“Hiring” trend?

A friend of mine has been offered four jobs during this recession…and has yet to start a single one.

No, my friend isn’t a slacker. Far from it; he’s one of the hardest worker and most conscientious people I know.

He’s experienced what I pray to God is not a disturbing new “hiring” tend by companies: Businesses that give verbal offers to candidates that have successfully interviewed, then renege on the job offer prior to the written agreement.

My friend has been offered adjunct faculty positions at two colleges in the state – twice at one institution – then no contact regarding start date or anything else after the offer was made.

In case you’re thinking he was misunderstanding the situation, he went to the HR office, actually filed the typical federal new employee forms, the W-4, I-9, etc.

The colleges took the forms with handshakes, told him they’d call him “next week” with a start date – and all he’s heard since then have been crickets.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was recently offered a lucrative deal with a large technology company after successfully interviewing with them for months. A verbal offer came from the gentleman who would have been his boss, complete with a full benefits package, retirement, stock options…the works. The written offer would arrive in a day or so.

It was over the Easter weekend, so when the offer didn’t arrive on Monday, my friend was concerned but not worried. The company called and said they were waiting for another signature and to expect the documents the next day.

The next day arrived…with a simple call that they decided to go with another candidate.

Thanks, and so long.

Thank goodness my friend is extremely prudent and did not give notice or say a word to anyone. But after three business days believing an offer was a done deal, can you imagine how many others might have thought this large, publically traded technology company was good at its word and would have given notice?

Can you imagine the damage to this person’s life had he been a little more trusting?

It’s one thing to be a candidate in the final round of interviews and not hear back from a company. One would assume he didn’t make the cut and the firm went with someone else.

But to have supposedly solid offers, with words “you’re hired,” to have filed financial forms, and THEN the company takes back the offer is simply unconscionable.

It’s no wonder younger workers think of themselves as “employed consultants” rather than employees if “human capital” has now become “human cattle.”