!) the editor decided to hire a former colleague. Well, if you knew you wanted to hire your BFF in the first place, why call me in for two interviews and make me take a test? And that was when I had a job, so getting the time off wasn’t easy.

And it’s not just me who has met up with unprofessional HR people. A former colleague told me of an interview she went on where the interviewer was quite rude. As my former co-worker was leaving the office, she asked the interviewer when she should expect to hear back. This is a rather innocuous question and one that the HR person usually answers without being prompted. Instead of being told in a couple weeks (again, a standard response), the interviewer pointed to a stack of papers on her desk and said with a sneer, “See all those papers. That’s everybody who has applied!” My former colleague replied, “Well, hire one of them.” She was a much braver person than I, but she was right to call out the interviewer on her unwarranted testy response.

I’ve read that we job seekers should not expect companies to inform us if we don’t get a job after we’ve interviewed for it. Of course, if we don’t hear from a company within a certain time period we understand we did not get the job. We’re not that stupid.

But sometimes it’s nice to get an email. If we’ve taken the time to travel to your office, sometimes taking off from our jobs, then the least you can do in return is send an email. It’s as if a near 10% unemployment rate gives HR people the right to forego common courtesy.

Sometimes, however, those emails can be a double-edged sword. Like when you find out the person they hired once worked for the New York Times. That’s right, the HR person sent me the hiring announcement. Wonderful, just wonderful. I am sooooo screwed if I’m going up against former NY Timers.

Other times, I found out whom the company did hire. In some instances, the person simply had the knowledge base they were looking for that I lacked. Then there was the intern right out of college they hired on the cheap. Oh, well…

To an HR person, we are just one more name on their daily to-do list. But for long-term unemployed, getting an interview is like winning the lottery. We get our hopes up, and to have them dashed in such a rude and unfeeling manner hurts.

So what is the right attitude a job seeker should take when faced with such blatant disregard for our humanity? What about what WE want and expect?

Here it is—the Job Seekers Manifesto:

• Don’t waste our time interviewing us for a job we have no hope of getting. You can see our experience from our resumes. I, for one, only apply for jobs where my background matches up as close as possible to what the company is seeking. Only call in those candidates who have a reasonable shot at getting the job, especially if we are forced to undergo numerous interviews and tests. We don’t like being disappointed any more than you like wasting your time interviewing us.

• Please don’t ask us stupid or silly questions that have no bearing on whether a person can do the job. Are we being interviewed for a job or undergoing a psych evaluation? My favorite: Where do you see yourself in five years? Well, in five years I hope to be alive. Is there any other answer to that asinine question?

• Be on time. Yes, I understand unforeseen meetings can delay you, just as traffic or other circumstances can delay an interviewee. But to be forced to cool our heels for 30 minutes or more in a lobby is unacceptable. Just because we are unemployed doesn’t mean our time is less important than yours.

• But most of all, show us respect. It’s not easy finding a job these days, and unemployed people face an uphill battle. If after meeting with me face to face, you do not believe I would be a good candidate for the job for whatever reason, that’s acceptable. What isn’t acceptable is rude and downright nasty behavior toward someone who simply wants to work.

In today’s job market, employers hold the upper hand and seemingly have the all rights. But job seekers still retain their right to be treated with dignity as human beings.