Job Applicants Deserve Closure
If you interview a job applicant, they deserve your follow-up. Yes, a candidate can assume that he or she wasnt selected. If a person gives up time to meet with your team, the applicant should get closure about the position. Its just fair. Your companys reputation with customers may not be harmed, but it could be with potential applicants. If you want to hire good candidates, you need to be aware of your hiring practices from the time an applicant submits a resume until the position is filled. Treat job applicants like you would want to be treated. Giving job applicants respect needs to be part of your selection process. Teach hiring managers how to make phone calls to unsuccessful candidates.
Thank You Email To Turn Rejection Into Opportunity After Unsuccessful Interview
- Post author
Rats! Youve received the dreaded thank-you-for-your-interest-but letter, and you are very disappointed.
The interviews went really well! You liked all of the people you met there, and you feel that they liked you, too.
But, in the end, they decided to hire someone else, not you.
You may have been the number 2 or number 3 candidate. Close, but no cigar Dang!
What now? Move on to the next opportunity, right? Of course. But first
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Reasons To Reject Candidates After An Interview
Many recruiters and hiring managers are plagued by skill set shortages, both hard and soft skills. There is a very strong temptation to compromise to fill an open assignment rather than reject candidates that âwill do.â. But very often the wrong hiring decision can be more expensive than keeping the vacancy open and continuing with the interview process. However, we think we have some hard and fast guidelines but there are many anecdotal stories that suggest there are exceptions when to reject candidates is not the best way to go.
I am not talking about searches for the elusive purple squirrel, or even development or stretch roles, but cases where realistic qualifications, experience and skills have been allocated for a position and the candidate is found lacking. Here, to compromise means hiring below the benchmark. Very often these red flags appear early in the interview and are legitimate reasons to reject candidates, without further ado. They are generally associated with under-developed or completely missing soft skills or misrepresented hard skills morph from tailoring into lying.
Esther Perel said in a recent interview at the Unleash18 conference in Amsterdam:
âPeople are hired for skills but fired for behaviour.â
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Be Generous To The Ones That Almost Made It
Write a considerate email or make a call
Nothing says This is the beginning of a long-lasting relationship like going through multiple rounds of interviews. Use a template email to turn down someone whos nearly gone the distance with you, and you might as well just sentence the relationship to death by 1000 cuts. Instead, draft a personal email or call them.
Before calling them, write pointers for everything you would like to say , and make sure you say it. At the end of the conversation, give them the opportunity, or space, to seek additional context.
If you have archived their resume for a later opportunity, let them know and seek permission to reach out to them in the future. You could send them a request on LinkedIn too! Keep the relationship open to any communication in future.
Make them feel valued and worthy
Its natural for candidates to feel inadequate and doubt themselves after a job rejection. If they do so, some honest praise can really help set them right again. Highlight the unique strengths you were able to spot during the interactions and encourage them to focus and build further in those areas leave them feeling confident, valued and worthy
Heres an another email you can use for rejecting interviewed candidates:
Always Thank The Interviewers
If youre not already doing this, make sure to thank each individual interviewer from the company within 24 hours of your interview.
This can be the difference-maker for some jobs. Not every recruiter or hiring manager cares about a thank-you email, but some do.
Think of it like this: If youre one of four people in the final round of interviews, and everyone else sends thank-you emails yet you dont, how is that going to look?
If each of you is qualified and could do the job well, theyre going to pick the candidate who seems most interested in this position and in taking this path in their career.
And one way you show that is by thanking them, reaffirming your interest in the role, talking about how the job fits your goals for the future, and telling them youre excited to hear about the next steps as soon as they have feedback.
Those are the key pieces to include in your interview thank-you emails. And this is a step I never recommend skipping.
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Rejecting A Candidate Using A Video
When you first think about it, recording videos can seem complicated. But with the right video emailing software, you can actually save time, add a personal touch and have better control over your recipients feedback.
Video brings thoughtfulness, simplicity and creativity into the recruitment process and this is exactly what recruiters need, especially in the last phase of the recruitment process and in cases when you need to tell candidates that they didn’t get the job.
Sending a video email to your candidates that didnt get the job will make this situation a little bit easier for them as he will get the feeling that you truly appreciate their effort.
How To Turn Down An Interviewee
Following a job interview, hiring managers must make the important decision to hire or turn down interviewees for the desired role. When interviewees do not get selected, there are specific ways to deliver the message professionally.
In this article, we will discuss the most common reasons why interviewees get turned down and how to communicate tactfully during the process, plus see an email template and example.
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How Do I Reject A Candidate In The Best Possible Way
Rejection stings. Be it the time when you were rejected from your dream university or the time when your resume was simply put in the no pile without you even being granted an interview, there is something about rejection that hurts despite it being a part and parcel of life. Indeed, 75% of all resumes are rejected before they reach the hiring manager, and sometimes only 2% of applicants are granted an interview. As an employer with decades of working experience, you would likely also have faced your fair share of rejections. And knowing how painful rejection can be, you may find yourself asking: how do I reject a candidate in the best possible way?
Ways To Reject A Candidate As Painlessly As Possible
- Post authorBy Guest
Rejection is part and parcel of the recruitment process. Unfortunately, you will always have to turn down more candidates than you hire.
However, how you dismiss candidates speaks volumes about your company and its culture. Bad rejection practices can seriously damage your companys reputation and that all-important employer brand!
Research conducted by Jobbio found that 82% of people would not work at a company with a bad reputation. With so much riding on the process, you really cant afford to mess it up. Heres how to reject a candidate without hurting anyones feelings.
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Candidate Rejection Email Template: After The Final Interview
Email Subject Line: Your application to
Hi ,
It was a great pleasure to meet you and we really appreciate your interest in a career with .
Your skills and accomplishments impressed us. However after careful consideration, we wanted to let you know that we have chosen to move forward with another candidate for the position because they have more exposure to that more closely matched our hiring needs.
Our team was impressed by your skills and experience. Especially . While it’s a ânoâ for now, we think you could be a good fit for other future openings and will reach out again if we find a good match.
Thank you for your time in interviewing with us and we wish you all the best in your job search and future professional endeavors.
Kind regards,
Rejection Letter To A Candidate Who Has The Potential For A Different Role In The Company
Sending a rejection letter to a candidate who unfortunately lacks the qualifications, but has the potential for another role, sends a message to that candidate that they do have a place in the company . It also sends the message that your company values their candidates and appreciates fresh hot talent.
Dear ,
Thank you for your interest in the position at and attending the first round of interviews. We interviewed a number of candidates for the position, and we have decided to offer the position to another applicant.
The interview committee was impressed with your credentials and experience. Wed love to offer you the opportunity to interview for a second job opening as a in our company. Enclosed is a position description for your review.
If this role is of interest to you, please contact and they will schedule an interview at the earliest convenience. We are currently doing first round interviews for this role.
Thank you so much for taking the time to come to to meet our interview team. We enjoyed meeting and getting to know you.
Regards,
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Ask About Their Professional Goals
Often, an employee might apply for an internal transfer for the wrong reasons. Maybe they feel stuck on their current team and are just looking for somethinganythingnew. So, the position they applied for may not actually be in line with their own career aspirations.
This is where it can help to have an open conversation about their professional goals. What title would they love to have one day? Who do they admire professionally? What part of the company or their job gets them most excited? Understanding these aspirations will help you recommend ways they can build on these skills and passions in their current role , and pursue future roles that better align with these goals.
Connect On Social Media
Consider connecting with interviewees on professional networking sites if other roles become available. Because you’ve already interviewed the person, you have valuable insight into their strengths and skills as opposed to candidates you’ve never met before. This makes it easy for you to send out a friendly message, letting them know of the new position. By maintaining a positive relationship with interviewees after you turned them down, you’re showing your level of professionalism.
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The Legal Implications Of Giving Too Much Feedback
An attorney warned us not to use this approach to informing the job candidate of his fate. If a rejected candidate sued the employer for discrimination, this simple statement opened the employer up to the possibility that the lawyers could request a copy of the application materials of every candidate who was considered.
Part of a resulting trial might be the consideration of whether the other applicants were more qualified. Consequently, I dont recommend that employers give a reason for the rejection anymore.
If the rejected candidate asks you for feedback, consider pointing out several of the strengths your hiring team noted during the interview process.
After making the phone call, follow up with a version of these, or similar, job rejection letters.
Tips For Writing A Job Rejection Email
Hiring managers can use these tips to write more empathetic rejection emails:
- Send them right away. As soon as you make your hiring decision, send out your rejection emails. This gives candidates the opportunity to focus their attention on other job prospects sooner.
- Proofread your writing. While this is a low-stakes email to send, you still are representing your company. Ensuring youre using proper language and grammar shows candidates that youre a professional organization.
- Consider other roles. If you find you really like a candidate during the interview but they arent right for your particular role, think about what other job openings your company might have. You may be able to offer them an interview for a different role that better aligns with their skills and experiences.
- Be responsive to candidates. In order to grow as professionals, some candidates might ask for additional feedback. Responding to such messages with constructive feedback can help a candidate develop their skill set and see your company favourably.
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Rejection Letter Where Another Candidate Was Selected For The Role
Sharing the news with a candidate that someone more experienced was offered the role can be difficult to deliver. You dont want to come across as saying, youre not good enough. Instead, you can send the rejection letter as a way of encouraging them to improve their skills and gain further experience.
They can then re-apply when another opportunity arises. Not only will it show them that your company could potentially reconsider them in the future, but it softens the blow with a positive outlook. By adding your number at the end of the rejection letter it provides the applicant with the option to seek further feedback and advice, but only if you feel comfortable giving it to the candidate. One day they could be the unicorn employee you were looking for.
Dear ,
I want to thank you for your interest in the position at and for the time you have put into the interview process.
While your education qualifications were very impressive, we have chosen a candidate who has more hands-on experience. With your permission, we would like to keep your resume on file, should any other positions become available that we would deem suitable.
Some experience gained through volunteering or in another role that develops your would really help to raise your CVs potential. Youre welcome to re-apply at should a suitable position arise.
On behalf of , I thank you for your time, interest and effort, and I wish you the best in your future career.
Sincerely,
Job Rejection Letter Sample For Unsuccessful Candidates
A job rejection letter informs interviewed but unsuccessful job candidates of your decision. You may wish to customize this rejection letter sample template to fit your startups needs.
Choosing to hire is a significant business decision for any organization, and job interviews need to planned and conducted with care. A difficult element of this recruiting process is informing unsuccessful candidates.
Remember to maintain goodwill with all applicantseveryone is a potential source of referral.
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For Employers Who Want To Reschedule Interviews
Subject: Change in Schedule of InterviewDear ,Thank you for your interest in the position of at our company. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to cancel the interview that was scheduled for you on at due to . We would like to reschedule your interview for any of the following slots: Kindly confirm your availability with an acknowledgement to this email. In case the above dates are not suitable, please let us know your preferred date and time.I apologize for the inconvenience, and look forward to your interview again.Thank you.
Set The Expectations Right Away
You can start by setting the expectations right from the beginning, even before the interview. Invest in crafting perfect job descriptions. Well-written JDs help applicants filter themselves out and save you the pain of having to reject them.
So, when youre writing your job description, make sure your deal breakers are clearly outlined. If it matters that the developer youre hiring be familiar with Alexa, use bold, italics and underline if you have to, to emphasize that.
If the candidate screening is happening at one of your offices, it becomes easier because you can also tell the candidate what youre looking for, what the role requires and what they are signing up for. This gives candidates an idea of what to expect and gives them room to weigh their strengths, skills and job requirements. The verbal repetition will also highlight the requirements and show you are particular about it, making it easier to reason out a rejection.
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Ask For The Candidates Feedback
Exchangingfeedback is a benefit to all. Despite this, many recruiters ignorethe importance of asking for feedback, believing that feedback is their only responsibility.
However,asking for candidate feedback will help companies improve their HR departmentby overcoming weaknesses it promotes its brand by realizing the advantages anddisadvantages of the interview process.
Furthermore,asking for the applicants feedback highlights how open you are to change andhow keen you can benefit from their experience with that change. Dont justenjoy feedback on strengths it will help you to open new horizons towardsexcellence.
Use thesenotes to help you make your hiring process to the next stage.
How To Write The Rejection Letter
The first consideration when you reject a job candidate is that you are not rejecting the candidate as an individual human. So, you want to term the rejection in a more positive light. Don’t use the word rejected.
Say instead, “The selection team has decided that they will not pursue your candidacy further. We will retain your application and consider it when additional openings come up.” Additional cautions include these.
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You may reject applicants using an email up until they have come into your company for a job interview. After an interview, you must call the applicant. Never reject the candidate by email, text message, or voicemail. You owe the candidate the courtesy of a call even if you follow up the call with a rejection letter.
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Make sure the applicant cannot misconstrue the words you use or find evidence of unlawful discrimination. For example, you may be tempted to tell the applicant that you have decided that you have candidates who are more qualified for the job. The candidate could well ask you to detail the differences. Why go there?
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Take care that you are careful about any criticisms or advice that you offer even when the applicant requests feedback. This can bite you in the form of an argument or make you vulnerable to a lawsuit.
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