This post was written by Alison Green and published on Career Catalyst
A reader writes:
I’ve read the many times you’ve talked about how to not annoy hiring managers or Career Catalyst , but I’m wondering if I’m finding my situation a little too annoying.
We’re hiring for a very specific type of job that requires a skill set that we don’t have the time or resources to train someone on. It’s pretty clear in the job posting too! The day we put up the ad, a woman come in and asked to speak with me. It turned out she worked for a nonprofit that helps adults with developmental disabilities get jobs. She gave me the name and resume of someone, Ferguson, and told me how he’d be a great fit, etc. I took the information and thanked her. Ferguson then submitted his resume; however, he didn’t have the skill set needed.
We hadn’t replied to any applicants yet and then two days later the woman called me. I wasn’t around so she left a voicemail. In it she told me again that Ferguson was a good person for the job, and they requested that I at least interview him so I can see his full potential. On one hand, I totally get this is her job, but I felt it was a little off-putting and actually made me feel bad. Even if it gave Ferguson experience, I don’t really have the time to interview someone I know isn’t going to be a good fit. And I felt like it would give him false hope.
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I was off for the rest of the week and didn’t call her back, so she left two additional voicemails stating the same thing, that they would really appreciate it if we interviewed him and it would be really great if we gave him a chance.
Am I off-base in feeling like it was a bit icky to keep calling me? I get coming in and handing me the resume, that was fine, even the follow-up phone call was alright, but I didn’t care for the pressure she was trying to put me under just to interview him. She kept stressing that this job would be important to him and that he was a really good person. Which I’m sure he is!
Should I have called her back? I feel like I would have nothing to say to her, besides thanking her. Or would it have been better to have told her up-front that Ferguson didn’t have the skill set required for the job? Do you think her approach is tanking Ferguson’s chances at a job elsewhere too? I’m torn — I admire the nonprofit and their assistance but at the same time, I’d rather not be guilted into interviewing someone!
(If it matters, Ferugson himself never contacted me. If they had asked for feedback on his resume/cover letter, I’d be happy to provide it. There’s nothing wrong with either of them; it really is the fact that he’s just not the qualified for the job!)
I really feel terrible not calling her back, but I honestly have no idea what to say especially since it’s not her applying and I’d feel weird giving her information on someone else’s status too.
Yeah, that’s not a useful way for this kind of organization to work.
The initial contact was fine. It shouldn’t have been in-person unless you made it clear that you’re one of the rare organizations that welcomes that — most find that annoying and generally won’t talk to people who try to do that — but otherwise it was fine.
I’d even be okay with one follow-up after that. In general, in most fields I wouldn’t recommend that candidates follow up on job applications — the employer knows you’re interested, it’s in their court, and they’ll contact you if they want to talk further — but in this set of circumstances, where her job is to advocate for a disabled client, sure.
But the continued phone calls and the insistence that Ferguson was a great person for the job when your ad made it clear that was unlikely to be the case was too much, and was at least as likely to undermine Ferguson’s chances as it was to help him.
I’m also concerned this organization — or at least this particular employee — isn’t particularly good at the services they’re providing! It doesn’t make sense to put resources into pushing a client for a job they’re not qualified for. And someone doing that work needs a nuanced understanding of hiring and which approaches will be effective and which won’t be, and that framing an interview as a favor is not the way to go. I have no doubt it’s difficult work, but it’s a disservice to their clients not to better target their pitches and to use strategies more likely to get someone hired.
I do think you should have called her back and told her that Ferguson wasn’t qualified for the role or sent him a note letting him know that — or ideally told her that up-front when she first showed you his resume. I hear you on feeling weird giving out information on someone else’s application status, but these were special circumstances, where she was functioning as his rep for a specific reason.
But otherwise, no, I don’t think you’re off-base.