Perhaps this is not the right section under which to post, but it is difficult to know where else to place the complaint. It is somewhat galling to answer offers of employment where it stiuplates responses by private mail, only to have the person advertising complete ignore you. There is of course nothing to be done about this but one would imagine the poster would have the courtesy to at least reply whether the response is positive or negative.

It happens more frequently nowadays ( esp. since February this year ) - probably they've got too many applications to respond to.

Way of the modern world unfortunately, in London , if you apply for a job through a recruitment agent you wont hear anythign unless they are interested.

CH is a bit better, I nearly fell off my chair when I recieved responses from the Swiss reccons telling me I was unsuccessful with my application

I was so tempted not to respond...

Very common. If they're interested, you'll hear from them. Given that a single job opportunity can generate a thousand queries (depending on sector), it's not all that surprising.

Follow up via phone! I've had a couple of experiences where my CV just fell off the radar (considering the hundreds they had to look at, unsurprising.) Worst case, you'll hear no. Best case, your persistence looks like interest and makes them reevaluate your application once more.

I am probably a similar age to you and after following the experiences of having my kids apply for work only to be completely ignored, I find it sooooo rude also.
When I have employed staff I ensured that everyone received a reply even it was short and wishing them luck in the future it does not take that long - in my mind if I was in their shoes I would like to know and also especially for youngsters it can only crush their self esteem if they are forever ignored

it is, unfortunately, a true buyer's market out there right now ...

employers expect, and are able to find, candidates to their exact specifications - education, experience, languages, height, weight and nationality, complexion and more - for far less than they were paying last year; so there is no real economic incentive for them to be 'nice' to you. sad, but that's how it works.

but hang in there .. if there's one sure thing, it is that things change.

Not responding has become the international standard, I'm afraid. I wouldn't take it too personally.

Nonetheless, sometimes simply because they do not respond, that does not imply that they are not interested in you. It may be an administrative error (you fell though the cracks) or they may be interested in you for a different position if you came to their attention.

I would send a follow up email after two weeks with no response requesting an update on the status of your application. This will cause them to notice you if you are still in play and this is good if yours is one of 300 applications, and if not it may cause them to notice you for another role.

If they ignore your request for an update, then I would write them off and think twice about sending them another application or even entertaining them if they contact you six months down the road.

Just out of curiosity, did you follow up with a phone call 1 week later (assuming a number was attached)?

I do find that an increasingly large number of people fail to get back to you on these matters. I guess the increasing number of applicants is somewhat overwhelming the recruiters/HR.

Thanks to everyone for their support and guidance. However I should have probably been more specific: this is an extremely menial task - 2 hours housekeeping each week. No doubt the person advertising can pick and choose. It's still rather rude though, whichever way one looks at it. Perhaps one day they will be in a similar position and know how it feels.

It's what a lot of recruitment companies do unfortunately. After all, their clients are the companies hiring (and paying the bills), not the candidates who are viewed as a human resource. Depends on the recruitment company - some very much have a culture of this sort of thing. Modern reality, I'm afraid.

I would say however that "what comes around, goes around", as the expression goes. Many years ago I got royally screwed about by a recruitment company (got me to fill out dozens of forms and skills matrices, sent me to an interview then went cold - refused to take my calls and didn't even bother to give me feedback on the interview).

Years later I was advertising for a job in my company. One of this aforementioned recruitment company's consultants cold-called me looking to see if she could source someone for us. I then told her in no uncertain terms that given their past unprofessional behaviour, I would not touch them with a barge poll and they would not be getting our business.

Felt good, I'll have to admit.

If you have what they are looking for, you do not need to follow up with a phone call, they contact you !

Generally, I think they are very good at replying here in Switzerland. Only Universaljobs seem to have a policy of not answering, so I have stopped applying for jobs, that they advertise. Should I at some point be in a position, where I need to hire, they will not get the task of finding a person for me

Doc.

Not always. Never underestimate human incompetence.

I believe it is actually a law in switzerland, that companies have to respond to all job applications, it can be kind of annoying too, because if they sent it by mail, and the company does not like the profile they are supposed to mail back the CV. I know that is the rule at my company since I am in charge of recruiting here....

I have had even e-mailed CV's mailed back to me in hard form...go figure!

That is one practice I have found strange here. In other places I have lived, the company has written back that they will keep the CV on file in case something suitable comes up in future.

Cheers,
Nick

Yeah, but why keep the CV if it really has nothing at all to do with your business?
But it really has to do with the stringent protection of personal data laws.

Even the ones we get permission to keep in our database we are not supposed to keep for longer than 5 years, and usually get rid of after 2 years.

Precisely, I actually got my last job following a bit of a screw up. The recruitment consultant forwarded my application to the wrong HR business partner (who had just left on Maternity leave and had forgotten to set her Out of Office message ). So for almost a month, my CV was sitting in a dormant mail account.

Luckily I chased up because the company were already in the final stages of the process and once they had my CV they moved very quickly to get me to interview and eventually offer me a position.

Moral of the story, chase up and assume nothing.

I've got a better one...a recruiter arranged 2 calls with me and did not call me in both cases. No applologies, no responses. Null.