be a waste of your time and their time.
If you feel compelled to give a why an-
swer to people who didn’t qualify for an
interview but want a reason, the answer
should always be: “We had numerous
applicants for the position, and couldn’t
interview everyone. Thanks so much for
your application. We will keep it on file
for 12 months.”
Don’t include, “We will consider you
if a position comes up that meets your
qualifications,” because the same people
who want to know the reason they didn’t
get interviewed will monitor your job
postings and demand to know why you
didn’t contact them for certain positions.
However, for candidates who did
reach the interview stage, the obligation
is a bit higher. Legally, you still have no
obligation to say anything. Ethically,
though, you should send a “no thanks”
email. This is good business practice,
because you might not want to hire the
candidate today, but you might want to
hire her tomorrow. Remember, hiring
managers can burn bridges as well.
But keep in mind that every time you
give feedback, you run the risk of getting
into an argument with the candidate
— she’ll have a response for every point
you make. “We went with someone with
more experience,” you say. She counters:
“But the job posting says five years of
service and I have seven!” You say, “We
hired a candidate who was strong in X,”
and she responds, “I have six years of
X!” You’re not going to change her mind,
so this discussion is pointless. You’ll
have to end the conversation by saying,
“That’s all the feedback we have. Have a
nice day.”
Sometimes it’s a kind gesture to offer
feedback, but make sure it is objective
and concerns only fixable things. For
example, telling a candidate he wasn’t a
good cultural fit is not generally fixable.
Cultures vary from company to compa-
ny and even department to department.
This person may not need to change;
they may just need a different job.
Be careful what you say, because it
could get you into legal trouble. If you
tell a candidate your company went
with someone who didn’t come across
“quite so bossy,” this is problematic, as
“bossy” is usually a sexist term applied
to women. If you hired an assertive male
instead, you may have to defend your
statement in court. Or what if you tell a
candidate you wanted someone to add
diversity to the department? Does that
mean you based your decision on skin
color? Yikes. Illegal.
But saying the company decided
to go with someone with more public
speaking experience refers to something
fixable and clear. Yes, it opens you up to
arguments, but you can easily defend
your statement. Or if you tell someone
they were a strong candidate, but you
ultimately hired someone with a Ph.D.
in mathematics rather than a master’s
degree, that is again clear and fixable
(though not very quickly for the candi-
date!).
If you ultimately decided not to hire
someone or changed the job description
so this person was no longer qualified,
then that’s an easy answer. Just be hon-
est. However, if you rejected everyone
and are going for round two, avoid any
direct feedback. You don’t want to say
“we didn’t hire you because of X” only to
change your mind two months later and
hire someone without X.
So, no, you don’t need to give a rea-
son for not selecting an applicant, but if
you do, make it short, not subjective and
clear. When in doubt, it’s probably best
to stick with: “We had many qualified
candidates, and we do appreciate your
time.” n
Suzanne Lucas spent 10 years in corporate
human resources, where she hired, fired,
managed the numbers and double-
checked with the lawyers. On Twitter
@RealEvilHRLady. Send questions to
[email protected].
How do you handle inquiries
from rejected job candidates?
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