Shopping for Employees

I’ve noticed a lot of people describing getting several interviews, even multiple interviews in person, only to get a form letter rejection. Sure, sometimes it’s a fake listing. Employers do it all the time – a listing to invite external candidates when really an internal one is what they want. Often, it’s that they have no idea who or what they want to hire when the post the position, and sort of figure it out through the interview process, wasting the time of most of the applicants until then. Frequently they’re just wasting time in general, because they’re indecisive. But this is exacerbated by the increasing number of interviews being requested. “Can you come back in a third time. There’s one manager who was absent who also wants to interview you.” Come one, get it together, right? Oh, but it gets better…

recruiters and academics who follow such trends agree that more people are being asked to do more interviews before being offered a position. They also say it has become ever more common to ask prospective employees to work temporarily for a few months, with the possibility of a permanent job at the end. . . .

“Hiring managers are increasingly prone to shopping,” said Todd Safferstone … “In better times, we did one or two interviews. Now we really want to make sure someone will fit and we do a minimum of four interviews” . . .

“We’re definitely putting people through more paces than ever before,” said Michelle Robinovitz . . .

I ran into an acquaintance recently who told me that he had had eight interviews for a position and was still waiting to hear. . . .

hiring people on a three-month trial basis — usually without benefits — has become increasingly popular [New York Times, Oct 10, 2009]

Eight interviews. Trial employment. Shopping for employees? Makes you feel downright… special, doesn’t it? Like a cockapoo in a pet store.  Not long from now, hirees will be getting microchipped, too. This isn’t a trend that started with the market – it’s a trend that’s amplified by the market. If it took three months before the bust and five months after to locate a job when starting from scratch, what does it take now in a post-recession recession? It may take more patience than you’ve got. Here’s an idea: start a business while you wait. It can’t hurt. You can always dump it later if you hate it. But in the meantime, it not only will lend some dignity to your vocational impulse, but it may make the job search obsolete at some point. Rule of work… what is it number 60 or so by now? Always keep two irons in the fire. It may save your dignity, but it will almost certainly save your arse.