n EVIL HR LADY
DILEMMA OF THE MONTH
SHOULD I GIVE FEEDBACK
TO REJECTED
CANDIDATES?
by Suzanne Lucas
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN CHASE
I
’m a recruiter for a popular company, and we
receive a lot of applicants for jobs. We can’t
interview all of them, and even great candidates
aren’t necessarily interviewed. And of those, most
won’t be hired. Frequently, candidates — both those
who get interviews and those who don’t — contact
me to find out why they weren’t hired or even
interviewed. Should I respond thoroughly to these
inquiries, give a simple form response or ignore them?
A
18
comstocksmag.com | May 2019
JOB HUNTING STINKS. Even in a great
economy where there are more can-
didates than positions, it’s still largely
filled with rejection. Naturally, there’s a
reason certain candidates didn’t get the
job, and it’s understandable they want
to know why — but do you have to tell
them?
No, of course not. Simply saying
thanks but no thanks is sufficient. Please
note: You really do need to say no thanks.
At the application stage, this can be an
automated email that says, “Thank you
for applying. If we are interested in mov-
ing forward, we will contact you.” If the
person has come in for an interview, you
owe them an email saying, “Thanks so
much for your time. The position has
been filled.” Don’t ghost your candi-
dates.
Now, let’s talk about the whys. Peo-
ple who apply for a job think they are
qualified and deserve an interview.
But, as you said, you work for a popular
company where you may get hundreds
of applicants for every open position,
with almost all qualified. There’s no
way to interview everyone, and it would