How To Reject Candidates Politely
Reject candidates politely is part of creating a positive experience for the candidate. When done correctly, it helps you build a healthy talent pipeline and improve your brand as an employer. That’s because candidates who leave a high note of their hiring pipeline are more likely to:
- Consider future job openings if you reach out to customers or recommend your products/services
- Encourage people they know to apply in your company for future roles
Here you can promote positive ties with disqualified candidates:
Reject applicants candidates as soon as possible
Express rejected candidates that you value their time with timely touch. Candidates want to hear from you straight away, even if you’re sharing bad news, so avoid sending weeks of rejection emails. As a rule of thumb let candidates know you’re not going forward with your campaign as soon as you know it. Book a weekly time slot to remind you to contact candidates who will not go through the hiring process.
Customize your correspondence
Rejecting applicants politely who have hit the final stage of recruiting over the phone is safest. You will have the ability to sincerely thank them for their time and to give constructive feedback. You withdraw candidates at early stages, save time by sending emails. Add a personal message, and invite them to keep in touch with you on LinkedIn.
Provide honest feedback
Provide detailed, personalized feedback to help applicants understand why you’ve turned them down. Be tactful and stick to job-related guidelines to avoid legal risks Using interview scorecards to help you respond to specific facts while providing interview feedback. Suggest skills that they might learn to become more successful candidates or ways to improve their job search, if possible. So long so your guidance is sincere, applicants will appreciate your help and recognize your efforts in helping them develop their applications to other jobs.
Open Communication Lines
Be open to candidates and be clear about the hiring process. Offer details of your time frame for recruiting and, meanwhile, let applicants know if your process or timeline changes. Make sure candidates have your contact details and allow them at any time to express their questions or concerns.
How to maintain contact with disqualified candidates
The first step in maintaining good relations with former candidates is to end things on a positive note. Occasionally follow-up with applicants after the hiring process is over to stay in touch with future job openings.
Here’s how you can establish long-term relationships with past applicants
Invite nominees to the events. Extend invites to past job fairs and work activities that you either take part in or host.
Stay in touch with them on social media. Interact on social media with candidates.
Use your ATS to set reminders to follow up. Keep track of candidates by using alert and snooze features in your ATS you’d like to touch again.
The way that you turn down candidates could form your company’s lasting impressions. Effective communication during the process of your refusal would boost your employer’s reputation and help you recruit qualified candidates faster in the future.
