As a job hunter, I noticed that some companies just don’t know how to hire great talents. Here is the connection between marketing and job hunting: the process of choosing a product isn’t that different from choosing a company to work for.  Buyers and job seekers want to be attracted by the product/company and they want to see the potential benefits. I believe that companies, too often, forget that job interviews are also an opportunity for future candidates to interview the company – it’s a bilateral process!

For many reasons, and because of my ambitions, looking for a new job has become a familiar task. Now that I found a great position, I think it’s time to share my experience. This post is dedicated to human resource departments, companies and hiring managers.

Downtown parking
A company downtown Calgary asked me once to go for an interview. Believe it or not, I had three interviews with them plus some homework to prove that I was good enough for the job. It cost me more than 120$ in parking plus the time I had to take off from my job. After the third interview, I didn’t want the job anymore because the process was way too complicated. And by the way, the homework wasn’t a theoretical question, but basically work they wanted me to do for them for free.

Timeline
A few years ago, I had a job offer. However, I had to apply for a grant from the government to pay for my position. It happens a lot with high tech companies since the government wants to help them to market their product internationally. The process from my first interview to the start date for the company took over a year. After a year, the job was still very interesting but my objectives had changed and I wasn’t sure anymore if I still wanted the position. Meanwhile, of course, I found another position.

Misunderstandings and Follow-ups
I once did a follow-up call after a second interview for a company that I really wanted to work for. Two weeks after my interviews, I was curious to know if I was still in the race. I finally got the HR manager on the phone, and he told me, not very kindly, that the hiring manager had already called me. In fact, I never received that phone call, and there was clear miscommunication between the departments. Finally, I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t being considered anymore. Very good way to learn it! One of my friends told me that company has a very messy human resource department. I totally agree!