
Candidates in the interview stage – sometimes, candidates just don’t do well on phone and/or in person interviews. They didn’t have the right skills or perhaps they didn’t present their skills in the best way possible; whatever the reason, they didn’t get the job or advance to the next stages of the interview process. How you reach back out with this news is crucial; sometimes, it’s difficult to reach back out with exact hiring manager feedback but at the same time, it is 100% necessary to reach back out with a personal touch in this stage of the process. I would recommend trying to speak with that person about not moving forward as it does bring a certain closure to the interview process. However, emails (for larger groups of candidates) can work as well, as long as they have a personal touch.
Candidates that are offered a position, but decline an offer – In the unfortunate case of a candidate declining an offer, make sure you don’t let your emotions get the best of you. It would be easy to get upset with the candidate and ask “WHY?” but sometimes, there are factors that are out of your control when it comes to offering a candidate (to hopefully mitigate declined offers, that’s why recruiters pre-screen candidates to get a sense of where they are in the job search process and what it would take for them to accept an offer). At this stage, it’s important to keep things cordial with the candidate, obtain their reasoning as to why they took another offer and to wish them well. Who knows, maybe they’ll refer a colleague or friend of theirs for a role at your company (that’s personally happened to me a few times).
All in all, it’s important to keep candidates engaged in your hiring process and to keep them in the loop with feedback. You never know what impression you’ll make with a candidate, so it’s better to respect the candidates job search process and make sure that they are aware of what their status is for a certain job.
By Joe Griesbach | People Science Sr Talent Advisor
2 Comments
Great post. All your points are very useful. Thank you. – Lead Generation Services
Thank you!