An Open Letter to HR Professionals

Dear HR Professionals, 

I'm aware that your position can be quite hectic as hiring is a massive process usually including multiple screenings and interviews with a rather large handful of people. I'm aware that you are busy, stressed, overworked and human. Having said all of that, your position is in the human resources department, notice the emphasis on the word human. Interviewing is like dating, don't string people along and respect them enough to not leave them hanging. 

Job seekers, especially those you bring into the office for interviews and meet personally, deserve responses, updates and so on. It is important to reject people timely as many job seekers are interviewing for multiple positions and usually will try to hold out on making a decision if they haven't heard your response yet when they really want the position. Also, it isn't cool to continuously repost a job after interviewing candidates in-person. If none of the people interviewed are fabulous fits, reject them immediately. Even an automated HR email, as much as I hate how impersonal they are, is appreciated so that interviewees can see what they have to wait on for responses, what offers they have and so on. If you think finding a candidate to fill your position is hard, try job hunting in the current job market.

Here are my thoughts, as an active interviewee, for ways to improve how you do your job. Even if it is a simple "Thank you and I will be in touch," respond when an interviewee sends a follow up or thank you email. If the position is filled and you've interviewed several people in-person, reach out to those people to tell them that the position is filled, that you wish them the best on their job hunt and provide relevant feedback. If the hiring for a position has been placed on hold for whatever reason, communicate that with those you have been interviewing. Open and timely communication and transparency is important, especially in the current job market climate.