Payback is a *****

If you talk to any corporate recruiters these days, their list of grievances is large:

• Too many open positions
• Talent hard to find
• Hiring managers taking too long to make decisions and then yelling at recruiters when candidates accept other positions

AND, the biggest complaint:  Candidates “ghosting” employers.  Not showing up to interviews or accepting the position and then never showing up to work.

But I can remember a time, not all that long ago…during the GREAT RECESSION, that things were very different.I did quite a bit of outplacement work during that time.  It was a dirty job but it paid the bills.  I served as a hired gun, laying off employees for companies that were too chicken-s*** to do it themselves.  Sort of like George Clooney’s character in Up in the Air.

I felt bad for a lot of these folks.  Many were jettisoned after 20+ years with no warning.  They showed up to work one day and found they were locked out of their computer and then were given a white box to fill with all their personal things.  Times were tough, for companies and for candidates.

The newly-laid off were very frustrated with the re-hiring process.  It was hard to find leads and then when they got interviewed, they rarely, if ever, heard anything back.  No news on whether they had the job or were summarily rejected.  No updates.  Complete silence.

And it hurt them.  Badly.  A person’s self-worth is often based on their work performance, and when there is no work, or no updates on work, well, you can imagine what that would be like.

But for most, things eventually improved.  The economy staggered back and most returned to work.  Unemployment shrank and the economy grew.

Which brings us to today.  Now it’s a job seeker’s market.  More opportunities for most than they can even consider. And, for the older ones, maybe an opportunity for PAYBACK.  Recruiters who were in elementary school during the GREAT RECESSION are paying the prices for the sins of their predecessors. And you can imagine what will happen when the next recession hits.  PAYBACK!

So this week, if you’re in the position to hire someone, be patient but get back to the candidate fast.  If you’re a job seeker, especially one who suffered in 2008-2009, resist the temptation to deliver some PAYBACK. Everything is cyclical.  Your time will come.  So will everyone else’s’. Be a good human ok?