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Every person that has ever gone through a hiring process knows just how stressful it can really be.
Candidates often spend hours preparing themselves for the interview and then spend even more time having their skills, knowledge, and efficiency tested.
Naturally, no matter how well one prepares themselves for a job interview, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will get hired in the end. However, it can be very frustrating – to say the least – when you simply get rejected without any further explanation.
It happens far more often than it should that companies simply don’t reach out to candidates that they’ve decided not to hire. Not only can this have quite a negative effect on the candidates themselves, but it can also negatively affect your company in the long run.
For example, hiring in the digital world is much easier to handle if you use a service like Designrush.com. However, while the whole process has moved to digital technologies, we could say that improving the human management system is becoming even more necessary and challenging.
Think of it this way: even if a particular candidate doesn’t fit your company now, that doesn’t mean your paths won’t cross sometime in the future.
So, instead of simply ignoring the candidates that didn’t satisfy the hiring standards, you should still try to build a good relationship with them.
That way, not only will your company be doing a humane thing – and actually letting the candidates know why they didn’t get hired, but you’ll also provide the said candidates with a chance to grow and improve.
Why offering feedback matters
Aside from the most obvious reason, which is professional courtesy and respect, there are also three main reasons why offering feedback really matters:
1. It strengthens your candidates
As mentioned earlier, providing your rejected candidates with valuable feedback will help them grow and improve professionally. But more importantly, it will also make them respect your company more, as you’ll certainly be among the rare ones that do this.
Besides, this may also encourage candidates to work more on themselves and can even encourage them to apply again the next time your company is looking to hire.
2. It improves the candidate’s experience
Even though company owners don’t always think about the experience they offer to candidates when looking to hire, candidate experience is really important. If the experience is lacking – in any sense – it may give off the vibe that the working experience will be lacking as well.
Moreover, in this sense, you can look at the candidates as you would your customers.
3. It strengthens your hiring process
By creating a structured system when hiring, you’ll be able to easily determine which candidates should make the cut. The more detailed this system is, the easier it will be to identify what you’re looking for.
So, once you’re done with the interviews, you can easily organize the notes you’ve taken on every single candidate and compile them in the form of valuable feedback.
How exactly can you offer feedback to your rejected candidates in a way that brings value to them, and what are some of the best practices when doing so? Here are just some of them.
Be timely
In the business world, time is money. And just like you expect your candidates to be timely and respect given deadlines, you should really do the same.
Once you decide a particular candidate doesn’t fit your company for whatever reason, make sure you notify them as soon as possible.
Be specific
The more specific you get with your feedback, the easier it will be for your candidates to understand why they didn’t make the cut. It’s simple, really.
Just like you would have specific questions when looking to hire a web design and development agency for your business, you need to try and provide specific answers to why the candidate simply isn’t a good fit for your company.
Personalize your feedback
When providing feedback, try to make it as personal as possible. Don’t simply send out generic “we’re sorry” emails, but instead, try to make your feedback more relevant and informative for each specific candidate.
Another great way to do so is by using a telephone instead of emails and having your hiring representatives deliver the news in real-time. This not only saves time on your part but also enables candidates to ask any follow-up questions they may have.
Be reasonable
When offering feedback, make sure you’re entirely aware of the things candidates can and can’t change about themselves.
So, for instance, make sure your feedback isn’t focused on things that are too personal or the things your candidates simply can’t change – such as their accent, tone of voice or appearance, to name a few.
Instead, focus on their skills (or lack thereof), behavior, body language and similar things that can easily be changed with some future improvements and training.
Emphasize the positives
Whenever delivering any type of bad news – and being rejected is certainly not great news for the candidate – always try to start off on a positive note. This way, you will somewhat make the pill less bitter to swallow and encourage the client to continue on looking.
If you were to start off with a negative attitude and only emphasize the issues, you could really affect the candidate’s mental health and confidence in a negative way.
No room for personal feelings and biases
It’s only natural that, as a recruiter, you simply dislike a candidate. However, this should never be a deciding factor when hiring.
Additionally, your personal feelings really don’t matter when providing feedback, so make sure you set them aside. If feelings get involved in the process, rejecting a candidate may come off as a personal attack.
Be honest and mean what you say
Rejecting a candidate is not easy, and many company representatives may fall into the trap of saying some things that they don’t actually mean to try and make the whole process less awkward.
However, this can only send mixed signals to the candidate, which really won’t bring any value to them. So, make sure you say what you have to say and actually mean it.
Be tactful
There’s a huge difference between being honest and being blunt when providing feedback. And while you should always aim at honesty, being blunt won’t either look or feel professional.
So, make sure you’re tactful and considerate with your feedback and always show respect for the candidate.
Ask for feedback
Again, as we’ve mentioned earlier, just because a certain candidate doesn’t fit your company at this very moment, that doesn’t mean you won’t collaborate in the future.
So, in order to make the whole rejection process feel less negative, you can always encourage your candidates to provide feedback. That way, not only will you improve the experience they have, but you can also collect valuable data that could help you improve your hiring process in the future.
End on a positive note
In the end, always try to end your rejection letter (or phone call) on a positive note. Thank your candidate for submitting their application and going through all rounds of the hiring process. And remember to wish them well and hope they’ll find success in the near future.
Let’s just wrap up the whole process once again. The reason why offering feedback matters is that it nourishes your candidates, improves their experiences, and above all, it strengthens your hiring process. Just a few simple steps are essential to carry out.
So, let’s repeat what those steps are. First, it is crucial to respect the candidates’ time and let them know they don’t fit your criteria on time. So, be timely. Personalize your feedback and be specific. Also, be reasonable and emphasize the positives.
Try to control your personal feelings and biases and make more room for honesty. Of course, avoid being blunt when providing feedback, which means you should reflect respect and professionalism.
At the very end, curiously ask the candidate for feedback. In this way, you show them that you treat them as live human beings whose opinion matters.
Dear candidates, rejection doesn’t mean the game is over. Instead, it is only a possibility that there are greater challenges on your career path.