5 tips for giving feedback to
unsuccessful candidates
A candidate has taken the time to apply for a job advertised at your workplace and perhaps attended an interview but you have decided the person-job fit just wasn't right and they have been unsuccessful. It's hard to do, but it is common courtesy to let them know the outcome. But if you do this right it doesn't have to be a negative experience! It can actually have some long term benefits for your business;
- You can save time later-as you won’t have to take any number of calls from candidates trying to follow up at any given time
- You can establish your employer brand in a positive light
- You also leave the opportunity open to hire the applicant for the future!
One of the most common mistakes employers make during recruitment is giving out generic or impersonal feedback to unsuccessful candidates or failing to give out feedback altogether, due to the inherent difficulty in organising and delivering such feedback. The following information will make giving interview feedback easier.
5 tips on how ensure you are delivering quality and constructive feedback:
- The feedback should be delivered by the person who conducted the interview. Show that a serious and adequate amount of time and deliberation went into the decision and that the final answer is coming from the person most involved.
- Include specific examples of the candidate’s responses and how these responses lead to your decision. Did they discuss experiences that didn’t show strengths required for the role? Did they seem only somewhat vested in the role’s tasks when you need someone extremely dedicated?
- Try to tie feedback into the job specification. Feedback certainly shouldn’t only be about how they carried themselves during interview, link what they included in a cover letter or resume to the outcome.
- Think about your tone of voice and the words you use. This can be the major aspect they take away with them that affects your employer brand and their future opportunities.
- Be prepared for the candidate to disagree with you, in this case remain calm, polite and stick to the facts. Take notes on your key reasoning.
As part of the constructive and fair feedback, common reasons candidates are rejected are:
By completing this process in a courteous, constructive and positive manner you not only promote positive sentiment towards your company but are also contributing understanding to the applicant about how they may approach the hiring process more effectively.
And who knows? Perhaps in the future, you'll be calling to accept them into a different position they are better suited to!
- Preparedness: the applicant did not appear to know much about the company or the position they were applying for
- Punctuality: Arriving late for the interview without a valid reason
- Direction: Having a lack of career goals or career plan
- Motivation: Appearing unenthusiastic due to their vague and unelaborate responses or failing to provide useful information about themselves or their perceptions of the role
- Honesty: Lying or being evasive about qualifications and previous work experience
- Duration: Stating that they are only interested in working in the position for a short period of time
- Qualifications: Being overqualified or under-qualified for the position advertised
By completing this process in a courteous, constructive and positive manner you not only promote positive sentiment towards your company but are also contributing understanding to the applicant about how they may approach the hiring process more effectively.
And who knows? Perhaps in the future, you'll be calling to accept them into a different position they are better suited to!
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