An open letter to employers and HR managers (HRMs) and recruitment agencies
Unemployment is an unfortunate reality that reeks of apathy and helplessness. If people are trying, honour their effort. Don’t add insult to injury by treating job seekers condescendingly.
Dear Employers, Human Resource Managers (HRMs) and Recruitment Agencies,
I hope this finds you either minding your own business, making plans for new hires, or just thinking about how to make the world a better place.
I'm taking the liberty of addressing you from here for two reasons. One, because suggestion boxes don't make the point any more and two, because individual job seekers might never speak out upfront for being shy, fear of alienation or coming out as too clever by half.
So, by way of this letter I speak for many, and I aim not to cast aspersions but rather invite a dialogue between both parties without overlooking the big picture.
Hereunder are my simple requests and I pray that they find favour in your sight.
Please desist from asking potential employees what they want for compensation. Just stop asking if your motive is to lowball us on our compensation packages.
We are aware that you are proactive and have determined beforehand what you can pay based on your budget, local averages for the type of position and potential years of experience.
It feels illogical, absurd and disturbing to get judged and rejected not because you’re unqualified but merely because of your CTC [cost to company] expectations.
Just inform people from the onset what the pay range is and let them decide if they want to apply and set aside time for the interview or not. It's only fair that we respect everyone's time.
Each and every one agrees that competence is non-negotiable and can't be compromised. On the other hand, however, meritocracy is a curious thing. I'm of the opinion that a pretty good number of jobs are teachable.
On-the-job learning is and has always been a critical component of any role. Please give people a chance. The search for an ‘ideal candidate’ is a wild goose chase. On-the-job training not only empowers people to realise their dreams but also heals their families and communities.
We understand. It's impossible for you to employ everyone. Sometimes you may not truly have the capacity to hire due to economic uncertainties and budget constraints.
Other times you might not even be able to help with referrals—and it's okay. What we ask for under all circumstances is to please be mindful when handling innocent job seekers. Being kind and respectable with your words can mean a lot.
Unemployment is an unfortunate reality that reeks of apathy and helplessness. If people are trying, honour their effort. Don’t add insult to injury by treating job seekers condescendingly. You can’t break the wings of a bird and then tell it to fly.
Incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in the hiring process is an excellent and progressive move but one that requires closer consideration.
Your decisions affect the livelihoods of communities and generations for posterity—something we can't utterly delegate to machines.
Experience has continually demonstrated that if one has the right disposition of attitude, can work well with others, is adaptable, emotionally intelligent, teachable and disciplined they can outperform themselves if given a chance and the right tools in an enabling environment.
No machine or algorithm can successfully appraise a candidate's soft skills with finality. Please don't allow machines to disqualify us.
Also, kindly don't give us the 'silent treatment' post-interview; it stirs up serious anxiety in our hearts and causes the mind to create problems that were not there initially. Because you can, please communicate.
Provide some feedback—honest feedback. This way we can know where we stand, right our wrongs, and maybe ace it in our next interview.
Acknowledging receipt of our applications and at least letting us know why we failed to meet your criteria makes us feel seen. As job seekers, we have no power to reject you; only you have the power to reject us.
Finally, if you must dispose of the papers we used to apply for the jobs, do it honourably. It's not only painful but disrespectful to bump into copies of your resume and academic papers on the roadside or in a public dump site years after being told only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Thank you for getting to the bottom of this letter and the matter it addresses. The work you do matters a lot to a lot of people. We look forward to an efficient, inclusive and more empathetic hiring landscape where opportunities go hand in hand with transparency, mindfulness and respect.
