I recently received a call from a graduate employer asking me if this was a convenient time to ask me a few questions about my application I had submitted. I thought to myself that this was a convenient moment and I would be happy to answer the "few" questions she had.
The only prior warning I had was that the person in question was going to contact me within 28 days to review my application, no mention here of what communication method.
It made me wonder though, do companies have the right to phone you up speculatively about your application. Of course they want to know who you are and to know what you know about the company you are applying to but in essence is it fair that they can do is.
To be fair companies want to know what you are like on the spot, in a real world scenario they want you to be able to think on your feet, you won’t have time to research the situation.
Obviously they want to employ the right people, those people are the people who can think on their feet, but in hindsight what about the people who have applied and really want to work for that company, but have really been caught unaware. What about them? Companies say that you have to be commercially savvy, being able to think on your feet is one of the most important elements in business today and this should follow through in your phone interview.
Furthermore should there be more guidance on what they should phone you up to ask you. They say is this a convenient moment, if you say no, you feel rude, if you say yes then they can ask you what ever question they like.
You can’t win!
