‘Why wasn’t I hired?’ — Should you answer?
June 10, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Assessing the right candidate, In This Week's E-Newsletter, Latest News & Views
When candidates find out they didn’t get the job, some want to know why. Should you answer, or just keep quiet?
Well, some recruiters answer, and some don’t. What are the benefits of giving feedback to unsuccessful job seekers? Not much, other than the fact that you might look like a jerk if you don’t answer. And of course, you might want to help someone’s job search by giving constructive criticism.
But here are some of the problems of responding:
- Some candidates ask for your reasons just so they can try to convince you you’re wrong.
- The real reasons can be hard to articulate. It’s easy if the answer is, “You don’t have enough experience in [blank],” but not so much if it came down to something vague like cultural fit.
- And, of course, there’s always liability to take into account. If the reason you give strays slightly from the truth, the candidate might try to claim you’re lying and the real reason was race, gender, etc.
So, should you say anything when a candidate asks why you hired someone else? There’s no easy answer. If you tell them anything, it might be a good idea to do it through e-mail so you don’t get trapped in an unending conversation about why you’re wrong.
We’d like to hear about what you do in these situations. Let us know in the comments section.
Tags: didn't get the job, not hired, unsuccessful candidates
June 10th, 2008 at 10:09 am
We have decided not to answer any follow up questions to the rejection letter that we provide. There is no telling where it will turn once you engage the applicant in conversation. I do feel bad about not returning calls, emails, etc., but our letter clearly explains that we have decided to move on.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:50 am
It has always been my thought that as an interviewee, you’re entitled to the reasons why you weren’t hired. However, in today’s highly letigious society, even if you tell the truth and deliver it diplomatically, you could be held accountable in court.
Very recently, I interviewed for a position for which I was not qualified (the requirements included union experience and I had none). As much as I wanted the job, I knew that I wasn’t qualified and told my interviewers so. They liked me anyway and wanted to make an offer, however coming up on contract negotiations for their manufacturing plants dictated that they hire someone with the requisite experience I lacked. When I received my ‘rejection letter’ it was so well written that I actually wanted to call them and thank them for sending the letter. (yes- here comes the point——) anything is possible if it’s done well and ethically. Rejection can be handled properly, as in ‘in writing’ and it can be handled poorly, such as by phone where you run the risk of getting yourself into a situation you can’t get out of without an attorney.
June 13th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I do not tell candidates the specifics of why they are not hired. I typically just thank them for their interest in our organization and tell them that they have an interesting (or diverse or impressive) work background but someone else was a better fit and came out on top.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
We generally don’t respond to these kinds of follow-up questions for the reasons noted in the article. In the rejection letter we send to applicants, we state, “After carefully reviewing all resumes and applications, we interviewed a small number of applicants. Based on background, qualifications, skills and experience, we have selected the candidate that we feel will best fit the position. ” We don’t discriminate in our hiring process, but it’s best to keep answers to these kinds of questions short and sweet.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
I have two schools of thought; one for Management candidates and one for Hourly candidates. I never send rejection letters to Management candidates I interview and do not offer the job. I always call and tell them that even though they have good credentials, we are seeking someone with more management experience in the specified area. I have always been thanked for calling them and allowing them to move on. Too often people are left in the dark after an interview; management candidates should be spoken to and given the courtesy of your decision. This just may create referrals down the road for future employment or business!
As far as hourly candidates go, I always send rejection letters on those candidates not being employed. I have received a few phone calls after the fact as to why wasn’t I hired. I simply state we found a candidate with either more years of experience or more relative experience/skills for the job.
June 13th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I agree with Brian, you may seem like a jerk, but a rejection letter should be enough, although a lot of times it is not. If a candidate keeps calling asking for a “real” reason, i just tell them verbatiom what the letter states. I thank them for applying with us us and hang up. One guy even called back and threatened to beat me up. Some people just take rejection better than others.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
An approach that I use is to try to put things in perspective for the rejected candidate. You may be the only employer they’ve applied to, but it seems to help if they realize that they were one of a hundred applications and one of only a handful of persons selected for an interview at all.
I usually phone anyone who has been in for an interview to let him know that he wasn’t chosen. It goes like this: “Sheila, I wanted to call you personally to let you know that we have filled the ________ position with another candidate. I’d like to tell you how much we all enjoyed meeting you and how sorry I am that we won’t be working together THIS TIME. I guess we’re lucky that we had so many fine candidates to choose from; but it sure does make it hard to narrow it down to just one. I hope you’ll consider applying for future openings that you might be interested in, and good luck to you with your search! And thanks again!”
If they must hear the reason, don’t make it about him; make it about the candidate you hired. It shouldn’t be that Sheila didn’t have enough sales experience or because Sheila’s office skills are lacklustre. Simply state the truth (and the obvious): “The person we hired seems to be the best fit, based on the skills and qualities that we were seeking.” And then segue right back into the warm, fuzzy goodbye: “And gosh, was that difficult to figure out since there were so many great candidates! Thank you so much for throwing your hat into the ring!”
In my mind, no email can deliver the warm message that a phone call can, especially if you are sincere and respectful. It is difficult for a job candidate to get all ready, plan and schedule the time, and actually make the trip to visit a bunch of folks that you’ve never laid eyes on and impress them the first time you ever speak to them. It is hard on a candidate to get beaten out on a job he wants. So why not give a friendly word of farewell when the process ends? Even the grocery checker says “Have a nice day, and come back soon.” Can’t we?
June 14th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I do understand the far reaching implications of responding to a candidates request. The response I have found to be most appropriate is, “thank you very much for your time and interest in our organization, at this point we will “not” be “continuing the process”. Is is okay if we keep your resume on file, our needs may change and I will contact you at that time. Thank you. At that time I end the conversation.
June 26th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
There are many ways to respond to an Applicant you are calling to crush their hope about starting work with you. As the initial recruiter anyone sees for my company, there are many times I am so impressed with people and cannot understand why a manager of a particular department did not pick them either.
So much of what gets decided about a candidates future is really decided in large part about first impressions, and not so much on the rest of their resume. You would not have called them in, in the first place if you were not already interested in seeing what they were like and if this was someone you would like working with.
After loosing a job and finally licking your wounds and getting your mind and spriit ready for the horrible process of starting a job search, and you finally get called to see someone after the dozens of resumes you sent out, getting all dolled up and polished to make a great impression, being nervous and maybe did not sleep well the night before, everyone deserves at least a call to say the position was filled if they were not the one selected. Just stick to your purpose for the call, they found someone that was the fit they were looking for, your background and experience and people skills will certainly find you the position you will be the perfect fit for also, if we got another opening I hope you would consider talking to us again, best of luck in your search.
A little kindness goes a long way to giving people the confidence they need to pull up all that energy and go for another interview. Wish them the very best. After that they still might still like your company too.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Our policy is to make a phone call to each candidate we interviewed in person to let them know the hiring decision. And to send an email to all others who sent in resumes who were not hired, and encourage them to continue to check our website for new job openings for which they might be qualified. I can’t tell you the number of thank you’s I’ve received for letting them know. For many job applicants, the process is so impersonal when they send in a resume, most never expect to be answered. At least when they receive an acknowledgment that we are reviewing their resume, then another advising them of the hiring decision, even if they are not chosen, they feel we truly have given them consideration. “Encouraging” then to continue to view our job openings seems to help the candidate over feeling rejected without committing us to anything further.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Having done HR for 20 plus yrs, my policy seems to be a marriage of several stated in feedback…for managerial candidates that have been in for a personal interview they receive a phone call, with a scripted delivery of the new and a letter, again carefully scripted………hourly and clerical receive no automatic feedback, if they followup [ and a very small % due]….we will send a scripted letter…..have been successful in not being dragged into court since the 90’s