Forums

What are standard, polite responses after interviewing a candidate with the following outcomes:

(a) You decide to reject the candidate, or,
(b) You think the candidate is good, but want to continue interviewing before making a decision, (so you want the candidate essentially to wait)

Thanks for any suggestions.

PS: This is a repost, originally posted under Hiring Practices. Didn't get much action there. As an experiment I'm reposting under General. Don't mean to bug anyone if reposts and/or experimentation are frowned upon. Ta!

Osqhollu's picture

I've been to interviews and received a standard, off-the-mill, template answer... first reaction is "what an *@^%% coward! pick up the phone, be a man, tell me what went good or bad!"

The candidates were good enough to speak to them. They came, spend time and money. They are waiting. They think your company is great and would like to work there.

A respectful follow up would be to phone them and tell what's coming: rejection or next decision date.

On the other hand, if you want to insult them: just fire a standard, polite response. They will understand there's just meat to you :-)

douglase's picture

I have used standard responses where we have gone through a large pool. This includes those people who haven't been interviewed. In most cases I also like to phone through the response to the applicant and advise them that they have been unsuccessful.

so a email/letter might say something like this:

Thank you for you application for Service Desk Analyst with BigBrother. Please be advised that at this time your appliction has been unsuccessful. If you would like feedback on your application please contact John Smith on xxxxxxxxx.

signoff.

That of course would need some polish but the point is you keep it short and to the point. If you are going to give feedback you state it. I also like to ask if they would like feedback, and either prepare to give it there and then, or book in a time to do it. This is because I work in government and we tend to do that to be fair to all applicants etc.

Regards
Douglas

stephenbooth_uk's picture

I think whether you use a standard letter or call depends on the number of people you have to contact, it's probably not practical to speak individually to 100 people. On the other hand, except in very limited circumstances (e.g. where you're opening a new plant and were interviewing for a very large number of posts), if you're interview pool is so large that you can't call interviewees individually then you really need to look at your short listing process.

A phone call should, in my opinion, be the first choice unless it's really not possible to do so, in which case a letter may be suitable (and certainly better than an email or text message). Personally I feel a phone call followed up by a letter to confirm (and maybe give any comment or feedback you may wish to and be able to give). The worst, in my opinion although I can see why companies do it, is to just say at the end of the interview "If you haven't heard from us in 2 weeks you should assume that you have been unsuccessful."

If you must send a standard letter then something along the lines of what Douglas posted would work well.

My experience of being rejected during a job hunt is that it's almost always been via letter, or the "If you haven't heard from us..." and never phone call. Sometimes, where I was put forward for the job by a recruitment consultant, the employer has called the agent and told them to tell me.

Stephen

HMac's picture

I think it also depends on how far into the process the candidate made it.

A written response is fine if the candidate didn't make it to the interview stage (that is, "we reviewed your application, and have chosen to go forward with other candidates...").

I think a written response is also OK when the candidate doesn't make it past the first interview.

But once the candidate has been called back for a second (or third!) interview, I think you owe that candidate a phone call.

Just my 2 cents

-Hugh

terrih's picture

I remember on my very first hire, I was planning to call the others back but one called ME right after I'd made my decision and caught me flat-footed. I stammered through that conversation, oh well.

asteriskrntt1's picture

I have more than once received standard emails/letters that were out and out wrong.

I once received a rejection letter from a major telecom company thanking me for coming in. I had not even applied to them, never mind come in for an interview. I mailed the VP and told her this, and she brought me in for an interview.

I called a VP at a major credit card company for an informational interview. His EA sent me a rejection letter.

A few weeks ago, after 2 phone interviews and a 1.5 hour face-to-face with the CEO (small company), I received a letter from the receptionist thanking me but they were not going to interview me.

Whatever you decide to put in your letters/call scripts, make sure it is accurate.

littlejus's picture

Oh dear, poor old asteriskrntt1! I'll certainly try to avoid making those mistakes.

What about the situation where you're interviewing a must-fill position, you have four weeks to fill it in and first day you interview someone who "will do" but is not a "for-sure". You're not ready to reject them, not ready to hire them, want to see what else you might find. Then they call you up the next day and ask "How'd I do?".

...What kind of response is appropriate in this case? "You're on the short list, and we're interviewing several other candidates."?

asteriskrntt1's picture

The appropriate response is that you don't have to give them an answer. They should not be calling you to see how they have done. You are not a career counselor. If they follow up to see if a decision has been made, try the following:

"Sally, I appreciate your enthusiasm and follow up. As we discussed during the interview, we are still going through the process. I don't have an answer for you yet. As soon as we do, we/I will be in touch."

As a job hunter, it is not what I want to hear. As a manager, it is what you need to say.

asteriskrntt1's picture

The appropriate response is that you don't have to give them an answer. They should not be calling you to see how they have done. You are not a career counselor. If they follow up to see if a decision has been made, try the following:

"Sally, I appreciate your enthusiasm and follow up. As we discussed during the interview, we are still going through the process. I don't have an answer for you yet. As soon as we do, we/I will be in touch."

As a job hunter, it is not what I want to hear. As a manager, it is what you need to say.