My friend Dick Bolles suggests that hiring managers get out of the office and become a jobseeker for a day. If you do, you will most likely find just how different your company looks from their side of the desk.

It is a target-rich environment for HR and hiring departments today. You should expect some un-solicited yet awesome resumes from people who are very unfamiliar with the job hunting process. Even though you are busy, even overwhelmed with current tasks, I’d like to encourage you to remember just how difficult it is to be on that side.

It all starts with simple things, courtesies like acknowledging receipt of a resume, answering phone calls and watching the tone of rejection, we’ll call you-type letters. I am confident you know the right things to do, if you had the time.

Most of you have read about the Applicant Tracking Systems now in the marketplace. Many of these help streamline the hiring efforts, and even help you seem like a kindler, gentler HR department. Kidding.

Trouble is, these ATS systems are complicated, enterprise-wide systems that only an IT person could love, and expensive. We have a new one, by the way, and it is none of the above. Check out our jobdigtracker. It will help you help others.

But this is not an advertisement for JOBDIGTRACKER, maybe the best value you can get in an ATS sytem today…no it really isn’t. I just want to encourage all HR people to go out of their way to help the increased numbers of job seekers. Remember that they don’t job hunt everyday. A kind, positive word from you will work wonders and will help us all get to work again.