Is it now normal practice not to receive a response after interview?

Thank you all for your comments.

Hi Karen, this should not be normal! However sadly I have had several similar experiences trying to get into some HR posts. I have to call them back days after they promised that I '...would hear back'.
One thing I have found, is that when you apply through a workplace 'portal' it is sadly, becoming an excuse for employers not to get back to interviewees directly, they just click an 'unsuccessful' button for all the candidates who didn't make it. This is not acceptable at this stage in the recruitment process.
It is good manners and much more professional if a company responds personally, even if the reasons for rejection are weak or unspecific. As for the companies who treat interviewees like this, they need to be careful as with social media things like this can dent reputations.
Much of my work in HR has been in recruitment and I insist on all applicants being informed of the outcome at the same time, by phone if possible and feedback on offer. Judith

Hi Karen,

After an interview this is unacceptable and unprofessional. Personally I'd take it as having had a luck escape - if they treat you like this when they're supposed to be enticing you what on earth are they going to be like when they've 'trapped' you?!

After an application it's disappointing. Last year I wrote 66 applications that didn't get to interview (not all for me I hasten to add, I've been helping people back into work). Of these, nearly ¾ didn't even receive an acknowledgement of receipt which given the ease of electronic communication I find unacceptable. It was curious to note that the 'employers' split into three groups. 1 = employment agencies (c45%) who virtually never acknowledged or replied; 2 = HR departments (c45%) who were slightly better than agencies but not by much; 3 = a manager within the organisation (c10%) who is running recruitment alongside their day job and who always replied.

Yes, we're all busy, but how much time does it take to set up a standard reply saying something along the lines of 'Thanks, if you haven't heard by the xx then I'm afraid that on this occasion you've not been successful'. This way the applicant at least knows you've received their submission.

Because there was someone with more relevant experience that ultimately they preferred - that's often the situation, let's face it and where there's only one job and five good candidates, four of them are going to lose out.

The fact that she chose to call me and let me know in person, made me really respect her. It would have been such an easy thing to delegate or email (or both), but she wanted to manage it.

I have to say I've been on the receiving end of this too and i consider it rude and unprofessional. Whilst it is frustrating I do see it, as someone else pointed out, as a lucky escape. If a company doesn't treat potential candidates well and respect the time and effort they put into coming to interview then I don't want to give them my time.

I travelled 250 miles to an interview last year, paying well over £100 in travel costs and had to chase repeatedly for a response. The company has since folded so that was definitely a lucky escape but that was one of the slightly less frustrating episodes i had whilst job hunting!

I hope you find something soon.

Vicki

Hi Karen,

Your experience might probably resonate a chord with candidates who would be willing to confirm their own first-hand account of such experiences. Unfortunately, it has become a norm, albeit there might be exceptions to this where the recruiter does call and inform, even if it is a simple Yes Or a No to the candidate concerned.

I do agree that this looks rude and unprofessional, especially if it is done by another professional belonging to the HR fraternity. Albeit it is not naive not to get the message if there is no feedback, yet sadly one gets to experience such instances where days turns into weeks , and weeks into months, and your requests for a feedback/update falls on deaf ears.

Regards,
Rohit

It is not normal practice anywhere I have worked, not to get a response after interview. We always let candidates know within 24 hours of the interview with a phone call and feedback or an email and feedback. The fact that the employer did not respond to you will tell you that it is not the sort of place you would want to work. We value our applicants highly, whether successful or not. I have lots of responses from unsuccessful candidates thanking me for the feedback and saying how much they enjoyed the experience of the interview and assessment and meeting the team etc. I think you had a lucky escape not being appointed by these employers. It is very hard to change deep rooted culture. I wish you well in your career.

It should not be normal practice but sadly it is becoming increasingly common in my experience.

There was an interesting interview on radio Scotland this week where employers were waxing lyrical about the rudeness of candidates for interview not turning up or worse yet accepting a job then not attending day 1 with no form of contact. I agree that both of these are unacceptable but so is doing the same to jobseekers.

Recruitment is time consuming but so is applying for countless jobs and attending interviews where the decision not to hire you is often made before you even open your mouth. It does however build your resilience so keep trying and something will come along for you.

Sadly lack of courtesy seems all too common. Even in this professional community people often post questions and then never respond or thank those who have take time to reply (and even people who have responded to this thread saying how bad it is people don't respond!) so its not just about recruitment where HR people need to focus on the impression they are creating.

Thank you for the recent comments to my post, much appreciated. Karen