Jobhop Jobhop's blog : How to Follow Up a Candidate When They Don't Get the Job

Applying for jobs and sending in your applications can be a gruelling process because staying unemployed is never a feasible option. This definitely takes a toll on your mental health as the time to wait for a reply can pretty much make anyone feel anxious and build up stress.

Many people apply for jobs, and this time period can make even the best of us edgy, however, when the worse comes to worst, a rejection email can really shatter someone's self-esteem.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic unemployment has spiked and UK unemployment is likely to reach 2.6 million in the middle of 2021.

In light of this information, let's take a quick look at some of the ways through which you can follow up on a candidate who doesn't get the job offer.

Don't Let Them Wait

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As mentioned earlier, perhaps the best thing to do is to inform them at your earliest convenience. Making them wait is like slow poison. Not only are you holding potential information from them, which they can use to increase their chances elsewhere, but you are hurting them by wasting time that is valuable to them.

A candidate who is informed a couple of days later after they have applied for the job will then use their time on hand to instantly start searching for opportunities elsewhere. Hence it is on an ethical perspective the best thing you can do instead of waiting to deliver the bad news.

Personalise and Keep It Brief

Personalisation is of key importance here. You don't want to sound steely or like a robot who viewed them as an inanimate object. The rejection itself is a big turn down for anyone, so all you can do really is use language that offers them comfort at best and keeps their spirits rooted and hopeful about the future.

However at the same time, you don't want to nag or be a snob. Keep your message to the point, concise, and precise in its meaning. Always end with a positive note so that you can minimise their disdain and ordeal they have just experienced.

Be Honest but Sound Positive

It is imperative that you keep your tone positive and inform the candidate that this not the end of the world. For some, rejection can be a sensitive issue. This can really make them feel letdown and cause them to become hesitant for applying to new opportunities.

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Show them that they have an excellent opportunity to apply elsewhere and that with their skills, they can secure a job for themselves pretty soon. Encourage them to keep on the fire burning inside them and that they should never lose hope.

Inform Them about Future Openings

There are candidates that you currently do not gather much interest from your company's management, but in a year or two would become prime suspects and even the most valuable people in the industry. This is why you want to keep them in the loop and inform them of any future job openings that might interest them.

This can also help you the trouble of seeking and finding them in the first place. The moment a suitable job opening appears, you will have a candidate ready to fill up the position. It is a win-win solution.

Offer Them Feedback & Ask For Theirs

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Handling a request for feedback and asking for feedback from the candidate is tricky business. You need to make sure that all criticism and blame a prospect may offer is managed with a cool head on the shoulders. Additionally, your own feedback should never be provided in a way that it discriminates the candidate in any way or form.

Your ultimate strategy is to remain honest minus the brutality of labelling them as incompetent. You need to show them that they can overcome their potential shortcomings and become more desirable for organisations in the coming years. Pupils searching for a custom essay writing service should also look for feedback by users to find the right services for themselves.

Keep Them Engaged

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Keeping your candidates engaged is essential because you want to keep a healthy reputation in the market for other job seekers. This is why you should always ask or request them to stay in touch, and this can include subscribing to your newsletter or visiting your social media pages.

You can even keep track of their accomplishments by choosing to follow their social media and congratulate them on achieving a position at another company in the future.

The choice is yours because many recruiters fail to realise that negativity can spread like wildfire these days and word of mouth marketing is extremely important to manage a good reputation in the market.

Invite Them to Future Events

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You can also take your time to invest in candidates that you think can becoming promising prospects by passing some certified qualifications which your company or organisation's committee offers.

If such is the case, you should send them an invite for future events hosted by your company where they can acquire professional knowledge and increase their pool of information.

This will also leave a good impact on them and assure them that the company still holds them in high regards even if they were not initially selected.

By doing this, you are also cutting yourself the trouble to find candidates with select abilities as you would be able to train them and make them a perfect fit for the next season of recruitment.

When that happens, you will already have a targeted list of prospects that you would like to offer a job opening, and this saves both time and effort on your part.

Conclusion

Being employed matters a lot for people to find a decent living for themselves. Job seekers who are currently unemployed can be sensitive towards rejection as a lot of their financial wellbeing and otherwise, day to day requirements are at stake.

This is why as a member of the recruitment team or HR, you should consider toning down the negativity in your rejection letter and create an email that is imbued with a positive outlook for candidates in the future.

You win some, and you lose some, but in the end, the message should never discriminate the applicant, and so even if they are rejected, it should not mean the end of the world for them.

Author Bio

Stella Lincoln currently works as the Assistant Editor at Crowd Writer. This is where higher education students can request professionals to write my essay UK to acquire specialised assistance for their subjects and topics. During her free time, she likes to surf the internet for all the latest developments happening in the tech world.