After a strenuous process of screening resumes, interviewing candidates, shortlisting the best ones and concluding the process with hiring a most suitable candidate, there’s one more thing that the HR needs to take care of – and it’s probably the toughest of the lot!

Communicating rejected to candidates can be a tricky affair – you don’t want to drive them off completely, lest they be appropriate for a particular role in the future!

Such an outcome takes a toll on the company’s reputation. Job seekers do look at the company profile on social media and other websites, and the reviews of the firm, trying to get familiar with the hiring process. If they happen to come across resentful feedback posted by the candidates which you may have previously left unreported, you might lose out on talented employees!

Here’s How You Can Communicate Rejection – Effectively!

In the following sections, let’s look at the various factors playing a significant role in carrying out systematic rejection procedures.

1. Tell them the reasons for rejection!

Informing job seekers about the rejection will do; however, it will be beneficial if you state things clearly. Providing insights about the dismissal will not only help them understand where they were found lacking, but also make them appreciate your efforts to maintain transparency in the hiring process.

Some reasons for rejection could be:

• The position was filled.
• The applicant is underqualified for the position.
• The applicant is overqualified for the position.
• The applicant is not the right fit for the organization
• The position was found to be unnecessary and closed.

In their inner circles, candidates will appreciate your promptness even if they face rejection.

2. Let them know that they’d be considered for future roles!

Conveying the reasons for rejection will help candidates prepare for their upcoming job search. Inform candidates about specific courses that would boost their career. Never forget to convey, that while the candidate may have been rejected for a particular role, there is no reason why he/she wouldn’t be suitable for a position in the future.

Primarily, be honest and respectful. A great candidate experience can work wonders for your employer brand, even in cases where you have rejected a candidate.

3. Take particular care of closures in the case of mass recruitment!

Mass recruitment drives invite an enormous number of applications. Conveying rejections, in this case, can be a cumbersome task! Sending out a personal response to every candidate may become painful and time-consuming.

Email templates can reduce the hassle of handling unending mail threads. It allows you to select multiple candidates and send bulk recruitment notification, instead of writing to each candidate.

These templates are way more personalized to notify ongoing updates and even delivering rejection. With a short and effectively polite mail body, email templates fetch data from the candidate database to make it look like a personally written email. It saves you much effort to reach out to everyone personally in a different mail thread.

4. Importance of timely reverts!

Communicate the feedback immediately after the interview when you are sure that the candidate is not suitable for the role. You needn’t wait until the position is filled (except for the candidate has been put on hold by the concerned authority).

It helps them move on to the other opportunities soon enough. This practice also reduces your hassles of tracking down candidates and sharing the application status with them at a later stage.

5. Make it look encouraging!

Indulge in sharing constructive and positive feedback while communicating rejection. Discuss their positive traits and strengths, and then focus on the areas where they were found lacking. It minimizes the rejection blow to a greater extent.

After familiarizing them with their weaknesses, walk them through their strong points again as a concluding note. It leaves a good impression of your organization plus helps you gain potential candidates for the future.

6. Rejection over a phone call!

Sending out rejection messages over a phone call is also an effective way. You as a recruiter, use your voice to share the news. It lowers the adverse effects of rejection. Make them realize that you are considerate and thoughtful, explaining to them the reasons for dismissal.

Candidates tend to appreciate the effort you took to speak to them and explaining the reasons behind deselecting.

7. Rejection over a video email!

In the future, rejections could be conveyed using videos as a medium. Recording videos might seem a bit complex. But with the right video email software, you can save time, add a personal touch to feedback management.

Video brings creativity, simplicity, and personalization to your hiring process. Sending a video email to all the rejected candidates will make them believe that you truly appreciate their efforts. The message will be communicated effectively as the visual aid is involved.

How Do You Handle Displeased Candidates?

Even if all measures are strictly followed to minimize the negative outcomes of the rejection procedure, some candidates might still take it the wrong way. It is tough to keep candidates from taking rejection personally!

When you come across such a situation, make sure to maintain tranquility while dealing with a rejected candidate; keep things short and precise. Be respectful and honest and empathetic.

Make sure you sound sincere, confident, honest and helpful when you are writing to the rejected candidates.

Display the courtesy of providing a transparent approach to the hiring process with the rejected candidates. By employing this strategy, even if you turn down the candidates, it has the potential to create a positive impression in their minds about your organization.

To conclude, constructive communication during the rejection process will play a key role in enhancing your employer brand.

Conveying rejection is a process that needs some delicacy – when perfected, it can play a very important role in ensuring you only get the best from the available talent!