The October issue of The Economist features the war for talent as its cover story. The article mentions how the shortage of talent has become a top issue and “how the war for talent is shifting the balance of power from companies to workers”.
In fact I have encountered some of the most unprofessional behavior in my own search for talent. Engineering and sciences being the most sought after careers in India means that the softer skills are harder to find. And that means that the balance of power is definitely on the side of the worker. And it can lead to some unbelievable outcomes.
Recently I had given an offer to a candidate. Before joining the company she called up to request for an Offer Letter based on which she can resign from her current job. Once that was done she later called up saying that her current employer has raised her salary and hence her expectations have also gone up. Considering our immediate need for a talented resource we made another offer to make sure that she joins. She however called back, this time requesting for another favor that her brother should also be offered a job and only then is she willing to come. So within a matter of one month she had given me two different reasons for not joining the company after accepting the offer letter, neither of which sounded convincing by any means. Needless to say, she will not be hearing from me ever again.
I am sure we can all relate ‘war stories’ when it comes to recruiting. What is disconcerting is that such scenarios are no longer becoming the exception but the rule as Indian workers realize that the balance of power lies with them.
But unprofessionalism can’t be good for either side in the long run.
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2 comments:
The demand and supply is an important factor for the unprofessional behavior you have mentioned. I too have came across this kind of activities in my past experience in Indian IT industry. One of my friend has shifted her job thrice in just 1.8 years of her career and have got 5 to 6 times hike of her starting salary (in less then two years). When majority of Engineers does this shifting, it makes others to think just because of the salary hike factor and makes them totally unprofessional about their current/applied job.
Their may a control on this kind of activities if there is a controlling authority to keep an eye on such an Engineers who does frequent change in their job and shows professionalism by some other ways.
I agree. Though you would notice that at some stage this starts reflecting on the individuals resume and nowadays while recuitment companies do see the background of the employee and how much stable they are
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