Job seekers always complain about how they are handled during the course of their hunting. I asked job seekers on my Twitter handle to share some of the grievances they have against Human Resources Professionals as regards their journey through job hunting.
- No feedback following the interview.
- Asking personal questions not related to the job
- Panelists looking at their phones during an interview.
- Some laugh or look shocked when an interviewee gets a question wrong
Advertisment
- Job description very unclear
- Asking questions peculiar to their company which only an insider knows
- Calling for interviews very late e.g. 4 months after applying
- Not giving feedback after interviews
- The most annoying experience I’ve had is not being given attention when you are speaking, like picking up (or answering)the phone to make a call in the middle of an interview
- Not sharing any feedback at all even after telling you "We will get back to you before the end of the week" as an example.
- Asking questions not applicable for minor posts. Internship, for example, its an opportunity to learn hence one doesn’t know complex things in the field before practice. Worse still knowing that they have never been in a work environment. Some questions should depend on the post.
- Not giving feedback. It’s the 21st century it’s the least that can be done to communicate that you were not successful. It also shows a high level of professionalism.
- Requesting awkward qualifications for a post (e.g. just using previous occupant qualifications & not bother to do proper job analysis).
- Requiring certified electronic certificates
- Late interview invites of less than 24hrs notice
- 6 copies of the same application
- They call you for an interview say at 9:30 am, you get there and you are made to wait for more than an hour.
- Ghosting candidates after placing applications and after interviews even if the outcome is not in the affirmative
- I have been called to a couple of interviews. I was told that I did extremely well in the interview but I didn't get the job because I was not experienced enough. Then I ask myself WHY WAS I INVITED if I did not meet the ideal candidate.
- Asking for a copy of one's payslip or asking about one's current/previous salary
- They called me saying I got the job and told me when I was supposed to start the time my shift would start and end... I never started! They began to give excuses as to why there was a delay in giving me the contract. Why offer me the job when you're not ready to engage me?
- Sending me an invitation for an interview a day before the interview and still insist I should come for the interview
- You go for an interview and they just go silent not even an automatic response saying I wasn’t successful. A recruiting agent calls you and gives you a brief about an opportunity then asks you your current salary and benefits and she vanishes in thin air.
- Calling 20 people to an interview for a single post.
- Asking for my personal details (e.g. marital status) which I deliberately left out thinking they have nothing to do with work
- Giving false hope. Was told I aced interview then ghosted
- Multiple assessments for a junior post
- Requesting candidates complete an application form with a supporting statement, send a CV and a cover letter
- Interview panel of more than 3 people
- Recruiting for a position they have already filled or settled on a candidate.
- Was called for an interview in 2000, traveled all way from Mutare to Harare for it. When I got there was told I was not on the interviewee list, and unfortunately the senior manager who had invited me was away in the field. Left without being interviewed.
- Ignoring internal employees who have the needed qualification but without the experience of the job
- Gave a verbal proposal, the interview panel was impressed and asked me to put it in writing as the last step to get an offer. Wrote & submitted a proposal but never got an offer. Felt used, the organization implemented my proposal
- Personally, not having the decency to inform me of my rejection after I'd been interviewed was especially disappointing. HR from multiple companies did this. I once got told when I called myself to follow up "Oh, the successful candidate already started a month ago
- Asking "where do you see yourself in the next 5 years"
- When an HR person asks u a question intentionally that jeopardizes your opportunity to get that position. Technically you aced the interview, the technical panel is impressed. Sometimes qualifications & experience are overrated.
- I once interviewed with the Nigerian arm of a large global payments company and the HR person insisted on me disclosing how much I currently earned even when I said I didn’t want to disclose that. He said if I didn’t, then we couldn’t continue with the interview
- When I started as a young HR graduate my worst experience was going for an interview and never told my performance. An email to say I was unsuccessful is required.
- Panels that acts like attending an interview is a sign of desperation and acts in a disrespectful manner, the panel show up for interview late, shuffling the panel during the interview
- Tell us about yourself, that is a stupid question
- Once I attended an interview, the attitude of the panel in the first 5 minutes left a lot to be desired. I politely told them I did not want to waste their time and they should not waste mine. I stood up and left.
Memory Nguwi is an Occupational Psychologist, Data Scientist, Speaker, & Managing Consultant- Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd a management and human resources consulting firm. https://www.linkedin.com/in/memorynguwi/ Phone +263 4 481946-48/481950/2900276/2900966 or cell number +263 77 2356 361 or email: mnguwi@ipcconsultants.com or visit our website at www.ipcconsultants.com