Happy Hour?

I recently applied for a position at a marketing communications firm, not quite five-years-old, which specializes in vehicular marketing.  I'm sure you've seen this type of drive-by advertising by now -- trucks with side panels which continuously shift to reveal changing ads.  According to the company's website, they operate on an eight-second principle, meaning that their ads transition every eight seconds as they believe it's plenty of time for the message to sink in, and it's also as much time as they believe people want to spend looking at an advertisement.

 

Since this firm has been in business for a few years now, I'll assume they know their business and I won't question their advertising wisdom.  Far be it from me to assess the advertising interest or the attention span of the average American consumer.  However, what I do question is the reply I recently received from this firm via email in response to my resume.  It goes a little something like this:

Applicant,

Thank you very much for responding to Company X's ad.  I apologize for our delayed response but we’re currently sifting through hundreds of resumes due to the enthusiastic response.  In the meantime, we'll be hosting a meet-and-greet event.  We’re hoping that you and any of your friends, family, co-workers or anyone else that is interested in learning more about our organization will be able to make it.  For more details on the event, please click on the link below.  Thanks again for submitting your application.  We hope to meet you soon.

Best regards,

Company X

Now don't get me wrong.  I appreciate the response and I appreciate the attempt at candidate outreach, even though it is en masse and apparently we're allowed to bring our moms, the neighbors, and the cashier at the bank.  The more the merrier, I suppose.  As it happens, I've probably applied to at least fifty jobs -- or more -- by now, and have heard back from a grand total of four.  So I applaud their efforts with the wildest of enthusiasm.  I really do.  But what I'm a bit concerned about isn't the meet-and-greet approach.  It's the location.  You see, the the meet-and-greet is being held in a bar.  That's right, a drinking establishment. 

I'm certainly not against drinking establishments.  I've found myself in a few over the years.  What I object to, however, is the context.  Holding a meet-and-greet in a bar during evening hours for management to ostensibly size up potential job candidates does not seem to be particularly fair or especially professional to my way of thinking.  Why hold what should be a serious event in an environment potentially conducive to out-of-control behavior?  I can understand a wine-and-cheese gathering in the conference room of a respectable hotel or conference center between the hours of 6pm to 8pm.  This makes for a professional and dignified atmosphere.  But a meet-and-greet at a bar on a weeknight where hard liquor will be served which concludes at 10pm is not my idea of the best business practices.  Do some of these people not have to get up and go to work the next morning?  Perhaps not.

Of course, not every person who attends such an event in such an establishment is a reckless party person.  Most will enjoy a simple glass of wine, a little conversation, and call it a night.  But for those job-seeking souls who aren't quite as genteel, it could be an issue -- not to mention a pox on them during an event which could potentially lead to an interview -- or even a job.  This seems a bit unfair on several levels.  En masse meets-and-greets of this type attract a range of people, some of whom may be alcoholics or recovering alcoholics.  Some may abstain altogether as part of their lifestyle.  There is nothing teetotalers like less than having to attend events in drinking establishments.  It's a thoroughly uncomfortable experience for them, plus it leads to an evening of multiple repeats of the same inquiry: "Why aren't you drinking?"  This is an off-limits question if ever there was one and it's a query no job-seeker should have to respond to during an allegedly career-oriented event.

Clearly, this meet-and-greet is not my cup of tea, so I'll be abstaining entirely from this event.  I realize that networking opportunities are just that -- a chance to get out and meet people with job market connections.  And since it isn't easy connecting with hiring managers, I probably should just go for it.  But the truth is, I wouldn't feel comfortable, nor professional.  So while I thank Company X for the invitation, and I certainly do, it's just not happening.