(Read this letter as if I was that hiring manager that isn’t returning your calls and emails)
Did you see the post last week about why I delete your emails?
Now I’ll tell you why you think I don’t ever read or reply to your emails… but first, you think I don’t read or reply because:
- I’m too good for you,
- I’m too busy with more important things,
- I’m a jerk.
That’s what I’ve thought before. I’ve felt brushed off, or “less than” the person I’ve sent the email to.
How could someone be so incosiderate and rude? How hard is it to reply to an email??
Seriously.
Jerks.
Right? I’ve thought that…. I’ve felt that.
And now I think I’m the jerk. Because I have over 2,200 emails in my JibberJobber email (inbox) that I haven’t replied to. And I have about 12,000 emails in my gmail inbox that are just sitting there, waiting for me.
Why don’t I respond to them? Here is some insight that might be helpful:
I am, and I get, overwhelmed!
With everything. With life, calls, other emails, deadlines, projects, etc.
I don’t ignore you because I’m a jerk. Your email just falls through the cracks because I’m not good at time management, and managing the inbox.
It’s as simple as that.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS SOMETHING AMAZING:
Don’t give up on me.
Sometimes, I all I need is a gentle nudge, or another email reminding me of the first one.
Be persistent without being annoying. Remind me, because your email might be sitting on Page 3 of my inbox, and I’m not going to see it since I never get to Page 3.
If you take it personal, and get offended, I’m sorry…. but sometimes all I need is for you to remain top-of-mind… do that with a simple reminder.
Cool?
This is a good reminder of why it’s good to take a breath, step back, and get some perspective before taking it personally or getting judgmental. Certainly I’ve been at both ends of that fallen-through-the-cracks email.
I think the reason it seems different–and, I will argue, to some extent *is* different–with job seeking, at least when you’re responding to an advertised opening, it that the hiring manager or HR department initiated the exchange. Not with me personally, probably, but if you advertise a position, you are inviting communication, and I think it’s reasonable to expect some basic follow-through. Of course that’s not a factor if I, as the job-seeker, am the one who initiated the exchange.
But the valuable bottom line here, it seems to me, is what you’ve said in your last paragraphs. “Don’t give up on me.
Sometimes, I all I need is a gentle nudge, or another email reminding me of the first one. Be persistent without being annoying. Remind me, because your email might be sitting on Page 3 of my inbox, and I’m not going to see it since I never get to Page 3.” Excellent things to keep in mind.
It’s really hard to take that breath, partially because my sense of urgency as a job seeker is different than your sense of urgency as a (whatever you are). But somehow we have to let the emotions go, and work on the goal (relationship, etc.)
Thanks, Rich, for your input 🙂
If you really want a response, don’t send an email, or send an email with a letter. The mote personal the request is the more likely it is to get a response. I get applications and resumemsnthat look like they have been spammed. The email does not address me
personally. The “objective” on the resume does not match the position. In otherwords “I am too lazy to show I am serious candidate for the job.
I will always find the time to respond to a well written letter that specifically addresses the job. A few years ago a young lady walked into my office to drop of her resume for a secretarial position. She was dressed appropriately and got an interview – and the job on the spot. About 80 emails got deleted.
What you arent’ saying, Rand, is that you own a law firm and are very, very, very busy. That said…
Thank you for sharing your perspective. This is definitely another major issue. When I get “pitches” (of all kinds), if they are generic (like: “dear webmaster”) I don’t even reply. I delete. And I never hear again.
We have to be careful that our message and tone doesn’t look like a spammer…. which means, using my first name, or somehow letting me know I’m not one of a hundred that got the same spam-like message 🙂