Professional interview process...theory and reality

We all know how it should look like...you apply for the job, in a few days/weeks you receive an invitation for testing, then comes the interview ( or more interviews ) and in the end you either get the job or not. And even if you don't you receive a formal notification by e-mail that another candidate has been chosen. Well, that's nice.. in theory.

In my experience and from what colleagues told me only a few companies hold to such practices. And even if you are not chosen, such minimum of professionalism gives the people who are rejected a sense of self - importance and self - respect...and keeps the company looking good, or at least prevents the company from being subjected to gossips spreading among professionals. Although IT is in crisis in Croatia, as everything else is, there is still need to hire the best people, and those, even in this situation, usually have a choice.

I would put companies in three categories. First ones are those that do the job right, inform the people about the process and act professionally along the way ( I could name very few IT companies in Croatia in this category ), second ones are those that play nice at the first level, and when they have decided that you are not the candidate for them just stop responding or communicating with you ( most of the companies ), and there are many that don't even answer even with a formal mail - those companies come immediatelly on my "black list" and are discarded - if they are treating people from beginning like "expandable resources" how will they treat them later?

So what can we do about it? Very little actually - because private employers can choose whome they want and any way they wan't - that's their right. But as the coin has two sides, so does this game - if they act in this way, there is a chance that they can get away with it, but perhaps one day someone from that mass of people will be their business partner or will be a buyer of their product or service. And people have a long memory. So the question is really do you want to have a company that has a bad face or a good face among people...and the fact is that to have a good face in this aspect is neither difficult nor too expensive...e-mail is still free isn't it?