Transition: The Sounds Of Silence

                                    "....And in the naked light I saw
                                     Ten thousand people maybe more
                                     People talking without speaking...."
                                        -Simon and Garfunkel, the Sounds Of Silence

It took me nearly fifty years to catch up to my friend Paul, but I've finally done it.

In high school, Paul was in an Honors Class; I honestly forget whether it was Greek or Science. He often wore the gold or blue braid of an Honor Roll student, and later became a senior officer in the cadet corps. Oh yes, we attended a Jesuit-military school; you do not need to be a devout Roman Catholic to realize the redundancy in that term.

While Paul was excelling, I was treading academic waters near the bottom-third. Only athletics kept me from drowning in that culture. Our basketball team (Swear: I did play) was fodder for bigger, taller teams, but my tennis team was, perhaps, the school's most consistently successful one.

After graduation we attended the same college, a perfect match for Paul, less so for me. He naturally graduated in four years; as I have implied in a previous post, it took me a bit longer and three colleges. Okay, it took me a lot longer.

We parted ways for a while after that. Then, we both became executives at the same media company within a year of each other. He was on the executive floor, explaining some of the company's more quixotic moves to other media, while I toiled in Administration, caring for executives' toys like corporate suites and jets, among other mostly enjoyable duties.

A new CEO, his third, made Paul an offer he couldn't refuse, and he went away. It became clear, over time, that this was good for him, as the job had changed from protecting the company's brand to protecting the CEO's brand, an all too familiar story today.

He landed in the NFP world at just about the time that the company eliminated my job, splitting most of it between two very capable and much younger colleagues. I hit the job market, then the job market hit me. The NFP parted ways with Paul.

So, there we sat yesterday over sushi in a midtown restaurant, both 62 and eager to get back to paid work, sharing our war/search stories. He was mostly hopeful still, and, due to a recent upswing in interest in me, so was I, I think. But, there were also two shadowy themes present in our stories: the lack of professionalism and courtesy in the HR/Corporate search industry towards candidates of any age and the odds against the over-60 candidate, man or woman.

The latter shadow-theme is painful, but at least understandable. We live, after all, in a culture designed so that we can work, many of us at jobs we dislike, so that we can afford medical care and build a nest-egg, allowing us to retire as soon as possible. Some of us who accepted those terms may like them less now, since events beyond our control coincided to significantly alter the retirement equation, even for the most prudent savers. While we were out searching for work, other mammals with terminals and algorithms may have eaten chunks of those nest-eggs.

Boo-hoo for us. Get over it.

The other shadow theme is far less understandable. Weeks, even months may go by for millions like Paul and me without a word of response from prospective employers' HR staffs, search firms, and some network contacts. For those who think this is simply Sour Grapes, you should know that these Sounds Of Silence often happen to the most hopeful, energetic, talented and realistic ones currently searching. All of us experience support from people that lifts our hearts and souls every day, but too often even the best of us experience senseless discourtesies and indignities each week at the hands of  those who are meant to be professional people-people.

Amazingly, companies do not yet get that the way they treat all job candidates reflects on the quality of their brands and services. CEO's do not think very much about HR frankly: just ask Paul, who knows a lot about what they do think about. Today, as you read, the companies they lead through HR departments,  headhunters, or hiring executives have opportunities to engage directly with thousands, perhaps millions, of current and potential customers in the hiring/not hiring process.

Question for CEO's: How do you think they'll do?
Answer: Evidence  mounts that you may lose thousands of customers today without being aware of it.
Question: for CEO's: It's 10am, do you know where your job candidates are?


CEO Memo to Staff: Please treat each job applicant or inquirer as if they were our best customer today and every day. Thanks.

Paul and I exchanged resumes and he kindly passed me a job description he had found. We agreed to be on the lookout for opportunities for each other.  But as he walked away to his train and I to mine, our mutually bright and hopeful thoughts were realistically tempered by the shadow of those long odds and especially those Sounds of Silence.


Ed Note: After reviewing an earlier version of this post, "Paul" sent word that he liked it. Then, he proceeded to list about a dozen "edits and nits," all of which improved the post. I guess I still can't keep up with the guy. Also, a global financial company, which interviewed me last week, called to set up another meeting with additional executives, arranged as promised by the original interviewing exec. I will always see that company in a positive light, job or no job.