My daughter, Katy, graduated from college with a Nursing Degree in 2023. She applied for over 100 jobs that spring/summer in order to land her dream job at a hospital in the Dallas area. She loves her job as an award-winning post-partum nurse, and in July of this year, she will have been at her beloved hospital for 2 years.
Imagine her surprise when she received a rejection notice from a job she applied to in May of 2023.
As someone who rejects thousands of candidates per year, I have developed an art of how to professionally reject someone. Here are some tips:
1) Obviously, timeliness matters. Sending a rejection notice 2 years later is a bit tone-deaf. Don’t you agree? We send out rejection notices to candidates that we have interviewed within a week of their interview. They deserve answers. Waiting too long just tortures people needlessly.
2) Be kind. Rejection hurts.
3) Keep it short with very little detail. This is NOT the time to send correction advice on how they could have done better.
4) Use the same language for every candidate. Here is what we say: “Thank you so much for applying for the (blank) position at (Company name). We had many applicants with a great deal of depth of experience, and we are moving on with other candidates. We wish you the very best of luck in your future. Sincerely Yours…”
5) Remember that your duty is to hire the very best candidate possible for your role, so rejecting someone is not only the right thing to do for the organization, it is the right thing to do for the candidate.
I am happy to say that Katy is in the absolute right place and right role for her. Being rejected by this company benefitted everyone. I just wish they had been more timely.
POWER THOUGHT: Rejection is a necessary and important part of hiring. Do it professionally, thoughtfully, kindly and in a timely manner.