Rejection is HARD. It’s hard to receive, to give… it’s hard for some to overcome… and as I sit here and type I’m discovering it’s also hard to write about. Working at a recruitment agency in Perth, rejection is something that I deal in every day. It’s the ‘filing’ part of my job description… nobody jumps up and down at the opportunity to destroy hopes and dreams but it needs to be done. Why?
Recruitment experience is a predictor of Employment experience. If your recruitment model fails to respectfully address and inform the unsuccessful – your brand will suffer. Talent won’t want to work for you and the word will get around.
When I first started working in Perth’s Recruitment scene I was very young. Not having come into my own quite yet I was perhaps too much of a people pleaser… I was terrified of rejection… I would avoid it like the plague. Seriously… I was the president of Procrasti-Nation.
When I did get around to it, I was still scared of how people might react to rejection coming from me… I don’t like hurting people’s feelings. I caught myself telling little white lies that we all tell when rejecting people… I put it down to being tactful. Really, I was just quaking in my little recruitment boots.
I had to learn to get over this fear very quickly if I was going to be the sort of Recruiter I aspired to be. Now? Rejection, whilst not the highlight of my job, isn’t something I shy away from… I’m much better at being on both ends and many of my professional and personal relationships are far better off for it.
Perth is a small place.
Technology Recruitment in Perth is smaller still. Rejection is such a vital part of the recruitment experience and I’ve learnt that honesty really is the best policy.
Negative news travels fast… a disgruntled candidate might go home and complain, tell their peers and colleagues in the industry. In today’s world, they may leave a no-star review on Glassdoor for the world to see. If you’re not honest it will come back to bite you and people will lose respect for you and your brand.
There are a number of times I’ve spoken to top-notch candidates who RAN in the other direction when I mentioned my clients name. Why? Usually their internal recruiter treated them like rubbish or they’d gone for an interview once a few years ago and never heard back, or they discovered they were lied to.
This happens in our industry every single day – and you don’t even know about it because these candidates avoid interaction with your brand at all costs. Every touch point counts.
I took on a job this week from a client who had gotten to second stage interviews with a direct applicant who didn’t make the cut and so they needed to keep searching.
They told me this.
They didn’t tell him this.
They told him they filled the role.
I approached him about the job. Uh oh.
It (understandably) left a sour taste in said candidate’s mouth and that candidate isn’t going to have a positive impression of that company. I don’t think they thought about the fact that they were lying to the candidate. Maybe they were scared and avoiding rejection, just like I used to?
People always remember how you make them feel. I wouldn’t feel very nice if I found out I’d spent 4 hours of my time in interviews and then was lied to about the outcome… would you?
Whether you own a process as a recruitment agency or internally, all candidates deserve rejection. When?
After 2 stages of interviews, a candidate deserves honest feedback. After expressing interest in a role, a candidate deserves honest feedback. At any point a candidate is excluded from the next step in your recruitment process, you should let them know.
Trust me, they appreciate it. Don’t be scared like I used to be.
The guys @ Monster have some good tips on how to respectfully provide feedback to candidates.
Rejection has such a negative connotation. Overcoming the fear of rejection, for me, meant understanding that there is so much more to rejection than ‘no’, there is opportunity.
Seize that opportunity. Tell them why it’s a ‘no’. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how gracefully and gratefully rejection is received.
Happy Rejecting!
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Georgie
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