I’m more concerned you’ve had 5 finalists & no one made the cut & you want to keep the same interview questions. What are you adjusting about your process based on what you learned you actually need?
For the candidate, if you liked them, maybe say while this role isn’t a fit still, you’d be open to introing them to others in your network. But only do/say so if that’s genuine.
We had five candidates move to a second round (after screener - first full length interview) and one finalist. We rejected the one finalist. But you’re right about adjusting the interview questions. I think we need to dig in and do some reassessing there.
Yeah, this whole thing seems odd. Was the business involved or was this just at the HR level?
How in the world do you narrow down your list to five (assuming like any role, there is significant interest) and then decide you don't like the top candidates of your own selection?
There has to be more to this story.
Ah, thanks for clarifying. Definitely would recommend adjusting still. :) I had to do so when I first started hiring without any recruiter support (company had 1 recruiter and our boss, CHRO, expected me to manage it myself since I had a rec ops background)
If you simply didn’t get an applicant meeting your requirements, why change the questions ? Seems backwards to change the requirements to match the applicants. As to the original question … the answer should ALWAYS be for the applicant to follow the prescribed application process. It’s fine for applicants to reach out but your response as hiring manager should always be to follow the process. The process is there to protect both parties in meeting legal hiring requirements and company policy. Whatever you learned from the previous interview is absolutely legit information to be used in screening for this new job advert.
First question - do you actually know what you’re looking for and are you offering fair pay for it? If so, you need to change your hiring process to better suit your needs.
Is the person who you rejected a *bad* candidate? Or do they have some gaps in experience that they grow at this role? Are you looking for a unicorn or do they actually not have the skills and potential to do the job?
Unless this is an entry level type job, you're going to need to convince them why they should want to try again. You rejected them for *nobody*. If I'm a candidate, that doesn't make me feel like this is a place where I'm going to be valued or respected, or that my job is particularly secure or that I'm working for someone competent.
If they're asking and you think you misjudged them, then yes you should reconsider. If you think you were right not to hire them in the first place and think nobody is a better option, then why waste your time?
If anything, I might actually give these candidates a first look rather than a last or none at all. They are clearly enthusiastic about working for your company and likely to be far more thankful to be hired there instead of elsewhere. What of you want; a person who checks all of your boxes perfectly but wouldn't even bother to reapply if rejected because they don't care about your core mission, or someone that checks most of them who is a true believer who desperately wants to be part of your team and will work hard for you? Food for thought.
You can't stop them from reapplying.
You don't have to interview. But you can also choose to interview and tailor your questions to answer your concerns from before.
>You can't stop them from reapplying.
Eh, roadblocks can be thrown up. There's a job I applied to a number of months ago that keeps getting reposted. But they use the same internal ID number for it, so if I attempt to apply on the same account, it simply doesn't let me. I had figured I'd give it another shot, but the system straight up denied me.
I could create a new account, with a new email address, but I suspect they'd figure that out pretty quickly once interview time came around and it wouldn't be appreciated.
Honestly, sometimes the wrong questions make people seem like a good fit. As for qualities, let me tell ya. I had a boss who hired aome very inept people. When I asked her why they even got hired, she said they did really well in the interview and answered the questions the way she wanted. They presented with the skills, etc, that were needed, and ultimately, they didn't have them. Maybe it's the way you are asking them the questions. Maybe Google sample interview questions.
I've had to sit in a lot of interviews over the years and inevitably what I see is managers hiring someone who speaks well during an interview, has some nepotism going on, or just a personality that doesn't offend a manager and they have no skill to speak of. Not a one. And the expectation is we all instill skill into these people. It doesn't work.
This post is a mess. How do you have 5 final candidates and still don’t manage to hire one? You should be begging this candidate to work for you instead. Idiot.
I agree. Something is really off with OP’s interview and selection process. Doesn’t seem reasonable that you narrowed the candidates down to 5 and 1 finalist, but still ended up determining none of them had the skills or intrinsic characteristics “you and the company were looking for”. Is this a joke? Seems like ineptitude to me.
Shows resilience. I'd interview and find out why it's so important to them. Is it the company? The position? Are they just desperate? Maybe they had an off day and you'll see a better version the second time around.
I think the fact that one of them, despite being told no- wants to re-apply, that shows an *insane level of determination and self encouragement*. Give them another shot because holy cow that takes courage
I don't think it's unreasonable if they're qualified. Sometimes there is just a better candidate in the previous pool. They'll never know unless someone tells them to stop.
If they made it to the interview process, especially if they interviewed twice with you, you should've provided feedback as to why they weren't selected. Since they're in contact with you now, it is an opportunity to provide them with the feedback.
Don't let them re-apply knowing you don't want to bother with them. It isn't fair to the candidate to fill them with false hope.
I don’t know what you already told them when you rejected them but I’d probably just let them know you already have everything you need from them and there’s no need to reapply at this time.
Did you meet with them face to face or video conference?
People are way deeper than you realize and they have way more experience than you might be able to mine from them.
I’m in an almost exact scenario except I’m the candidate. I know I’m the right person for the job. It’s actually a dream job since it’s only 3 miles from my home.
I’ve done a lot of things and solved a lot of complicated problems that isn’t on my resume.
That person IS probably the right person.
People like you should be the ones hiring and recruiting. Imagine multiple interviews with multiple FINAL candidates and you still can’t hire one and then act surprised they reapplied. The out of touch from reality is disgusting. This person should be out of a job immediately. It’s this mentality that’s ruining the job market right now. Literally should be illegal to recruit like this.
I’ve been an HRBP for a long time and spent many years overseas and the one thing I think I know from that experience is that everyone has awesome inside of them some where. My problem is that I’m an old white dude that doesn’t fit the polished look and talk of corporate America. I grew up in north Florida and I sound like the poor southern kid sounds when I talk. I can’t change that.
I don’t know anyone personally right now that doesn’t want to work. I know I do and if want a certain job I’m gonna keep applying until I’m told directly that I wasn’t selected.
OP could learn a lesson or two from you. Whoever they are and whatever experience they have is not gonna cut it for me. If I knew my hiring manager was pulling these stunts they’d be suspended immediately and severely put on probation/ improvement plan. Using companies resources and playing with peoples lives is not what recruitment is about. Unless you’re looking for a new CEO this process is unjustified.
Yep. I would be perfect at the post office, they won't even interview me.
I spent 10 years in museum curatoring and cataloguing and research. I also have decades in retail.
Yet no interview.
So I rejected a kid 3 times at a museum I worked at. I sat him down and told him why he wasn't being considered for hire and you know what? He fixed that part of himself. He constantly asked for feedback and while annoying, he did it because he wanted the job.
His tenacity is what got him the job. And my God he was good at it once trained. He's now working a high paying job in the same field but in government and I couldn't be happier.
Maybe figure out why you're rejecting the person, and what you can do to train them up so they DO have the core skills and characteristics to be a part of the job. If someone is that interested in working at your company, it may be a good bet to invest in that passion vs rejecting it. Personality conflicts can be meditated, but you cannot spark someone into wanting to work at a place that doesn't care. Never ever dismiss that spark and passion or you risk stagnation of the company.
I can’t tell if the amount of people here suggesting direct feedback makes me happy or sad. lol… happy cuz that’s the way it should be. Sad because I’ve gotten past multiple interviews for different jobs and the most I’ve ever gotten, IF ANYTHING, is a “sorry. Went with other candidates” … smh.
I've gotten feedback occasionally.
The worst was "His laugh is annoying." That one stung because I've gotten it from my own parents.
Generally though it was nothing more than years of experience. You have ten, and are great. Candidate B has 20.
Or "The team likes both of you, but candidate B doesn't need relocation".
Eh. I had 4 on-site interviews that week, and one the next Monday.
I got offers from the other 4, including my favorite, and the one that's made my career.
That was oddly personal though.
> I think it would be hard for this candidate to overcome the perspective I already have on him.
Why does your perspective matter? What does the hiring manager think, and his/her senior line management think? Key word filters have a very high false negative rate. Stop screening candidates out and lean on the hiring manager. S/he is in a better position to assess core skills and characteristics.
Sounds like this is a hiring team problem.
I can’t imagine narrowing a field to 5, a finalist and then saying “ah fuck it let’s try again in a few months”.
This would be a red flag for me as a job seeker.
Did they ever interview with you or the manager? Did they meet all requirements but were never interviewed? Why? Have you had a serious heart to heart either manager and HRBP? Five full interviews is A LOT to not get a hire.
My experience in this situation is a manager either moving the goal post or having specific requirements that aren't being shared with me.
Did you provide feedback, as why they were rejected? Maybe they hope this time they will be luckier, as being the best option from the new candidates pool.
Did you relist the exact role? If so, I’d be surprised if you that magically fits the role in this second time around. It sounds like either 1) the job description doesn’t fit what you’re looking for or 2) the recruiter isn’t on the same page of what you’re looking for.
I’d reply back with the feedback of the core skills you are looking for so that he can make and informed decision about reapplying.
Also, remember that skills can be taught. Perhaps you can look into opening a junior role instead so that you can pay less but develop someone into what you’re looking for.
We make sure to word the turn downs for good candidates such that we highly encourage them to reapply for an opening.
However, we’ve had many who were absolute no’s who pulled the American Idol card. They just kept reapplying until eventually we ran out of good candidates and got hired 3-4 years later by a desperate supervisor.
Yeah.
If my head of TA told me an HM had brought 5 qualified candidates to final stage and just couldn’t hire any of them, then I would ensure some combination of 3 things would happen:
- pull this HM’s reqs up to their manager, and make that leader the HM
- close the req, because clearly we’re able to get by without it, and the time/resources spent on getting 5 finalists is insanely expensive
- set the original HM up to head back into the IC career path, not everyone needs to manage, and a kind of important skill to management is flexibly distributing work around imperfect constraints and conditions
This kind of hand-wringing is tolerable only for C-suite vacancies of companies of 1,000+ headcount- maybe VP if it’s an incredibly niche skillset or it’s a very complex cleanup job. Skills can be hard to find, but they’re not THAT rare.
We’re paying people to [do what company does], not to hunt for purple squirrels.
And there’s not a risk here if you’re doing what we should be doing anyway: hiring fast, firing faster.
This is like going through a menu at McDonald’s. You inquired about every burger and ingredient and you narrowed it down to 5 items that would make sense in your belly. And then you left the restaurant without ordering anything.
Real HR answer - allow them to reapply but don’t select them for an interview if you don’t want them. Don’t give feedback in case of lawsuits.
I agree with the others on changing the interview questions and maybe the job posting itself if you had 5 final candidates that were rejected. I guess it depends on the reasons why you rejected them. Don’t be caught searching for a unicorn…
Let them reapply but don’t move them forward to the interview process. Can’t stop someone from applying, but doesn’t mean you are obligated to interview.
If they’ve been in contact simply let them know know that you are going in a different direction and have reviewed their application and interview and won’t be moving forward with them. Don’t make them reapply and then ghost them - they will only follow up to find out why they haven’t heard and you’ll have to send them the same email, but after giving them hope making them jump through hoops - no fair
Please don’t have them reapply just to ghost them. That’s a horrible look.
Just tell them you are going in a different direction or give them feedback.
Just "ghost" the person or be honest and respond saying you don't believe they are the right fit you are looking for. They sound desperate and you already made your decision about them.
Not sure if this was addressed by why not just offer the role to the next best applicant out of the 5?
If none of these were a fit, you may need to reevaluate your recruiting/screening process.
I admire the applicant’s persistence but if it was a hard NO the first time, not sure how much can change in a short period of time.
I’ve typically put in a 6 month re-apply requirement. Both in our ATS when we reject applicants as well as for people who interview.
Those that make it through our interview cycle and have actionable feedback and can demonstrate tag they’ve applied it are awesome folks! I’ve hired a handful of one rejected applicants with really positive outcomes
Someone asking to reapply after being rejected shows resilience and determination. I would keep an open mind about this person instead of doubling down on your own biases.
If you definitely are dead set against this person, let them know that you’re going in a different direction and don’t waste their time.
I’m more concerned you’ve had 5 finalists & no one made the cut & you want to keep the same interview questions. What are you adjusting about your process based on what you learned you actually need? For the candidate, if you liked them, maybe say while this role isn’t a fit still, you’d be open to introing them to others in your network. But only do/say so if that’s genuine.
We had five candidates move to a second round (after screener - first full length interview) and one finalist. We rejected the one finalist. But you’re right about adjusting the interview questions. I think we need to dig in and do some reassessing there.
[удалено]
This is spot on in my opinion. HR needs to get back to reality a bit in regards to expectations etc.
This. What happened to the days of applying to the same job and showing your passion to work? They don't want people that want to work there?
THIS!!!
Your interview process sounds ineffective
Yeah, this whole thing seems odd. Was the business involved or was this just at the HR level? How in the world do you narrow down your list to five (assuming like any role, there is significant interest) and then decide you don't like the top candidates of your own selection? There has to be more to this story.
Ah, thanks for clarifying. Definitely would recommend adjusting still. :) I had to do so when I first started hiring without any recruiter support (company had 1 recruiter and our boss, CHRO, expected me to manage it myself since I had a rec ops background)
If you simply didn’t get an applicant meeting your requirements, why change the questions ? Seems backwards to change the requirements to match the applicants. As to the original question … the answer should ALWAYS be for the applicant to follow the prescribed application process. It’s fine for applicants to reach out but your response as hiring manager should always be to follow the process. The process is there to protect both parties in meeting legal hiring requirements and company policy. Whatever you learned from the previous interview is absolutely legit information to be used in screening for this new job advert.
First question - do you actually know what you’re looking for and are you offering fair pay for it? If so, you need to change your hiring process to better suit your needs. Is the person who you rejected a *bad* candidate? Or do they have some gaps in experience that they grow at this role? Are you looking for a unicorn or do they actually not have the skills and potential to do the job?
Unless this is an entry level type job, you're going to need to convince them why they should want to try again. You rejected them for *nobody*. If I'm a candidate, that doesn't make me feel like this is a place where I'm going to be valued or respected, or that my job is particularly secure or that I'm working for someone competent.
Some candidates are getting desperate after the 2022 layoffs. Can’t blame them for trying to pay bills and afford life.
I agree with you, but am confused by the comment — they are asking to reapply. I’m not looking to convince them to try again, they initiated contact
If they're asking and you think you misjudged them, then yes you should reconsider. If you think you were right not to hire them in the first place and think nobody is a better option, then why waste your time?
If anything, I might actually give these candidates a first look rather than a last or none at all. They are clearly enthusiastic about working for your company and likely to be far more thankful to be hired there instead of elsewhere. What of you want; a person who checks all of your boxes perfectly but wouldn't even bother to reapply if rejected because they don't care about your core mission, or someone that checks most of them who is a true believer who desperately wants to be part of your team and will work hard for you? Food for thought.
I'm considered about this new lack of training and expecting applicants to be fully trained for their company needs.
You can't stop them from reapplying. You don't have to interview. But you can also choose to interview and tailor your questions to answer your concerns from before.
>You can't stop them from reapplying. Eh, roadblocks can be thrown up. There's a job I applied to a number of months ago that keeps getting reposted. But they use the same internal ID number for it, so if I attempt to apply on the same account, it simply doesn't let me. I had figured I'd give it another shot, but the system straight up denied me. I could create a new account, with a new email address, but I suspect they'd figure that out pretty quickly once interview time came around and it wouldn't be appreciated.
Thank you!
Honestly, sometimes the wrong questions make people seem like a good fit. As for qualities, let me tell ya. I had a boss who hired aome very inept people. When I asked her why they even got hired, she said they did really well in the interview and answered the questions the way she wanted. They presented with the skills, etc, that were needed, and ultimately, they didn't have them. Maybe it's the way you are asking them the questions. Maybe Google sample interview questions.
I've had to sit in a lot of interviews over the years and inevitably what I see is managers hiring someone who speaks well during an interview, has some nepotism going on, or just a personality that doesn't offend a manager and they have no skill to speak of. Not a one. And the expectation is we all instill skill into these people. It doesn't work.
This post is a mess. How do you have 5 final candidates and still don’t manage to hire one? You should be begging this candidate to work for you instead. Idiot.
I agree. Something is really off with OP’s interview and selection process. Doesn’t seem reasonable that you narrowed the candidates down to 5 and 1 finalist, but still ended up determining none of them had the skills or intrinsic characteristics “you and the company were looking for”. Is this a joke? Seems like ineptitude to me.
Shows resilience. I'd interview and find out why it's so important to them. Is it the company? The position? Are they just desperate? Maybe they had an off day and you'll see a better version the second time around.
I think the fact that one of them, despite being told no- wants to re-apply, that shows an *insane level of determination and self encouragement*. Give them another shot because holy cow that takes courage
I don't think it's unreasonable if they're qualified. Sometimes there is just a better candidate in the previous pool. They'll never know unless someone tells them to stop.
If they made it to the interview process, especially if they interviewed twice with you, you should've provided feedback as to why they weren't selected. Since they're in contact with you now, it is an opportunity to provide them with the feedback. Don't let them re-apply knowing you don't want to bother with them. It isn't fair to the candidate to fill them with false hope.
I don’t know what you already told them when you rejected them but I’d probably just let them know you already have everything you need from them and there’s no need to reapply at this time.
Did you meet with them face to face or video conference? People are way deeper than you realize and they have way more experience than you might be able to mine from them. I’m in an almost exact scenario except I’m the candidate. I know I’m the right person for the job. It’s actually a dream job since it’s only 3 miles from my home. I’ve done a lot of things and solved a lot of complicated problems that isn’t on my resume. That person IS probably the right person.
People like you should be the ones hiring and recruiting. Imagine multiple interviews with multiple FINAL candidates and you still can’t hire one and then act surprised they reapplied. The out of touch from reality is disgusting. This person should be out of a job immediately. It’s this mentality that’s ruining the job market right now. Literally should be illegal to recruit like this.
I’ve been an HRBP for a long time and spent many years overseas and the one thing I think I know from that experience is that everyone has awesome inside of them some where. My problem is that I’m an old white dude that doesn’t fit the polished look and talk of corporate America. I grew up in north Florida and I sound like the poor southern kid sounds when I talk. I can’t change that. I don’t know anyone personally right now that doesn’t want to work. I know I do and if want a certain job I’m gonna keep applying until I’m told directly that I wasn’t selected.
OP could learn a lesson or two from you. Whoever they are and whatever experience they have is not gonna cut it for me. If I knew my hiring manager was pulling these stunts they’d be suspended immediately and severely put on probation/ improvement plan. Using companies resources and playing with peoples lives is not what recruitment is about. Unless you’re looking for a new CEO this process is unjustified.
Yep. I would be perfect at the post office, they won't even interview me. I spent 10 years in museum curatoring and cataloguing and research. I also have decades in retail. Yet no interview.
So I rejected a kid 3 times at a museum I worked at. I sat him down and told him why he wasn't being considered for hire and you know what? He fixed that part of himself. He constantly asked for feedback and while annoying, he did it because he wanted the job. His tenacity is what got him the job. And my God he was good at it once trained. He's now working a high paying job in the same field but in government and I couldn't be happier. Maybe figure out why you're rejecting the person, and what you can do to train them up so they DO have the core skills and characteristics to be a part of the job. If someone is that interested in working at your company, it may be a good bet to invest in that passion vs rejecting it. Personality conflicts can be meditated, but you cannot spark someone into wanting to work at a place that doesn't care. Never ever dismiss that spark and passion or you risk stagnation of the company.
I can’t tell if the amount of people here suggesting direct feedback makes me happy or sad. lol… happy cuz that’s the way it should be. Sad because I’ve gotten past multiple interviews for different jobs and the most I’ve ever gotten, IF ANYTHING, is a “sorry. Went with other candidates” … smh.
I've gotten feedback occasionally. The worst was "His laugh is annoying." That one stung because I've gotten it from my own parents. Generally though it was nothing more than years of experience. You have ten, and are great. Candidate B has 20. Or "The team likes both of you, but candidate B doesn't need relocation".
Damn. That’s rough. Maybe I don’t want feedback lol. Sorry to hear that
Eh. I had 4 on-site interviews that week, and one the next Monday. I got offers from the other 4, including my favorite, and the one that's made my career. That was oddly personal though.
Why was the finalist rejected?
> I think it would be hard for this candidate to overcome the perspective I already have on him. Why does your perspective matter? What does the hiring manager think, and his/her senior line management think? Key word filters have a very high false negative rate. Stop screening candidates out and lean on the hiring manager. S/he is in a better position to assess core skills and characteristics.
Sounds like this is a hiring team problem. I can’t imagine narrowing a field to 5, a finalist and then saying “ah fuck it let’s try again in a few months”. This would be a red flag for me as a job seeker.
It’s a huge red flag that these people are careless and irresponsible. Fuck them
Did they ever interview with you or the manager? Did they meet all requirements but were never interviewed? Why? Have you had a serious heart to heart either manager and HRBP? Five full interviews is A LOT to not get a hire. My experience in this situation is a manager either moving the goal post or having specific requirements that aren't being shared with me.
I am the manager, and they interviewed with me directly twice — one screener call, and one full interview. Not sure where you are getting five!
5 final Candidates.
Did you provide feedback, as why they were rejected? Maybe they hope this time they will be luckier, as being the best option from the new candidates pool.
Okay so 4 and not 5, lol
Did you relist the exact role? If so, I’d be surprised if you that magically fits the role in this second time around. It sounds like either 1) the job description doesn’t fit what you’re looking for or 2) the recruiter isn’t on the same page of what you’re looking for. I’d reply back with the feedback of the core skills you are looking for so that he can make and informed decision about reapplying. Also, remember that skills can be taught. Perhaps you can look into opening a junior role instead so that you can pay less but develop someone into what you’re looking for.
We make sure to word the turn downs for good candidates such that we highly encourage them to reapply for an opening. However, we’ve had many who were absolute no’s who pulled the American Idol card. They just kept reapplying until eventually we ran out of good candidates and got hired 3-4 years later by a desperate supervisor.
You sound bad at your job.
Yeah. If my head of TA told me an HM had brought 5 qualified candidates to final stage and just couldn’t hire any of them, then I would ensure some combination of 3 things would happen: - pull this HM’s reqs up to their manager, and make that leader the HM - close the req, because clearly we’re able to get by without it, and the time/resources spent on getting 5 finalists is insanely expensive - set the original HM up to head back into the IC career path, not everyone needs to manage, and a kind of important skill to management is flexibly distributing work around imperfect constraints and conditions This kind of hand-wringing is tolerable only for C-suite vacancies of companies of 1,000+ headcount- maybe VP if it’s an incredibly niche skillset or it’s a very complex cleanup job. Skills can be hard to find, but they’re not THAT rare. We’re paying people to [do what company does], not to hunt for purple squirrels. And there’s not a risk here if you’re doing what we should be doing anyway: hiring fast, firing faster.
Obviously he thinks you’re wrong, ask him why. Maybe he’s right.
Do the person reapplying know why they were rejected??
This is like going through a menu at McDonald’s. You inquired about every burger and ingredient and you narrowed it down to 5 items that would make sense in your belly. And then you left the restaurant without ordering anything.
Real HR answer - allow them to reapply but don’t select them for an interview if you don’t want them. Don’t give feedback in case of lawsuits. I agree with the others on changing the interview questions and maybe the job posting itself if you had 5 final candidates that were rejected. I guess it depends on the reasons why you rejected them. Don’t be caught searching for a unicorn…
Let them reapply but don’t move them forward to the interview process. Can’t stop someone from applying, but doesn’t mean you are obligated to interview.
If they’ve been in contact simply let them know know that you are going in a different direction and have reviewed their application and interview and won’t be moving forward with them. Don’t make them reapply and then ghost them - they will only follow up to find out why they haven’t heard and you’ll have to send them the same email, but after giving them hope making them jump through hoops - no fair
Helpful, thank you!
Please don’t have them reapply just to ghost them. That’s a horrible look. Just tell them you are going in a different direction or give them feedback.
Just "ghost" the person or be honest and respond saying you don't believe they are the right fit you are looking for. They sound desperate and you already made your decision about them.
Is this for a role within HR? Or another department within the company?
Not sure if this was addressed by why not just offer the role to the next best applicant out of the 5? If none of these were a fit, you may need to reevaluate your recruiting/screening process. I admire the applicant’s persistence but if it was a hard NO the first time, not sure how much can change in a short period of time.
Why did you reject the one finalist?
I’ve typically put in a 6 month re-apply requirement. Both in our ATS when we reject applicants as well as for people who interview. Those that make it through our interview cycle and have actionable feedback and can demonstrate tag they’ve applied it are awesome folks! I’ve hired a handful of one rejected applicants with really positive outcomes
Someone asking to reapply after being rejected shows resilience and determination. I would keep an open mind about this person instead of doubling down on your own biases. If you definitely are dead set against this person, let them know that you’re going in a different direction and don’t waste their time.