Applicant–Organization Relationship and Employee–Organization Relationship: What Is the Connection?

Applying for a job in today's technologically advanced environment can lead to applicants wondering if “the company even knows I exist.” The seamlessness of applying, screening, and receiving rejections via online mechanisms might suggest that the “applicant–organization relationship (AOR)” is not really a relationship at all. On the other end of the spectrum, one can point to cases where applicants have varied interactions with multiple organizational representatives in diverse settings over an extended period of time (via the Internet, at recruiting events, through on-campus interviews and on-site interviews, and over meals), suggesting that meaningful and potentially complex AORs do arise.