Rejection Notice
for Executive Candidates
The topic of whether to give formal rejection notice to
non-chosen candidates has been an evolving one over the past
decade.
In the genteel days of paper correspondence, formal letters to
notify candidates to keep looking were accepted practice for
both interviewed candidates and non-interviewed applicants. Even
entry level candidates usually got hand-signed rejection
letters.
While request for information from interivewed candidates always needs
to be answered, the practice of formal rejection notice has
become less common among the younger generation. Surprisingly,
it is with executive recruiting where the greatest negative
sentiment toward the custom has developed.
Hiring managers often give the following reasons for their
condemnation of the practice:
1. Concerns about lawsuits require that modern rejection notices
be worded in a manners that are legalistic and therefore give
nothing of value to candidates.
2. Unlike junior candidates, management people understand very
well the hiring process and know that only one candidate can be
chosen. If they do not receive a follow-up call, candidates
automatically know they were deemed not a fit for the role.
Giving formal rejection notice, therefore, to state the obvious
appears redundant and wasteful of everyone's time.
3. There are many twists and turns in the recruitment process
and candidates set aside early can come to the
forefront later on. Therefore, the only possible time for
rejection notices to be sent is after the successful candidate
is on the job -- many months after initial interviews. At this
belated time, candidates have long forgotten about the position
and receiving formal rejection notice comes across as irritating and
even humiliating.
4. Most standard rejection notices are impersonally (and poorly)
worded, and often insulting to candidates by seeming to
rub-it-in that they were deemed a bad choice compared to others.
As an example of what not to do, consider the wording of a
standard rejection notice posted online and used widely
throughout the world. Anyone with experience as a job-seeker in
the past decade will recognize its structure and terminology
immediately.
Bad Rejection Letter: DO NOT SEND
Thank you for coming in to interview for the
position of [state the position title] with our company. As you
know, we interviewed a number of candidates. This letter is to
let you know that you have not been selected for the position.
Thank you for taking the time to come to our company to meet our
interview team. The team appreciates that you interviewed for
the position.
We wish you success with your ongoing job search. Thank you for
your interest in our company.
The letter is an ideal example of the main complaints with using
formal rejection notices. It does not give candidates useful
information of any sort and its bluntly insensitive wording
carries the very real risk of offense -- especially in face
conscious Asia. Do not risk your long-term
career by sending communications of this sort to management
candidates or anyone else.
If formal rejection notice is to be provided, the hiring manager
needs to take an active role to create a message worded in a
manner that will not offend the candidate and will hopefully
build a relationship for the future. The crafting of the message
should not be given to a junior person to construct.
Better Rejection Notice: Example
I enjoyed getting to know you through our recent position
search. You were deemed an exceptional candidate by the
interview team, and we would like to keep your file open in case
their are roles that we may have in the future.
For the particular position I spoke with you about, there were
various personalities involved in the decision and we felt our
opportunity would not be the best use of your exceptional
skills. But it should be clear that that you were highly
thought of.
Don't forget about us because we will not forget about
you. Please continue doing great work at your current
employer and let us know if your career situation changes so we
can keep track of you.
The point is that all communication should be respectful of
people and provide something of value. Any candidate who was
considered worthy enough to be interviewed should be considered
a high value professional. With management recruiting, it is not
a matter of who has better skills, it is a matter of who has the
most suitable skills and this fact should be made clear to candidates.
In the fast growing countries of Asia where relationships are
critical to success, hiring managers will surely come across
candidates again either for future positions or as clients,
suppliers or even as a supervisors. People who risk
relationships, risk their careers and businesses.
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regular business event in Philippines and considered one of the most
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enterprises across the Asia Pacific region.
Attendees are both expatriate and Asian management personnel
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Asia
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Asia
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alliance of local and international business people ever created to
promote Philippines on the world stage. As one of the largest events
of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, it is considered a
must-attend occasion for business leaders active in Southeast Asia.
The star-studded Board of Judges of Asia CEO Awards give away
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Media organizations
throughout the world call upon the Principals of Chalre Associates for thought leadership.
Below are some examples of published material written by our
consultants or international journalists who refer to them. For a complete list of published work,
Click Here.
Getting Ready For The
Deluge: Outsourcing in Philippines
by
Chalre Associates senior staff
Download
[PDF
file, 62KB]
The
Economist Intelligence Unit of the Economist magazine
asked Chalre Associates' Chairman, Richard Mills,
to write a chapter about the Philippine outsourcing sector
in its annual Business Guide Book. The material
provides a Executive Briefing on the progress and major
issues facing this industry that is certainly one of most
significant growth stories in the world.
more
Asia Pacific Mining
Conference 2007 - Report
by
Chalre Associates senior staff
Download
[PDF
file, 28KB]
The 7th Asia Pacific Mining Conference put on by the Asean
Federation of Mining Associations was perhaps the largest
such event in the region. Richard Mills, Chairman of Chalre Associates
gave this report on what was said by the prominent mining
people who presented.
more
The
State of BPO in Philippines: Dan Reyes Speaks
by
Chalre Associates senior staff
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[PDF
file, 31KB]
Richard
Mills, Chairman of Chalre Associates,
interviewed Dan Reyes of Sitel for ComputerWorld (US) recently to get
his views on the state of the BPO industry in Philippines. Dan
presented US readers with compelling information to support his view
that Philippines is currently seen as the "Number 1" option by global
companies sending BPO work to offshore destinations.
Dan Reyes is easily one of most experienced Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) managers in the Asia Pacific region and the world. He
is head of the extremely successful Philippine operations of Sitel, the
world's largest call center organization. Among other things, he is a
founder and former president of the Business Processing Association of
the Philippines. more
