What HR won't tell you - Behind the scenes

So, yes - it’s happened - many people you know, I know, you’re possibly about to meet, have ...you guessed it - been made redundant or possibly (and this is not something many are choosing to give breath to, but as a coach trust me - it’s increasingly out there), you’re going on your third month of lock-down, the kids are driving you insane and you’re realising that … so is your Manager and well, something has to give and so - you’ve quit your nasty job with a horrid Manager or just plain ol’ toxic work culture!

If you’re looking for a job and bamboozled on what gives...here’s some behind the scenes transparency to the often overly-cloaked world of applying for jobs and why it can be confusing as to what’s really going on:

• Sometimes the company may be confidentially hiring a replacement for an underperforming employee. The employee doesn’t know they’re about to be out of a job, so it’s all hush-hush, this stuff won't even meet with ‘word of mouth’ gossip and frankly, it shouldn’t. The issue is, the position is not yet open and thus advertised so you have no idea it’s about to become available. 
• There could be a hiring freeze you don't know about. In the early days, only leaders are often informed and those below are communicated to on a need to know basis. The company doesn't want to have a reputation of having not hired in a few years, so they continue to post "dummy" job postings that are never actually filled. Have a look to see if there’s a pattern of a particular job always seemingly being recruited for, from one company.
• The company may be going through a restructure and so the hiring Manager isn’t quite sure what they’re after, so keeps posting, seeing what CV’s come in and tweaking the role accordingly. Brace yourself - this can go on for months. New to hiring, Managers, will often use the interview process to really flesh out what they’re looking for.
• For recurring positions, a specific job may already have been filled, and the company is simply collecting resumes for "next time." They’re what we call growing a database for future gaps. This practice is illegal and companies are often called out for it. The thing is it’s really tricky to prove. In these circumstances, the company attempts to address its endless cycle of turnover by increasing the size of its candidate database. If you see a specific job advertised repeatedly over time, pause and consider why the company doesn’t seem to ever truly fill it.
• The hiring manager may have their heart set on who they want to hire before the process begins. It may be a friend of a friend, a current employee, or someone else they know. It’s not completely uncommon to have a position open, in order for a Manager to follow equal opportunity policies and yet, not surprisingly say “No,” to all applicants that walk through the door and possibly even use them to help build a case that their preferred person is best suited. 

So, please remember it’s really not personal!