Picture this. You’re hiring for a critical position at your company, and you absolutely can’t afford to make a mistake. So you are understandably selective. You’ve rejected every candidate so far in hopes that the next one is the best possible hire.
All of this seems reasonable to you until a member of your team sends you a link to a popular job review site. Then you see it — one negative review after another that accuses you of mistreating or misleading candidates.
Of course, you realize that this can do serious damage to your employer brand. You also know that for every person who takes the time to leave a negative review that there are others who are discussing their experiences with the people they know.
Still, it’s not as if you can simply hire poor-fit candidates just to avoid bad reviews. Instead, you have to find a way to reject candidates that doesn’t motivate them to trash talk your company online.
Don’t Assume You’re Doing Nothing Wrong — Read the Reviews
Nobody wants to read something that indicates they are failing to treat job candidates with fairness and respect. You may be tempted to dismiss these negative reactions as bitterness or attempts at revenge by disgruntled job seekers. In some cases, you may be right. However, you should keep a few things in mind.
- People are rejected for employment all of the time, and the vast majority accept it and move on
- Even when candidates are frustrated, most won’t go to the effort of maligning you online over it
- One or two negative reviews may be dismissed, but more should be taken seriously
So don’t dismiss negative reviews and feedback from rejected candidates as sour grapes. Instead, read those reviews. Look for a pattern of issues that may be causing frustration and ill will. Be willing to consider that you do need to make changes, and start creating a strategy to improve things.
Improve Your Recruiting and Hiring Processes
When brands think about recruiting and hiring, they often think of a very linear process that includes:
- Recruiting
- Screening
- Interviewing
- Making an offer
- Onboarding
This process leaves out a very crucial step — rejecting each candidate who simply isn’t a good fit and doing it in a way that is respectful and honest. Your company should have policies in place to ensure that rejections are delivered in a professional manner and that they offer clear and constructive feedback.
Remember to take a critical look at your other recruiting and hiring processes. Frequently, it isn’t the rejection that causes the issue. Instead, it’s the fact that the rejection comes at the end of a very frustrating or demoralizing candidate experience.
Emphasize Communication
Rejection always stings, but there are certain things that can make it worse. Consider things from the perspective of the job seeker. Imagine going through a lengthy recruiting process. You take the time to ensure you show up to interviews on time and prepared; you sit for assessments and work hard to impress your potential employer.
Then, you wait to hear back for weeks, sometimes months. It occurs to you that you have done everything you were supposed to throughout this process, yet nobody at the company feels obligated to extend you the courtesy of regular, honest communication. When you receive a rejection on top of that, of course you are frustrated and angry.
This process happens more often than most hiring teams want to admit. Worse, it’s entirely avoidable. There are ways to use automation in the hiring process to facilitate communication. These include:
- Self-service options that allow candidates to see where they are in the recruiting process
- Online chatbots to answer basic questions about your company and job openings
- Email campaigns to keep candidates up to date
Of course, none of these things is a substitute for the fact that rejections should be delivered in a timely manner. No job candidate should have to wait a significant amount of time before receiving this information.
Be Clear in Your Job Listings
People often react negatively to rejections if they feel as though they have been misled or that the requirements for a position were a moving target. A candidate may believe they are qualified for a job when they apply, only to learn that there are some previously unmentioned criteria that suddenly exclude them.
You can avoid this by writing job listings that are clear, complete, and detailed. Be forthcoming about every criterion for hiring. Know what your deal breakers are, and let candidates know.
Additionally, you can use tools like dynamic job listings that allow you to communicate important information about your company culture. This communication will help candidates do a better job of determining whether they are a good cultural fit or not.
Create a Reengagement Process
Are you turning down candidates when you shouldn’t be? Don’t risk frustrating and disappointing candidates by summarily rejecting them without any further consideration.
Instead, review their skills and experience with the needs of your organization in mind. They may not be a fit for that position, but would they do well in another role? What about the future?
If you have a candidate with a good work ethic and the ability to fit into your company culture but who lacks experience or technical skills, you may want to rethink how you reject them. You may be able to soften the blow of rejection and add them to your list of prospects to engage when future openings become available.
