I've said it before and I'll say it again. We, as an industry, need to guard our employment brand, especially in how we treat our candidates. Today's candidates may be tomorrow's business partners.

I recently had phone conversations with: a staffing lead; a staffing manager; an HR Manager; and a VP of HR for a company looking to establish an office in Seattle in response to being added to the Microsoft Vendor Umbrella. The last bit of my conversation with the VP was that  I could expect to receive communication for a live meeting in the next week or so.

I waited. I never head back. I sent the Staffing Lead email and left voicemail asking them what was going on. I never heard another word. You can be sure that I will *never* use this agency for any openings I may need bin the future.

I was at a wedding two weeks ago. The bride is a friend from the staffing community, and many of the guests on her side were part of the recruiting world here in Seattle. I started talking to the guest sitting next to me at the reception, and she handed me her card and told me she would love to talk to me. I emailed her the following day, and we set up a phone screen for the following week, which went well. She forwarded my resume along, and I got a call from a Recruiting Assistint requesting my schedule to set up in person meetings. I gave her my availability, and she told me that we would shoot for the following Wednesday for me to meet with several of the recruiting staff. She told me to expect a schedule confirmation.

Not only did I not receive a confirmation, I never heard from her. I set aside *my* time and postponed other business and personal commitments. I had to get the fellow guest from the wedding involved just to find out what was going on.

What does all of this say to me? That our industry has *earned* the reputation for rudeness that we have. What is the NUMBER ONE candidate complaint? "I never heard back from the recruiter."

My rule of thumb is that if someone from my organization has had any sort of conversation with a candidate, that person deserves a personalized response in a *timely* manner. Send email, leave a voicemail. It really isn't that difficult. I don't care what my req load is, I can have a standard template response that tells prospective candidates that they are no longer in consideration. And for goodness' sake, if you *tell* someone to expect a followup, do it.

Our economy is in turmoil. It is going to turn around sometime. Organizations will need an infusion of talent. You can be sure the individual you spurn today will remember, and tell their colleauges and friends.