Professional Courtesy

It's an interesting thing, basic professional courtesy.....

In the past couple of months I've spoken with several recruiters and HR personnel (direct employees of companies) and discussed opportunities. In some instances the position may not have sounded like a good fit to me but it was interesting to hear the recruiter/HR person say that they would be back in touch with me. I've heard this more than once and it's interesting because most of the time they don't contact you back, even though they said they would. I also don't believe they had any intention of calling me (or any candidates who didn't fit the bill) back.

None of this breaks my heart and I'm not really surprised by it but I was thinking about it on the way to work this morning after someone cut me off another car on the road. There seems to be a general lack of professional courtesy in job searching. In recollecting previous job searches I've seen this before and if you think about it, it's really a lie because they have no intention of calling you back. It's like a date that doesn't work out and one person tells the other they'll call, even though s/he has no intention of calling.

Now I'm not upset about it but I am disappointed that this sort of behavior has become the norm. Honestly, I would never tell someone I'd call them back if I had no intention of doing so.

If anything, consider this a request for the basic courtesy that if it doesn't look like it's a good fit, be honest and upfront and say so.