HR Files allows managers to ask questions that will be answered directly by our CEO, Darcy Swift. This month’s question is:
QUESTION: I am a manager in a very large medical facility. On our website, the managing staff is listed with our pictures, names and job titles along with a little paragraph about what we do. Recently our company has advertised several available positions. Random strangers have started contacting me via my personal social media accounts and work email inquiring about specific jobs.
Many of the positions are not even in my department so I have no say on who will be hired. But frankly, I do not have time to go through and answer each person that contacts me. It is really starting to become annoying to constantly be bombarded with friend requests and direct messages from people I don’t know. What would be the best way to handle this situation? Should I ask to be taken off of the website? Is there some kind of disclaimer I can put up asking not to be contacted? I have never experienced this before.
ANSWER: Technology definitely helps all of us when it comes to the hiring process, but there are some obvious downsides as well. The ability for anyone and everyone to find you online is one of the hazards of being in a hiring position. Eager candidates are doing everything they can to reach out and be noticed, not knowing that they are actually crossing some major boundaries and possibly putting themselves in a worse situation.
When it comes to you as a manager, this type of behavior is a violation of your personal privacy. You have the right not to be contacted personally about available positions at work. Your best course of action would be to contact HR and let them know what is happening so they can take the proper actions necessary. If they do not know what to do because this is a new situation, I would suggest that whoever is in charge of the job ads attach a disclaimer not to contact any managers personally and follow the appropriate protocols listed in order to apply. I would also add that any candidates that choose to contact managers personally my jeopardize their opportunity for an interview. If that does not work, then asking to be taken off the website is a reasonable request.
Please contact us today if you are a manager or HR professional that has a question you would like answered. We will feature one frequently asked question a month.
