
Presenting your candidate with news of interview rejection can be often uncomfortable and challenging to recruiters. By doing this the right way, keeping in mind the candidate's emotions can not only maintain a good reputation of your organization in the market but also make you famous among your professional circle.
As a recruiter myself, I feel happy when I get a random call saying “Hey hi, I got your number from a close friend and he suggested I reach out to you as I am looking for a job change”. It’s by luck that I have the perfect requirement for the candidates and the candidate also matches the job description perfectly. But the challenge shows up when that candidate could not clear the interview with respect to skills, culture fit, location or budget. Considering the candidate was holding up hopes from me expecting some good news, I need to break down the news that “you didn't make it” is quite challenging for me and it breaks my heart.
The way you tell a candidate that he/she did not clear the interview shows a lot about your professionalism and also your company reputation.
Let’s See a Few Examples of How to Disclose a Candidate Rejection :
Firstly, it’s important to keep in mind the candidates' time and effort in the interview process. Taking time out from your daily tasks and preparing for the interview, setting min 1hr away for the interview, waiting for the feedback can make the candidate impatient. Our job as a recruiter is to keep the candidate in touch throughout the process and give out timely updates so that he feels confident about getting in touch with the recruiter.
Ask the candidate about the interview experience: Always get in touch with the candidate after the interview. Ask them how the interview was, how were the questions, were you able to answer them. This gives us the initial idea of how the interview was. Also, assure them that you will connect back with them once you have the update. This gives the candidate a sense of serious work we are doing to give them every small update.
Breaking the news: Once you have the feedback, it's important to disclose it to them in a professional manner. Get to the point, tell them that the hiring team decided not to consider the candidature, instead of false hopes or delaying the process. The reason might be related to work they have done, budget or culture fit. Letting them know about the feedback can boost their confidence and help to improve without demotivating them. Possibility is some candidates take this in a positive way and accept the feedback. On the other hand some candidates find it was not fair on their part as they did great in the interview. Explaining the technical terms in detail might not be possible but choosing the right words can make it simple. You can end the conversation by giving out positive remarks to build up their confidence and he can remember you for future considerations.
Let them know that there were other candidates for the same interview: Often candidates take the feedback personally. Letting them know that there were many other candidates aligned for the same interview gives them the surety that they were not the only ones who are rejected. The candidates might remember the feedback and consider you for any further opportunity.
Encourage the candidates to apply again: Sometimes a candidate might not prove to be a good fit for a particular company but might be a good fit for many other companies. As I work at a recruiting agency, we have many companies with similar requirements. Let the strong candidates know that you'd like to keep them in mind if similar positions arise later on. If your company is active on social media, make sure to remind the candidate to keep checking their website to have knowledge on open positions.
Though these are just a few tips to handle candidate rejection, every candidate gives out a different experience to the recruiter. Hence that's the beauty of this job that makes a recruiter job challenging and everyday is a new experience.
Cheers to all my recruiting friends to keep a smile and continue doing this even after a rough day going through every kind of candidate rejection, good or bad!
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