I'm not sure at what point the Valley decided that it was okay to not respond back to applicants once they were no longer interested, but it's terribly unprofessional behavior. I had an interview with a very established dotcom in San Jose, and I went through 5 interviews and talked salary with the director of the group, and then they stopped responding to my emails for some unknown reason. I emailed him directly asking for feedback, as well as the recruiters, and it was radio silence.
I applied to a bunch of companies last year, and was in the middle of the process with many of them when I decided on the company I was going to work for. I wrote them all an email notifying them, but thanking them for the opportunity to meet with them. A few startups didn't even bother responding back, but I did receive some nice emails back from some companies thanking me for letting them know, and wishing me luck at my job, and if things didn't work out, to contact them again.
I'm not saying I needed to be treated like royalty, but basic common courtesy goes a long way. As well, how you treat people that you don't need to treat well reflects on the type of company (and person) you really are.
>As well, how you treat people that you don't need to treat well reflects on the type of company (and person) you really are.
This is really an underappreciated bit of wisdom here. The true nature of a person is revealed by how they treat those that are "beneath" them (socially) or are otherwise not useful to them. Someone who is rude and demanding to waitstaff, or rude to a stranger passing by is someone who will eventually turn on you once you are no longer beneficial to them. Take these instances as warnings.
Totally agree. Even worse is when a company promotes a certain set of values on their blog and elsewhere but then fails to actually be what they "preach" :|
I think you took it too far by pandering to wait staff. Their jobs are to wait. I don't think they're below me. I think they should take as much pride in their job as I do in mine, and if they don't care to even try to do well at their job, I'm going to let them know. It's one thing to be rude or obnoxious, but it's another to let them know that their service is not up to snuff.
You say it's bad to treat people "below you" badly, but I think it's even worse to believe anyone's below you, and thus, beyond scrutiny.
You are defending a position he did not take. When did he say to pander to waitstaff? All he said is don't be rude and demanding. There are ways to address deficiencies without being rude or demanding.
> You say it's bad to treat people "below you" badly, but I think it's even worse to believe anyone's below you
That's why he put it in quotes. hackinthebochs never said he thinks they are below him, just that many people do, and treat them badly. You cannot deny that there are people who think this way or that there are not some standards that society in general uses to compare people.
I've long given up on expecting a reply when I send in a resume. What amazes me is how rude some people are after you've taken the time to interview with them. Like you mentioned, some will not even dignify you with a quick reply to let you know that you didn't get the job. I think some of this behavior comes from the flawed mindset that some people have. They think "important people are too busy for things like simple courtesies, so if I neglect those, it must mean I'm too busy and therefore important".
I applied to a bunch of companies last year, and was in the middle of the process with many of them when I decided on the company I was going to work for. I wrote them all an email notifying them, but thanking them for the opportunity to meet with them. A few startups didn't even bother responding back, but I did receive some nice emails back from some companies thanking me for letting them know, and wishing me luck at my job, and if things didn't work out, to contact them again.
I'm not saying I needed to be treated like royalty, but basic common courtesy goes a long way. As well, how you treat people that you don't need to treat well reflects on the type of company (and person) you really are.