After two months of recruiting for permanent and contract IT developers for a specific company, this experience has shown the psychological resilience and toughness of IT contractors. No matter the rejection and abuse they get from companies, this does not faze them. Life merely carries on. Need it be this way?
This morning I was submitting candidates to this company for interviews. The company was asking us for convenient interview times. But by noon the news turned grim: all contractor positions were filled. Anyone looking for a contract that was not already interviewed was being offered permanent positions only. The abruptness was a bit shocking to me, as it looked like there was a lack of planning.
Nonplussed they were, when I called back my contractors. No, they were uninterested in a permanent position and yes, this is pretty normal. It is all Ok. They wanted to stay in touch. When I had a new opportunity, they wanted me to call them. There was no complaining nor any request for explanation. It was all pretty normal behaviour for them.
After job interviews few contractors ask for feedback. If it worked out, then fine. If they did not hear from the recruiter or company, this was normal: They had been rejected for whatever reason, and the reason did not matter. Some companies like certain skills and some dislike certain skills in their skill set. Rejection comes easily to them, and is shed like water off the back of a duck.
I feel like the noob recruiter I am. Maybe we can all learn something here. Or maybe we should not. How about we treat all job applicants with more respect than they get today? Would not the world, or at least here in Toronto, be a better place?
