FOLLOWING-UP ON JOB APPLICATIONS


Albert Isaacs,
Write-to-the-Point (Professional Writing Service).

Unfortunately, there is an ever growing tendency on the part of some companies not to reply to job applications. Often, the only way that you know that you've been unsuccessful is that you don't receive any type of response. That being said, most reputable companies do try and respond to all application letters and emails. However, occasionally things are not quite as they seem. I recently heard of a person who replied to a job advertisement by email, as requested. A little while later, the applicant received a letter by snail-mail telling her that she had been unsuccessful. As it happened, when she sent off her email, she requested a return receipt when the email had been read; a week after being told that she hadn't got the job, she received an email from her server telling her that her job application hadn't even been opened! Here's a personal story: over a decade ago, I sent off a job application and received a letter inviting me to an interview in the business proprietress' office, which happened to be attached to her home. When I arrived, on time, I was greeted by the proprietress' confused daughter who told me that her mother was out of town for about a week; further, I soon ascertained that, when the letter was sent to me, the proprietress would have known that she couldn't have kept the appointment!

Hopefully, these anecdotes should prepare job applicants for discourtesy of the part of some companies. However, as with most things, it's a two-way street and job aspirants should also treat businesses with consideration.

A couple of years back, I received an unsolicited job application which appeared to be of the round-robin type that many job agencies associated with Centrelink encourage job seekers to send out by the hundreds. Virtually all companies receive these letters all the time and the better businesses have pro-forma letters ready to be sent in reply, while other concerns just ignore such applications. In this particular case, the letter-writer's employment history suggested that she may be of use to me and, therefore, I wrote back requesting further information. However, I didn't receive the courtesy of a reply. Ironically, about a year later, I received another letter from the same person. I'd kept her original letter on file and was thus able to see that the two letters were virtually identical - only the date had been changed.

So! Whether you're a job applicant or you're responsible for receiving such letters, always remember that you are dealing with human beings and therefore try and treat the other party with the type of respect that you'd like to get, if the positions were reversed.



Website: writetothepoint.com.au


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