Employers should show courtesy to unsuccessful candidates
Editor - Recently, I have spent a lot of time and
effort preparing CVs and covering letters and speaking to various
members of staff in preparation for house job interviews.
Kirby1 expresses his enjoyment of meeting candidates
at interview and talks of how much they each have to offer. I wonder
whether he took the trouble to give individual feedback to the
candidates who attended for interview? Were those who applied
unsuccessfully thanked for taking an interest in the post but politely
informed that they had not been shortlisted for interview by letter? If
my experience of the past eight months is anything to go by, this will
not be the case.
Last autumn, a fellow student was able to inform me that I had not been
offered a job "on scheme" at my own teaching hospital before I had
the chance to find out for myself, from the fact that my name was not
next to the consultant's on a notice board. I then attended an
interview for a post at another hospital and found out that I had been
unsuccessful only by phoning the hospital's human resources department
a few days later.
Following this, I took the initiative and wrote to the relevant
consultants requesting some feedback on my interview so that I could
improve on certain aspects for future applications. Their responses
were not as constructive as I had hoped they might be, and instead the
consultants reassured me that I would face many disappointments during
my working life, as indeed they had in their difficult career paths to
consultant level. Fact this may be, but it's not very helpful for my
next interview.
Many advertised posts state that successful candidates will be
notified before a certain date. I do appreciate that some jobs attract
hundreds of applicants and it is time consuming to respond to everyone,
but those placing the advert should remember that a lot of effort has
gone into each application, and it would be courteous to acknowledge
this.
A vast part of our curriculum is devoted to improving our communication
skills with patients and their relatives. Perhaps employers could
exercise a little diplomacy in dealing with their potential work
colleagues?
Rosalind Blackwood, final year medical student (now successfully employed), Royal Free Hospital Medical School, London WC1E 6BT
Email: ros_blackwood@hotmail.com
studentBMJ 2000;08:259-302 August ISSN 0966-6494
- Kirby RM. New doctors. studentBMJ 2000;8:214.
