Library Worklife

Volume 3, No. 11 • November 2006

HR Practice

Mind Your Manners

Courtesy Important For Employers As Well As Employees

By Christine Martin

Even though unemployment is low (4.4 percent in October, according to U.S. Department of Labor) and the American Library Association has predicted a shortage of librarians, library job applicants still complain that employers fail to extend even the most common courtesies. In the words of one academic librarian:

Is it really so difficult to type up a form letter that says “We received your application; thanks for your interest”? If someone doesn’t make the first cut, let them know rather than making them wait another five months. Actually let interviewees know your decision in the timeframe you said you would. If your decision is delayed, let them know. This isn’t the fine print in an ancient edition of Emily Post; it is basic courtesy that everyone has a right to expect in any profession.

And while it may seem that employers get away with more bad behavior than applicants, at least some recruiters say that employers would do well to remember their manners-if only to avoid developing a bad reputation among prospective employees.

"Whether on the street or via Internet chat rooms and bulletin boards, word can spread quickly that certain companies don’t treat applicants-and, by implication, employees-with respect," says Gene Koprowski, writing in HR Magazine, a publication of the Washington, D.C.-based Society for Human Resource Management. "Actively and effectively managing the interview process is vital because applicants will use the experience to form opinions-either positive or negative-of the business."¹

How to "Actively and Effectively" Manage Your Hiring Process?

Koprowski and others offer the following tips for running a hiring process that is efficient yet treats candidates and search committee members with respect:

Application stage: Acknowledge resumes that you have received.
Yes, they can constitute a deluge. But even a postcard thanking the candidate for his or her interest and reciting the organization’s policy as to how long it keeps resumes on file may do the job. In fact, such a postcard may forestall phone calls from applicants who "just want to make sure you received my resume."

Interview stage: Be a good host
Howard Adamsky, author of "Make a Good Impression by Being a Polite Host," also writing in HR Magazine,² suggests the following for treating candidates with professional (if not common) courtesy:
1. If you’re bringing a candidate in from a distant location, fly him or her in the night before. Don’t expect them to interview after several hours of travel.
2. Make sure the candidate receives-at least four days before the interview-any information necessary for its successful completion (e.g., driving directions, telephone number, time and place of interview)
3. Greet the candidate in a positive manner and offer him or her a beverage, use of the restroom, etc.
4. Begin the interview on time. If there is a last-minute change or you or others are running late, apologize.
5. Make sure interviewers (or the search committee) have the candidate’s resume, cover letter, and the position profile well before the interview.
6. At the end of the interview, ask the candidate if he or she has any questions. Use this opportunity to gain insight into his or her thoughts and priorities.
7. Schedule enough time for lunch if it’s part of the interview (90 minutes for a restaurant, 60 minutes for food served in-house). Ask the candidate if he or she has any dietary restrictions.
8. Don’t use lunch for "hard-core" interviewing. Use it to form a relationship, talk about the industry in general, and "do some gentle probing on important issues." But, Koprowski warns, don’t use it as an opportunity to ask questions not allowed in the interview (e.g., "How old are you?" or "Are you Spanish?")
9. End the interview on schedule if possible. If you run late and want to continue the discussion, ask the candidate’s permission. Realize that the candidate may have other appointments or may have to catch a plane.
10. Keep your promises. If you say you will get back to the candidate, say when it will be, and do it. If you have to postpone, let the candidate know.
Decision stage: Don’t keep candidates in the dark.
Koprowski says keeping candidates informed is paramount. Applicants who are left hanging interpret such treatment as "hostile, brusque, and unfair," he says.³ So if it’s apparent that the candidate isn’t right for the job, send a letter thanking him or her for his or her time and for participating in your hiring process.

If you decide not to fill the job, let applicants know.

If you’re still interviewing ... let applicants know.

"In the nanosecond culture of the Internet age, there is no excuse for failing to communicate with applicants-at the very least by email," says Jim Huling, CEO of Matrix Resources, a staffing firm in Atlanta, as quoted in Koprowski’s article.⁴

But before you contact a candidate, make sure members of your organization agree on who will speak on its behalf. This is especially important in academic libraries, where search committees are the norm. For the ALA’s guidelines on using a search committee to hire academic librarians, see www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/screenapguide.htm.

And If You Are the Applicant?

Prospective employees should not ignore rudeness or inconsideration during the hiring process, says Redia Anderson, national principal for talent acquisition and diversity at the Houston office of Deloite and Touche and quoted in Koprowski’s 2004 article. Instead, she says, job seekers should carefully consider whether they want to work in what may be a rude or thoughtless environment. "In today’s market, the interview process is, once again, a two-way process," she says. "It’s a buying transaction. Both parties have choices."

So heeding your instincts may keep you out of an angry or hostile workplace. And if you’re an employer, treating job seekers with courtesy and respect may yield more or better applicants. "Small kindnesses may go a long way to convincing applicants that they-or their friends, family, or colleagues-should want to work for your company," Koprowski says. Besides, Huling says, "We are all just people, and each of us is just one decision away from being on the other side of the hiring process."⁵

References

Gene J. Koprowski, "Rude Awakening: Treating Job Applicants Courteously Will Have to Become Standard Operating Procedure for Employers As the Labor Market Tightens," HR Magazine 49, no. 9 (2004): 50.
Howard Adamsky, "Make a Good Impression by Being a Polite Host," HR Magazine 49, no. 9 (2004): 50.
Koprowski, "Rude Awakening”; Adamsky, "Make a Good Impression by Being a Polite Host.”
Ibid.
Ibid.

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