This post was written by Alison Green and published on Career Catalyst
A reader writes:
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- our new hires keep quitting after their first week
- a nonprofit kept badgering me to interview their disabled client
- candidates ask so many questions that our interviews are running over schedule
- how to respond to a volatile rejected job applicant
- when a job candidate reschedules their interview at the last minute
- should I hire an ex?
- I think my nanny candidate used a fake reference
- is it OK for job postings to require a “clean-cut appearance”?
- how can I reject former coworkers applying for jobs with me?
- How to make Preparation for Interview in Amazon USA ?
- How to boost my career in IT industry ?
My company has a very small number of permanent employees but we employ a large number of entry-level seasonal workers at a couple of points in the year. We don’t have landlines, only company cell phones. The phone number on our website, brochures, etc. is my number and job applicants often call my number, asking for more details about compensation, qualifications, job duties, etc. before they have been contacted for an interview.
On the one hand, I don’t want to be one of those snooty HR people, and I know this would be the first job for a lot of these folks. But I’m not in HR or the hiring manager for these jobs, many of these details are in the job posting, and honestly, it’s just annoying. The system is pretty automated — within three weeks, they are either contacted for an interview or sent a rejection — so it’s not like we’re leaving people hanging.
How much should I talk to applicants when they call? And is there some way I can gently educate young and eager job seekers about what is and isn’t appropriate?
I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them).