Professionalism - Is It Completely Dead in Central Indiana?

15 Comments

Comment by Chris Horn on September 2, 2008 at 10:57am

I certainly feel your pain. Ive experienced this from multiple angles. I was in a job search about a year and a half ago. The vast majority of resumes/applications I sent out never got a response. I had several interviews that I though went very well only to never hear back from the company nor have any of my messages returned. From a business perspective we've found that oftentimes people take bids/proposals for jobs from companies they never intend to do business with. They take these proposals and use them as amunition to get their current provider to provide quicker responses, low price, etc.

Comment by Hazel "The Queen" Walker on September 2, 2008 at 12:25pm

I don't do bids or proposals, but I do put on events, and I am not sure that the people in Indiana know what RSVP means. People show up without ever letting us know they are coming and many RSVP then don't show up at all and we are out the money for the head count. When we charge them anyway they are mad. My daugher had a very small wedding 72 people RSVP'ed 96 showed up, this was a real challenge for us.

It is common courtesy to either send your regrets or let a person know you will be in attendance then show up. For the most part, I don't think these courtesies are being taught anywhere.

Comment by Keith J. Hampton on September 2, 2008 at 12:37pm

Chris, thankfully, I didn't have a job on the line as you did. It's not unusual to get few responses to resumés/applications. But to not hear back from an interview process is truly bad, especially if you've called in to find out the results.

When I was in the position to get proposals/bids from other companies (and I still get many of them for outside services) I always try to let the bidders know what the results were, especially if they call asking. Otherwise, they might not be so anxious to bid on future work!

Hazel, I'd be tempted to let those who didn't RSVP get drinks but no dinner. That's what RSVP is supposed to help take care of. If they get mad at the results, they have no one to blame but themselves!

What is really strange is how someone could get an email or voicemail message and simply NOT respond...especially after being received so cordially in a meeting at the offset. It's as if the person who was so polite on the front end changed into someone else. Does that mean the first personality was actually just a fake? Seems so.

I respond to any message, especially in the business I'm in. If you don't, you cease to exist in the minds of many buyers!

Comment by Theresia Whitfield on September 2, 2008 at 1:15pm

Keith - I feel your pain too! As a writer, not hearing back from an editor comes with the territory. Does that make it right? No. Absolutely not. I recognize that people are busy, but, with a little organization and time management, a simple yes or no wouldn't hurt anyone and would do wonders for their reputation in a positive sense. I agree with Hazel, The Queen though. This is common courtesy but it's not being taught anywhere. And with today's youth communicating via text message, it's only going to get worse. (Hmmm... I smell a story here!) Still, it starts to mess with the psyche after a while! All we can do is continue to set the right example, plant the seed, and hope others will catch on!

Comment by Cindy Dashnaw on September 2, 2008 at 1:17pm

Sadly, once or twice members of Smaller Indiana have been guilty of asking for people who are interested in work to submit their names and samples, and then never even acknowledged receipt of the information -- let alone getting back to the sender to say yes or no. I feel your pain, too. How long does it take to send an acknowledgement?

Comment by Matthew Theriault on September 2, 2008 at 3:20pm

Ouch Ouch Ouch (trying a creative way to say "I feel your pain").
I've had people come to my office, spend an hour to an hour and a half delving through what they are trying to accomplish, and then on my follow up (putting together and sending a proposal, sticking with their timeline for follow ups) have the person fall of the edge of the earth and disappear. I think one thing that may help (which may not be available depending on your situation) is shortening the funnel. For folks that were looking to act within a week or two (at the most) I've had the fewest number of "drop offs". When the deployment / decision making process is long and cumbersome, oddly enough that's when they drop off more frequently.

Comment by Keith J. Hampton on September 2, 2008 at 5:01pm

Thanks for the input from various corners... I see I'm not the only one that has to put up with this. Misery loves company!

I think for most of us, the hardest part is the Not Knowing. Was my price too high? Was my solution too "out there"? Did I smell? Did I have bad breath? Was my business card smudgy? Ok, those last three were poking fun, but...

Just to have some of those unknowns answered helps us going forward with that next project. We have some idea of what was "wrong" with the last try.

Comment by Kelly J. Jeffrey on September 2, 2008 at 10:00pm

OUCH to us young folk!!! I feel your pain, though. I'm currently about six months into my job search, and looking is a lot of work- like a second job! Lots of personalized cover letters and resumes, writing samples, etc. Lots of time spent. I'd say 9 out of 10 times I do not hear ANYTHING back, follow up or not. I think it is extremely rude that I will spend time to submit my resume, and then to follow up, and not be even told "no thank you." I agree- it STINKS to just not know. Because I am young (23, but graduated college early) I feel that older professionals don't think they owe me the same respect as people who have been in my field for many years. THAT hurts! And I apologize for any younger professionals who have treated you like this... boo to them!

Comment by Hazel "The Queen" Walker on September 2, 2008 at 10:35pm

Oh, Kelly it is not your age, young or old, people just do not do the next right thing, like a simple follow up. Good luck with the job search!

Comment by Keith J. Hampton on September 3, 2008 at 12:13am

I do apologize for any ageism I may have pre-colored the conversation with, it's just that the last few times this has happened, it's been with people under 30. Coincidence, perhaps, but I've had the same type of thing happen with a few people around my age (49) as well.

Let's hope that by bringing this type of thing out, it happens less often!

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