Is Professional Courtesy a Thing of the Past?

I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing common about common courtesy or common sense.

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Just when I think that nothing about the corporate world could surprise me anymore, I heard a few stories recently that stopped me in my tracks. It seems that professional courtesy has gone the way of the dodo.

It’s always been an accepted practice that when one interviews for a job in person (not merely the anonymous sending of an application online), but an honest to goodness face-to-face interview, that one could expect a phone call in a timely fashion after the fact. Apparently this isn’t the way we do business anymore. A friend of mine interviewed for a high level position in a Fortune 100 company (where she presently works) over six weeks ago. Although she’s sent two follow up emails to the hiring manager, she has yet to receive a response. Isn’t that special? I’ve since spoken to several people in that same company and they told me that when they initially interviewed it was 3 – 5 months after the fact that they were offered the job; and there was no contact at all during those months.

Another friend interviewed (also face-to-face) for another Fortune 100 company. Several weeks later she received a templated email thanking her for her application but that they were moving forward with other candidates. She sent the HR manager an email telling him in no uncertain terms that after an in-person interview she expected the courtesy of a phone call. He did have the grace to call her back and apologize but said that although he agreed, “that this is just the way business is done these days”.

Well, that’s just not good enough. When did it become okay to dispense with professional courtesy or any courtesy for that matter because “that’s just how we do things these days”? It’s high time that we remember that every human being deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.That's the way I do business and live my life. Shouldn't you?

Being polite is so rare these days that it’s often confused with flirting.

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Make someone smile today.

Geri