Candidates take action against ‘rude’ interviewers
October 8, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: In This Week's E-Newsletter, Interviewing, Latest News & Views
It’s a big candidate pet peeve: when a company doesn’t call after an interview. Now it seems, candidates are fighting back.
Savvy HR pros do their best to notify candidates when they didn’t get the job. But when busy HR offices are getting more applications than ever before, the gesture sometimes falls through the cracks.
Candidates who’ve been left hanging have a new way to tell those HR and hiring managers how they really feel — a Web site called emailyourinterviewer.com. Users enter the e-mail address of an HR pro or manager and the site sends an anonymous form letter calling the manager out on his or her treatment of job candidates.
“A quick e-mail or form letter letting the candidate know he or she is no longer under consideration — that’s all it takes,” the letter reads. “Candidates deserve that. And so does your organization, which looks unprofessional when you leave candidates hanging.”
What’s your policy on responding to rejected applicants? Let us know in the comments section below.
October 8th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I attempt to respond to 100% of candidates. After my initial sort of “pursue” and “decline” stacks, the declined get a very quick email “thanks for applying but right now we don’t see you as a fit.” Sometimes if I believe the candidate’s qualifications in my industry look good but I just don’t have an opening at their level, I will recommend a highly preferred headhunter in my local area within my industry, and give the candidate the headhunter name, email and phone#. And if I think I may have something in the future, I will encourage that candidate to check our website for new postings on occasion.
Depending upon how the “pursue” group is handled, they will either receive an email or a written letter if they are declined. I usually do not go into specifics, unless the hiring decision was very close between two candidates, sometimes I will specify the experience or knowledge that the other candidate possessed.
I wonder about the impact of emailyourinterviewer.com will really have other than to give angry candidates a place to vent without consequence. There are growing numbers of very unqualified candidates applying for fewer jobs, so will recruiters also be given a place to vent about candidates who refuse to adhere to job requirements and application instructions? Seems like it should be a two way street here.
October 9th, 2009 at 10:16 am
I recently had an applicant that I spoke to back in June call several people in the company, including my boss complaining that she was never called in for an interview after my initial phone screening with her. Now it’s October and she sees that we have reposted the job and is very upset. How would I respond to this? My boss left it in my hands to respond if I want to.
October 9th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I responded to an ad several years ago for a job I seemed well qualified for in a law firm. When I didn’t hear from them, I wrote again, referencing my first letter and resume. A few more weeks passed without word. Finally, I wrote a third letter, again referring to my prior letters. I included something like: “Everyone is busy, but in these days of diminishing courtesy, perhaps you could just let me know that my letters and resumes have not fallen into a deep black hole, but have just been the victim of your schedule. I look forward to hearing from you.” I received a phone call a couple of days later and was hired. They said it was the third letter that did it. Now I make sure we always send at least a two line letter to an applicant to advise them of the status of their application.
October 9th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I end my interviews with”If you do not hear back from us by (whatever day that we finish interviewing), you can assume that someone else was selected for the position. If I called each applicant to tell them that they did not get the job, I would not have time for anything else! We have a large applicant pool, and we try to interview as many people as we can for our open positions. I hope our applicants won’t take it personally if I don’t call them after our interview. Does this sound reasonable?
October 9th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I try to mail a letter out to all the candidates I interview but the ones that keep calling are the ones that are not even considered. You tell them nicely, thank you but no, yet expect an interview to discuss the reasons they deserve a real interview. Sorry, I only have so much time.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I think it is a considerate gesture, but with the number of applicants coming in for a single position and the number interviews being done to weed out undesirable candidates, it would take hours to mail letters or call all interview candidates. As a consideration I would contact the 5 best applicants and give them a call or email them but the rest may not receive the same consideration. As HR professionals, the demands on our time are ever increasing as well as the applicant pool. I only have so many hours in my day.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
We have a great web-based applicant tracking system which requires all applicants to enter their e-mail address. If the candidate is rejected we simply click the appropriate response for an e-mailed response. We only respond to candidates we have had contact with. When advertising we place the statement: “Only candidates with the specific qualifications listed will be considered”. If a candidate without the qualifications applies, we would hope they would deduce the reason for no response would be due to their lack of qualifications.
October 9th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
We recently posted a vacancy online for just one evening and received 300+ resumes. Using a form email and blind cc I was able to respond to every single canditate to acknowledge receipt of their resume and then to contact them all again with either a request that they attend an interview or to let them know they were unsuccessful. It took 3 emails and no more than 5 minutes of my time for each.
When you are looking for a job and sending dozens of resumes there is nothing more disheartening than not even receiving an acknowledment that the company even received your information.
October 9th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
We have a postcard that we try to mail out to each candidate who applies for one of our positions. It’s a simple way to say that we have received your application and are currently reviewing it against our job requirements. If we have further questions or wish to schedule an interview, we will contact you directly. It is also a $50 discount card towards future services (we own dental offices). If we don’t choose a specific candidate for an interivew, that postcard is the only contact they will receive from us. For those candidates who do interview, we try our best to either call or send letters to those we do not choose. However, with several layers of interviewers, it does sometimes fall through the cracks. Not on purpose, though.
Candidates who do receive the postcard still try to call and plead their case. Some of our openings will have 300+ people responding – I am only one person and unfortunately do not have time or energy to respond to everyone.
October 9th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I think most people understand that it isn’t always possible to notify every applicant of their status; however, most organizations only bring in a fraction of the applicant pool for actual interviews. I believe it is rude not to notify those you actually meet with of their status in the process. Email is fine; it doesn’t have to be elaborate, but it shoudl be professional.
October 9th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
As long as you try to do the right thing you’ll be ahead. I remember organizations that treated me disrespectfuly when jobs were scarce…Then when the market turned and I received postcards/letters asking me to join their professional organizations…guess where the letter went? It’s always best to treat people as well as you can because memories are long and things change in a heartbeat.
October 9th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
We have an applicant tracking system that allows the recruiter to send an electronic letter via e-mail to each candidate in the recruitment process. This is from initial respondent status through the elimination through the interview process. This assures that everyone who applies to our company receives a timely response to their interest in a particular position. It is important that you maintain a good recruitment experience to continue to brand your company to current and future respondents for available career opportunities.
October 9th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
We normally have multiple responses to a job opening due to the stability of our business and our various recruitment efforts. However, we only respond to those individuals that received an interview. We use a form letter that is personalized for the individual (plug in their name and the position applied for). It is not preprinted. It is printed fresh on our letterhead paper. The letter thanks the individual for their time and interest extended to the company for the position of _____; informs that many factors were considered in making our decison and another applicant has been chosen to fill the job; and wishes the applicant the best of luck in pursuing their career. Takes less than two minutes to prepare the letter and envelope. I have found that this procedure takes less time and effort than waiting to a point in time where the applciants get frustrated and start calling me (voicemail, callbacks, etc.). Also, sending the letter is more comfortable than a telephone confrontation. I have heard back from applicants after sending the letter, but mostly their letter or call was to thank us for our consideration.
October 9th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I have been the only HR person at my company for the last 4 years. I attempt to send letters or email responses to all that apply to an advertised position, however, I do not always have time to respond to all of them. It may only take a few minutes, but every minute counts when you are the lone wolf.
October 9th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
@ Michelle,
There must be a reason why you are not moving the candidate forward after doing the phone screen. Why not be honest (as diplomatically as you can) and tell her why she was not selected?
October 11th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Except for one letter in this exchange, it appears that “persistence and follow through,” are not desirable attributes to HR, when I believe those are essential to success in so many positions! A successful manager once told me that his secret to a successful organization was going to job fairs. He would put up his well-known company’s table top tent and would have 40 people in line in no time. He gave each person a minute or two of full attention…ranking them numerically on job-related experience, personality, ability to problem solve, interactive personality, sense of adventure.. He wanted self starters who were eager to learn. One minute is all it took for the ranking. He only gave applications to those that ranked high. He had no luck with those sent by HR because they could not look beyond the resume and had little association with the ultimate outcome…a productive employee. Is the email system the best way to recruit or is it the best way to buffer oneself from being accused of bias?
October 12th, 2009 at 9:44 am
I was completely offended when I received the response below froma recruiter to a resume posting for a job. I am trying to change careers and do not have the experience in one of the categories which was clearly identified in the on-line questionare.
The recruter could have sent nothing or a form letter that said we do not believe you are a good fit but this was very unprofessional!!!
“You’re kidding right? Did you read the job description? Software experience as noted??”
I realize I’m just venting but this is the third time I have received a very rude response from a recruiter and wonder if anyone recommends how to respond in a professional manner.
Thanks!
October 12th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I try to let applicants know status of a position, but the reality is, I’m often so buried under hot projects and work that absolutely has to be done NOW, I do sometimes get behind in updating candidates about where we are in the process. After a position is filled, I try to contact everyone via e-mail to let them know it is now closed. But in reality, I have two file folders for engineering positions I just filled and I have yet to find the time to send out notices to the approx. 200+ people who applied. I guess I need to stop reading informational HR articles and start sending those notices…except this is how I take a break and clear my head for a moment before I get back at it. Sometimes I just have to take a little mental break so I can focus again. Sigh.
October 13th, 2009 at 9:24 am
If a position is advertised and applications reviewed, I either schedule interviews by telephone or write a short “thanks but no thanks” letter stating they were not selected for an interview. During the interview candidates are told the date a hiring decision would be made and how they would be notified. After the interview I notify the successful candidate by telephone and all other interviewees are notified by letter. We receive multiple walk-ins weekly that are not in response to any ads and I am unable to contact each and every one. If someone calls regarding their application I let them know where I have routed it and if there are any pending openings expected. Luckily we do not have a very high turnover of full time staff.
October 13th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Anette:
I am a recruiter and I don’t find it is necessary for me to get rude to anyone that responded to one of our job opportunities. Our ads list the necessary job requirements and experience. If I see a resume that comes close but lacks one if the requirements, I will normally contact the individual reminding them of the particular requirement listed in the ad and asking if the individual has that skill/training/experience and failed to list it or update it on their resume. Sometimes I never hear back from the applicant because they then realize that the skill is an important part of the job. I have had responses stating that their resume was not updated and explained further. I often receive resumes with a cover letter explaining that they don’t have the training/experience required but they are willing to learn. Sometimes silence is the best word. However, I don’t see the need to be outright rude with people.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:50 am
We’ve recently posted a job for a machinery mechanic and I have had 200+ applications so far. I will not be able to contact everyone who applied. The applicants who have come in for interviews, I will personally contact if they have not been accepted, but that’s all I can do.
October 16th, 2009 at 11:18 am
I responded to all 75 applicants in writing because our Food & Beverage Manager, who was doing the hiring, refused to do so. She has no computer skills and won’t take any classes to get the training. I have since stopped agreeing to do her typing for her too as I’m her peer, not her subordinate.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
I have managers who refuse to make a decision. Sometimes the positions are not filled for a very long time and we “keep looking”. This makes it almost impossible to give a candidate an answer either way in a timely manner. I wish I could do better!
October 20th, 2009 at 10:54 am
I disagree with Cheryl’s response to candidates that if they don’t hear back, they can assume they are not selected. Everyone is busy and so are the applicants who took time, expense and effort to go to your company to interview. Ever hear of mail merge? You can send them a professional, polite email thanking them but that you find a candidate who was a better fit. You never know when you may have to hire one of the candidates you interviewed who was not selected. You never know if your top choice works out or if you have another opening. It is good public relations to send an acknowledgement and is lack of courtresy to not send an email to people who interviewed.