It's the way you make me feel

It's the way you respond.

When it comes to job applications, an applicant's feeling is based on the way the employer (or the representative of the employer) responds. Included in the 'way of responding' is the time taken to respond.

And surely, an employer's feeling is also dependent on the way an applicant responds. Here am just talking from an applicant's perspective.

Process:

1. Employer broadcasts an opportunity to the world.
2. Prospects come to know about the opportunity.
3. Prospects apply.
4. Employer calls for an interview/meeting.
5. Employer takes a decision (or applicant takes a decision).

The negotiation or deliberation always takes place before the 5th step. During this stage, representatives of employers typically do this (the list isn't exhaustive but gives an idea):

• Find the applicant suitable but try to judge 'how badly does he wants it'.
• Find the applicant suitable but try to bring 'the price' down.
• Find the applicant suitable but still try to figure out if they should be adding to the head-count.
• Find the applicant suitable and try to make him join sooner than later.

The last option is the best, of course, for the applicant. The other three aren't bad either until the way to negotiate is 'don't respond'. 'Don't respond' means stay put. Don't communicate at all in response to the applicant's communication. And the impact of 'don't respond' gets either mitigated or aggravated depending on the monetary/occupational situation of the applicant.

Here's what I sense. There's magic to swift response. No matter what the response. Yes, No, May be, Later... It spurs the next action on both sides. It's also a signal about the organization, one that's hard to ignore.