How do you let someone know they have not gotten the job?

A little while back, I spoke on the importance of treating job interview candidates like the professionals they are; today I would like to give my opinion on how to break the news to them that they were not hired.

There is so much “CYA” with companies that sometimes they forget that basic manners go a long way to creating good will between the company and unsuccessful candidates. If there is only one spot, then obviously only one person can get hired, and candidates do understand this.

·         Do you give feedback to the candidates? Some basic feedback is useful because perhaps that person can come back better and stronger next time

·         Do you send a form letter or personalize it? Poorly written form letters are quite frankly, insulting, especially when it is really obvious.

·         Do you address them correctly in the letter? If the person is a Dr and you address them as Mr./Ms., that is adding insult to injury and shows a lack of attention to detail, not to mention class

·         Do you ignore them completely, and leave it to them to figure out they have not gotten the job?  Believe it or not, this scenario happens quite a lot, and it is one of the most unprofessional things you can do as a company hands down. It is a basic courtesy that every candidate should be notified, and in a timely manner that they have not been selected

Why do so many companies out there have such bad habits when it comes to the interview process? It would be interesting to compare the companies’ employee retention rate as well.

Moral of the story is, be polite, be kind, and be informative. Candidates will appreciate it.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam