Rejection letters

We receive daily follow-ups from applicants, and it takes so much time to answer them. As much as we’d like to be professional in our dealings, we have to prioritize our heavy workload. What’s the best way of managing this situation, especially for applicants who were rejected? — Starry Night.

Many of us can’t handle everything, even if we wanted to. But we must do something to project a professional image for the organization. We do it in the hope of maintaining goodwill with all applicants who might be customers as well.

Over the long term, the roles could just as easily be reversed — they could become the recruiters while we could be applicants. If you’re looking for a good example of the Golden Rule, you can start with your current situation.

Make yourself amiable to everyone. Be decorous and decent at all times. I know this may be difficult to do. Fortunately, it’s not impossible.

STRATEGIESTake a few steps back to reflect on your situation. Think of the best approach to help you perform at your finest. Consider the following strategies:

One, insert a disclaimer in your job ads. Part of the ad should say something like this: “Due to the numerous applications we’re receiving every day, we regret we can’t reply to applicants following up by e-mail, text, phone calls, or personal visits to the office.” If you have this in your ad, rational applicants would readily understand the situation.

If some applicants persist despite the disclaimer, that’s a good reason for you to reject them for poor reading comprehension or failure to follow simple instructions. At any rate, when rejecting people, it’s better to remain silent. No talk, no mistake.

Two, send a bulk e-mail to all rejected applicants. As soon as you’ve hired someone for the vacated post, your best approach is to send a generic “thank you” e-mail to all rejected applicants. You can assign this task to a human resource clerk, or even to a temp working off a template that you provide.

Without encouraging false hopes, inform applicants that you’re keeping their curriculum vitae (CV) on file for future reference. Encourage them to update their CVs as needed, to be sent to a dedicated e-mail address. Also, you can ask them to follow the company’s social media accounts for the latest job vacancy announcements.

Last, write an appreciation e-mail to special applicants. These include the number two and three candidates on your shortlist, applicants for executive positions and individuals who were recommended by a government official. Show your genuine appreciation for their interest in your organization, regardless of how you feel.

You must be careful not to betray your true feelings, especially in the case of applicants recommended by politicians. Much depends on the specific circumstances. Sometimes, it’s better not to write a rejection letter at all if you run the risk of bruising someone’s ego.

You’ll be able to identify the ego cases by the time you’re done with the interview process.

BASIC RULESTo further demonstrate your professionalism, write the best rejection letter appropriate for certain individuals. There’s no such thing as “one-size fits all” template that accommodates all personalities. In general, follow basic rules in communication:

One, thank the applicant for their interest in your organization. The candidate has taken the trouble to update their CV, contacting you, wearing their best clothes and showing up for the interview. These are valuable to applicants. What’s the best way to convey your appreciation? Try something like this:

“We enjoyed our time with you when we met on (interview date) and carefully considered all your answers to our competency-based questions for (the position being advertised…).”

Two, explain the objectiveness of the hiring process. Be diplomatic in saying that the best candidate with strong credentials won out, in the judgment of a management panel. Use “we” and “our” to indicate that a collective decision was made. You can reinforce this impression by saying something like: “Our chosen candidate has clearly shown us how he plans to quickly turn things around and sustain these initiatives over the long term.”

Last, end with a positive impression. Write something that could give the rejected applicant the equivalent of a firm handshake and a warm smile. This could mean a lot to a rejected applicant. Your cordiality will be remembered by the recipient, who may come off with the impression that the decision was a close one.

Try a parting statement along these lines: “We really appreciated the opportunity of meeting you in the course of the hiring process. We wish you the best of luck!”

Join Rey Elbo’s Kaizen Study Mission to Toyota City, Japan on July 23-29, 2023. For details, chat with him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or e-mail elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.com