Do you let them down easy?
….taking care of the job seekers you don’t hire
by Adele Williams
What do you do with the 95% of job seekers who apply for roles with your organisation but are not hired? The majority of employers are not legally required to supply job seekers with information about why they were not hired for a job, but there are many reasons why you might want to stay in touch with candidates.
Reputation
It can take years to establish your organisation’s reputation, which is worth its weight in gold in the competition for the best talent. An employer’s reputation is built over time by the experiences of current, past and potential employees and a positive reputation attracts the best applicants.
How an employer treats job applicants can be broadcast to thousands of people in a matter of seconds with the use of social media sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Applicants are reading employee and applicant comments online and more information is being exchanged electronically.
Anything that draws attention to a negative can do damage to years of positive company branding.
Don’t burn those bridges!
Though a candidate may not be right for your current vacancy, if they have a cultural and values alignment with your organisation you may want to employ the applicant when another opportunity arises. If you don’t handle the rejection process well, you can bet you will be on the other side of that rejection if you have a suitable vacancy down the track.
What deters employers giving feedback to unsuccessful job seekers
What are the reasons why employers generally provide little or no feedback to rejected candidates?
They have a limited amount of time
Providing feedback to a candidate who was not offered the job is the most time consuming of all. HR or hiring managers have a finite amount of time in their day and may simply choose the quickest form of rejection (letter or email) to communicate their decision. However, this provides the rejected candidate with limited opportunity to obtain additional information for their future job search.
They may be afraid that candidates will disagree with the feedback
HR or hiring managers may fear that the candidate will not react well to honest feedback and could become upset or angry with the feedback. They don’t want to subject themselves to an uncomfortable situation with a candidate they are not hiring and therefore respond in the form of a rejection letter.
They may fear that the candidate will ask for advice
The HR or hiring manager wants to create an environment of goodwill for your organisation in which candidates tell friends and social media positive things about interviewing with you. However, they often don’t have the time, energy or knowledge to give good advice.
They fear potential repercussions from providing too much information
If you work in a Public Sector organisation you will have heard the horror stories of year-long appeals where a position has been appointed and challenged and merit and equity processes are put under a microscope. Regardless of whether it is a public or private organisation, candidates may disagree with the reasons they were not selected and question the process or decision.
Things to remember
You should not let your fear of the worst case scenario govern the way you treat potential employees. Common courtesy should dictate an organisation’s hiring practices. An applicant is another customer of your organisation, so treat them as you would your best customers. Remember it is not good business to ignore the majority of individuals who want to work for your company!
- Acknowledge receipt of all applications: Job seekers who feel like their resume has been ignored get extremely discouraged when they do not receive any type of response and your reputation could easily be damaged through social media.
- Set realistic timelines: Provide candidates with realistic timeframes for each stage of the process so you don’t leave them hanging.
- Communicate during delays: If the recruitment process is delayed or if you have a preferred candidate in mind but the offer and acceptance is delayed, communicate with the other candidates so that they don’t feel neglected.
Provide honest feedback to unsuccessful candidates: If it was a hard decision, tell them.
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Adele Williams is a Senior Recruitment Consultant with Dixon Appointments. For further information contact Adele on 03 9629 9999 or email awilliams@dixonappointments.com.au