December 23, 2024
How To Tell People They Won’t Get the Job
The competition for an executive position has only one winner. Everyone else ends up disappointed.
Surprisingly, making a simple phone call to tell a candidate she didn't get the job is something that many otherwise tough executives avoid. In fact, one of the most common complaints I hear from job seekers is that they go through one or more rounds of interviews with a company, then never hear from them again.
So let me propose a simple ground rule — Get back to candidates promptly once you have decided they will not win the job. This is common courtesy, but if that's not good enough for you, it's also your business interest. If you treat people poorly on a consistent basis, you will earn a reputation as a company (or individual) to avoid.
How do you deliver that bad news in a kind way? You don't have to be too specific, but you must be direct. I'll commonly say something like, "The company has decided to pursue other candidates," or, "They're going in another direction.” If the candidate wants constructive feedback, I'll provide it.
I always end these conversations by thanking the candidate for taking time to explore the opportunity. I also tell them I'm glad we've met (if we've not met before), and that I hope I will have other projects to talk with them about in the future. And I mean it.
Excerpted from Mastering the Art of Recruiting (Praeger, 2015)
