The customer is always right. Companies across industries expend plenty of resources to live up to this adage, hoping to cement a positive customer experience for their clients and engage customers with their brand. These differing organizations also share one group of customers in common, no matter what services they sell or products they market: prospective employees.

But are these customers, the job applicants, receiving the same levels of service and respect companies usually reserve for their clients and members of target markets? According to a recent Gallup Panel survey, all too often the answer is no. In fact, half of job applicants who mention specific frustrations say these aggravations give them pause when considering the possibility of working for these prospective employers.

The survey asked a targeted sample of job seekers a series of questions about various aspects of their search for employment, including the parts of the process they deem most frustrating. The sample consisted of those who are currently unemployed and seeking a job as well as those who are currently employed full time or part time and have searched for employment in the past six months. These prospective candidates shared their frustrations about their interactions with possible employers, aggravations that can lead job seekers to form negative opinions about these organizations and their brands.

Emotional issues

Applying for a new job is a daunting task to say the least. The logistics of a job search can be overwhelming, especially when a prospective employer is choosing from a pool of applicants that is much larger in number than is needed to fill the open position.

The emotional issues can also take their toll, as applicants are put in the position of waiting to know if they are considered good enough by the hiring company's standards. "Nobody showed interest in me despite the fact I have twenty-four years of experience in my field," one job seeker said. "The lack of interest in me caused depressed feelings and hopelessness."

Maybe the 28% of seekers who said they did not find any parts of the job search frustrating knew to expect a difficult road, or maybe their search was ultimately successful. More than 7 in 10 respondents did not have as easy a time with the process, however.

When asked to share their opinions regarding their recent employment search, more than 70% of job seekers gave feedback detailing at least one frustrating aspect of the process. Specifically, when asked the open-ended question, "Thinking of all the job application processes you went through, what parts did you find most frustrating?" prospective employees named everything from age discrimination to not being able to get in touch with managers.

Job applicants were most likely to mention frustrations regarding the lack of communication prospective employers demonstrated. Whether it was the wait for the results of their application; the length of time between applying, being interviewed, and being hired; or not hearing from the hiring organization at all, 22% of respondents cited a lack of communication as the most aggravating aspect of their job search.

One respondent said the most frustrating part of the process was "when you interview or even just apply, and you don't hear from anyone in the organization for a long time or ever. Couldn't they at least e-mail or send a postcard or a thank-you note for sending in your application, or maybe give you a call and say they are still considering you or that they have made another choice? Something would be nice." Other job applicants mentioned feeling that the hiring companies are dishonest when dealing with the rejection process, and that employers are explicitly lying when they say they will call and then never pick up the phone.

Similar percentages of prospective employees also cite the details of the application (17%) and interviewing (16%) processes as the main frustrations they experienced during their job search. One job seeker specifically said it is hard to cut through the clutter and barriers to screen applicants out when trying to get your foot in the door, while others mentioned applying for jobs online and getting their applications into the right peoples' hands as their main sources of frustrations. These frustrations with applying online are likely to be more prevalent as Internet-based application systems become more common.

As for the interview process, respondents mention the aggravation associated with the sheer number of interviews and the length of the meetings. But job seekers' disappointments run deeper than just the time they invest. Some mention hiring managers who did not seem interested in applicants' answers during a job interview, while others specifically reference a lack of respect hiring managers and interviewers exhibited.

"I was amazed at the lack of respect shown during the interview process," one respondent said. "It amazed me because this was a clear indication as to how I would be treated as an employee."

Copyright Ó 2008 The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ.  All rights reserved.  Reprinted with permission.  Visit The Gallup Management Journal at http://gmj.gallup.com/

Article from The Gallup Management Journal