Rejecting finalist candidates is never a fun task, mostly because people, especially students aren’t desensitized to the murky, brandless, generic black box of candidate rejection like seasoned recruiters are. It’s a humbling experience for seasoned job seekers and it’s a painful experience to be the first bad experience for someone new to the field of job searching.

Recruiters call candidates multiple times, candidates invest weeks of time and emotional energy into the application process, to give them a 30-second, unspecific reason why ‘We went with another more suitable candidate’, seems insufficient. It creates an idea in every candidate’s mind about the culture of your company.

There must be another way for this to not be so dreadful for everyone.
How do you transform the worst part of the recruitment process into something candidates, recruitment marketers, and recruiters might find useful?

Could it be that the most dreaded part of the candidate experience can still reflect your organizational values?
Could a candidate rejection still give specific insight into the employee experience?
Could it be a branding and recruitment marketing opportunity?

If how you reject candidates differentiates you from other employers and says something meaningful about your environment! Yes, it can! Take a look at how you can tell candidates about your culture without telling them, but by showing them in your consistent actions.

Show the Team-Specific Employee Experience
If possible give same-day feedback.
Consider collaborating with the business team on the entire experience, to include rejection.
For example, product managers care very much about the user experience. Having a product-management professional included and remain throughout the entire interview process built by your company’s product managers showcases the technical expertise of your product management team. This process better addresses a universal user need (faster candidate feedback), and a consistent record of the interview finalization for all interviewing team members.

After a phone call with the news from the hiring manager, email the candidate thanking them sincerely, and cc: the interview team.
Team members echo the hiring members sentiments, either in a “reply all” or an individual email to the candidate shortly afterward. The candidate feels like the time they spent connecting and getting to know members of the company was real and that it really happened, as opposed to only hearing from a hiring manager or main point of contact. The hiring manager follows up with the candidate by connecting with them on LinkedIn to show you’re serious about staying in touch.

Differentiate Yourself
Prove your values by simultaneously proving what your values are not.
This idea is particularly compelling if one of your values has to do with improvement or learning. What if candidates knew going into the interview process that, in the spirit of operationalizing your value of Ownership, they were going to get practical feedback about why they didn’t get the job, so they can improve personally and professionally?

By showing behaviors aligned with your values everywhere you can, including candidate rejections, you are further enforcing and promoting your culture. The speaks volumes for your culture. It makes you an employer of choice.

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