How To Turn Candidate Rejection Into Candidate Affection

The recruiting process can be hectic, especially when dealing with multiple candidates at once. However, what’s most important is that you treat each and every one of your candidates with respect. Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes for a second. The job search can be very stressful for candidates. There are multiple stages of the job search and it’s no walk in the park at that.

The first step of finding a job that suits your skills can be tedious and then applying and interviewing adds to the process. All with the hope that you (the candidate) will get the job. This, unfortunately, is not always the case. Therefore, the job search could, in fact, take months of hard work.

This makes it all the more necessary for the recruiter to be understanding and to guide their candidates in the right direction. A candidate of yours that receives a job offer and accepts is more often than not happy with their candidate experience. BUT, what about those who don’t get offered a job? How we approach each candidate and break the news? In this blog,  we’ll look at a few techniques on how you can turn candidate rejection into candidate affection!

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Use Your Phone

Being the bearer of bad news is never nice. Therefore, choosing the right mode of communication can often soften the blow. Many recruiters often turn to sending the same old generic email when rejecting a candidate. Considering the effort a candidate might have gone through to apply for the role – do you deem this satisfactory?

I understand that sometimes sending an email isn’t feasible due to the mass amount of applications recruiters receive. However, if your candidate has reached the 2nd or 3rd stage of the interview process, then phoning your candidate is considered best practice. At least this way, you can personalise your message to the candidate as well as offering them any additional feedback.

Provide Stellar Feedback

From a HR or recruiting point of view, you want your candidate to walk away feeling like they’ve received proper feedback. Feedback that they can take and apply in their next job interview. Try not to focus too much on the negatives and point out what areas where they were strong in.

Furthermore, look at how they can build upon those strengths. Make sure to keep your feedback brief and don’t get bogged down in the finer details. Most importantly, be honest and respectful. This will pay dividends later on down the line and will result in you providing a great candidate experience.

Look forward, not backwards

Although you’ve just rejected a candidate for a role, who’s to say that they might not be a better fit elsewhere? If you have an outstanding role on offer and you think your candidate is capable of stepping up the task – say it to them! This way, you’re saving yourself the effort in having to scour the internet or elsewhere for a new candidate.

The trick is to keep your candidates ‘warm’ and updated. Again, personalise your messaging when reaching out to talk to them. You want to keep your talent pool fully loaded and effective, honest communication is the best way of maintaining this.

Looking to brush up on your interview techniques? Maybe you want to learn best practice around candidate care? Find out how we can help you implement a killer candidate experience by contacting our team today!