What to tell to a rejected candidate?

Question

We're currently in the process of hiring candidates for a software development position. The company is small, and the interviews are for trainee level position, for which we're seeking candidates who are either freshers or who have only a bit of relevant experience. That's why little filtering of résumés is done, and most of the candidates are called for an in-person interview.

I am tasked with interviewing candidates at this point. If there are any good ones but I find but are such that they're not an immediate yes/no, then I have a discussion with my boss before hiring. And I am a technical person, not HR.

I interviewed such a candidate, and he had a good résumé, but the interview didn't go as well. I had a review of him with my boss but the latter said that the candidate didn't have some needed skills, so he got rejected.

The candidate called up unexpectedly two days later to inquire about the results of his interview. Since I was not prepared to answer at that moment and didn't want to tell him he wasn't selected(a situation similar to a candidate asking at the end of the interview how he did), I told him someone would be contacting him later to let him know.

I know saying that is the de facto standard response given to a candidate, but I don't really know what I should be telling him if he were to call again. Should I be taking any more steps to tell him the result or not do anything at all and hope he gets the hint?

Answer 1

You do not owe this person an explanation of why he was not selected. And it is almost always a bad move to try to tell them. If he calls though, you do owe him a straight answer on whether he was selected.

It would have been kinder to have told him he was not selected rather than pretend a decision has not been made. Keeping someone believing they are in the running for a position when they are not is cruel. This person will most likely continue to call until you tell him.

In this case, since you told him someone would contact him later, you owe him the call to tell him that he was not selected. This was your mistake, you need to fix it. Do not delegate this task to someone else.

Hinting is an ineffective communication tool in virtually all circumstances. This is something you need to learn not to do. If you are in a position where you are making hiring decisions, you need to be able to give people a firm and clear no. Hiring is a management task and managers are often the people who have to give out bad news. You need to learn to do so.

Write down what you want to say to tell a candidate that he has not been selected and then practice it. I would normally say something to the effect of he was not the person chosen to fill the position. And then wish him good luck in his job search. If he asks for feedback on why, tell him that it is the company policy not to give that type of feedback. (Most likely if you check with HR that is the case as very few companies want to get into that particular can of worms.) But write out what you think someone might ask you and the responses and practice.

Answer 2

I have two standard responses. Before a decision is made:

I appreciate your interest and enthusiasm. The process is still underway and you won't hear from us until it is complete.

After a decision is made, all unsuccessful candidates (not just those who contact for followup) get a note that thanks them for their interest, and includes the sentence

We have offered the position to another candidate, who has accepted it.

I never tell people specifically where they fell short. You may think this is a nice thing to do, but causes the majority of followuppers to reply arguing with you - actually I have excellent communication skills! - I think you'll find jQuery excellence is not required for that job! - I defy you to find anyone with better graphic design skills than me! - or insisting that you consider them for a different position in the firm. (I used to say we would "keep your resume in case something came up", but that caused one person to email me once a month asking if anything had come up yet, so I removed the sentence from then on.)

Occasionally I include an extra sentence in this email. I told one applicant

This was a very close decision and if we had two positions, I would have offered you one. Should we need to grow further in the near future, may we get in touch to offer you first refusal?

and several others:

This was a very close decision and your skills are excellent. Many of our clients ask us to help them hire developers. Should such an opportunity arise in the near future, do I have your permission to pass along your resume and a brief summary of our interview?

People do generally consent to these :-).

Answer 3

You already wrote exactly what you should tell him.

"[Sorry, but] unfortunately [you] did not have the skills we were seeking."

Keep it short, simple, and to the point. Nothing more.

Answer 4

Just tell the guy that he has not been selected, a simple email can do that job. For example:

Hi CandidateName,

Thank you for the follow up. Although your results were pretty impressive and your skill set is competitive, we have decided to move forward with another candidate for this position.

Thank you for your interest and best of luck in your search.

You will be doing him a favor. Because he is definitely waiting and he probably thinks that he did great at the test and got the job. It also might be (it's the case with me for example when I am looking for a job) that he operates and processes one application at a time, so until he hears a Yes or a No, he does not move on with the next application(Which as mentioned by user HLGEM in the comments, it is not a good practice).

So Just Do It.

Answer 5

In this case just tell them the truth, it's what I do as the technical person.

'Sorry, I don't know, it's not my decision to make. I think HR will be contacting everyone who was interviewed.'

Then if they bug me for HR's contact I give it, and they can chat all they like with HR.

Answer 6

Candidate A was chosen, candidates B, C, D,... were not chosen. Period.

When Candidate B calls for the results tell him the truth. "I am sorry, we have chosen another candidate." This sentence says everything needed: There was at least one candidate more suitable for the job than they were. Thanking them for their effort and wiching them good luck in their seek is optional (and recomendable) extra. Telling them why they were not chosen is unnecessary.

Actually, you (You, personally, or your HR) should have sent them the message two days ago.

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Edit

In the case that you are rejecting them only, the position is still open, but not for this perticullar candidate, you can reject him saying "I am sorry, but we are looking for candidate with different set of skills (someone else)." There is absolutely no room for possible negotiation.

Still, You should have informed them that you are not about to hire them at the time, when the [final] decision was made.

Giving someone false hope is not cruel, it is mean.

Answer 7

If the candidate is absolutely, unequivocally out of the running, a simple

Sorry to let you down, but we do not feel like you would be a good fit for the role. ... (candidate asks why) Unfortunately, I cannot go into specifics. I wish you luck in your search.

Otherwise, I like Kate Gregory's "I appreciate your interest and enthusiasm. The process is still underway and you won't hear from us until it is complete."

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When I'm the sole decision maker, I let them know at the end of the interview whether we want to move forward or not. Only rarely do I not know immediately.

Answer 8

I'm a bit confused by the answers here. "didn't have the skills" is way too vague to have any meaning. You wanted a neurosurgeon and he was a gardener? You wanted someone who was fluent in Hindi and English and he spoke only Hindi and Tamil? Some skills can be learned on the job, some are prerequisites.

He shouldn't have been interviewed if he didn't have the "hard" skills needed. As far as "soft" skills (interpersonal, organizational, social, etc.) those are very hard to accurately quantify in an interview. Interviews and resumes are a very poor way to determine how well someone will do in a job, but like the old saying about democracy being a bad form of government, but better than any other, we've no choice to use resumes, interviews and personal recommendations to fill job vacancies.

You should be careful to distinguish between factual deficiencies (PhD required) and subjective ones (poor communication skills). Also, it must be said that no decision is final until the position has been filled, and employee has showed up at work. If the decision maker agreed with you that he is not a "finalist", then you should have told him so - since he wouldn't ever qualify for the position.

In the USA, there are legal constraints on what an employer should and should not say to a candidate. It is a judgement call whether you tell the candidate any specific deficiencies which you identified. Of course, it should be obvious that you would only tell him about things he could improve. (e.g. "We chose someone with Microsoft PowerPoint experience" compared to "We chose someone with more industry experience").

My practice was to keep it short:"Your resume impressed us [otherwise, you wouldn't have interviewed him] and perhaps "and you interviewed well" but we chose another candidate". When a candidate impressed me, but lacked maybe one necessary prerequisite, I might mention something about that, as long as it had been discussed during his interview. It's a bad idea for things not discussed to be brought in at this point.