How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole • Hacker News Board

Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole

#11

Post by thingie » Thu, Dec 09, 2010, 9:12 PM UTC

The only time when I had a bad feeling about such an email was when I felt that I got positive feedback during the interview, got no "warning" signs during it and so on, yet on the other day, I was told almost exactly this.

Otherwise, it's quite ok. Make it short, who wants to read ton of shit just to hear no? If you can list one (or more) serious reason (lack of experience, education, whatever, once, I was told that I was simply too pesimistic, but that was on phone), fine, but still, keep it short. And well, don't expect much feedback.

Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole

#12

Post by bajsejohannes » Thu, Dec 09, 2010, 9:12 PM UTC

fizx wrote: post #7

If 1 in 1000 candidates would sue you, causing $100k in costs for a drawn-out legal battle, then your practice has a very expensive expected value, but in a way you won't notice until shit hits the proverbial fan.

Point taken, but with the given numbers it wouldn't actually be that bad. If you interview thousands of candidates, then paying an amortized $100 per candidate is not too much. If that is what it costs to give people a good impression of your company, it might well be worth it.

Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole

#13

Post by tjr » Thu, Dec 09, 2010, 9:16 PM UTC

One time I got a rejection letter from a company that included a list of reasons that people are usually rejected. One of the reasons was spelling or grammar errors in their cover letter or resume.

As it happened, this letter that they sent out contained both a spelling error and a grammatical error. In retrospect, this was perhaps a little too snarky, but I wrote back to them and pointed this out. They contacted me again, asking if I would be interested in another position they had available.

Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole

#14

Post by ctkrohn » Thu, Dec 09, 2010, 9:17 PM UTC

Many of the comments below talk about potential legal liability from rejecting a candidate in an inappropriate way. Would someone care to clarify the sort of problems that can arise?

Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole

#15

Post by oiuytgyuio » Thu, Dec 09, 2010, 9:18 PM UTC

catshirt wrote: post #9

oiuytgyuio wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course there is a flip side, if you interview 100 programmers in a small high tech town and piss off 99 of them by not even sending a 'no thanks' letter. And each of them tell all their friends that you are an a-hole, then when every potential hire in Cambridge/ NYC/ Stanford etc has heard that XYZ software are a-holes you are going to have one hell of a job hiring.

fwiw, and this is certainly not my forte, i'd rather be an asshole than a defendant in a lawsuit like that

Depends who you are. If you're MSFT, IBM, etc then you don't even send a no thanks letter, you have nobody who isn't a certified HR person talk to a candidate and you don't allow any off the cuff remarks. The lawyer target cross section is too high.

If you are a small startup in a high tech hub trying to attract people, and especially if you are in a market where the programers you reject might be future customers then you're risk is different.

Companies often forget that the people they reject don't disappear. It used to be a big thing in merchant banks in the last boom to really grind and humiliate candidates - you aren't smart enough to work here etc. What they forgot is that those people went to work for companies that might need a merchant bank and that the victim is suddenly the customer.

Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole

#16

Post by candre717 » Thu, Dec 09, 2010, 9:19 PM UTC

I like this philosophy. In general, people should learn how to give and take feedback. I've been in the position where I wish I had known why I didn't get a certain job or opportunity. Knowing the reason not only softens the disappointment but lets one learn and improve for next time.

Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole

#17

Post by brk » Thu, Dec 09, 2010, 9:21 PM UTC

oiuytgyuio wrote: post #8

fizx wrote: post #7

If 1 in 1000 candidates would sue you, causing $100k in costs for a drawn-out legal battle, then your practice has a very expensive expected value, but in a way you won't notice until shit hits the proverbial fan.

Of course there is a flip side, if you interview 100 programmers in a small high tech town and piss off 99 of them by not even sending a 'no thanks' letter. And each of them tell all their friends that you are an a-hole, then when every potential hire in Cambridge/ NYC/ Stanford etc has heard that XYZ software are a-holes you are going to have one hell of a job hiring.

I think this is largely an imagined scenario. Even in "small towns" the developer network is not so tight that you're going to have people trying to blacklist your company on the grounds of not getting a formal rejection notice.

Plus, if the 1 developer you DO hire continuously tells people it's a great company working on cool stuff, that would outweigh the negative comments from the other 99.

Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole

#18

Post by Dylanlacey » Thu, Dec 09, 2010, 9:22 PM UTC

loumf wrote: post #6

ams6110 wrote: post #3

The reason many places don't do this is not so much to avoid feeling like an a-hole but to avoid accidental liability. There are so many things you can't say or ask in an interview, that a lot of companies that are big enough to have an HR person or department will require a very generic rejection letter just to be sure they don't provide grounds for a lawsuit.

Unfortunately, the accidental liability problem needs to be taken seriously -- mostly because of risk/reward. I try to write as nice and appreciative letter as possible. 1. I don't reject candidates -- I choose a different candidate. 2. The more they went through the process, the longer (and better) the letter. Rejected application, short thank you for applying. If you came for two interviews, but then we went with s…

I think 3 is a really great idea. Do you find that, in doing so, you get additional benefits yourself? I imagine you've already got places to look for new hires ect.

Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole

#19

Post by jhchen » Thu, Dec 09, 2010, 9:22 PM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #3

The reason many places don't do this is not so much to avoid feeling like an a-hole but to avoid accidental liability. There are so many things you can't say or ask in an interview, that a lot of companies that are big enough to have an HR person or department will require a very generic rejection letter just to be sure they don't provide grounds for a lawsuit.

Is there a way I can just waive my ability to sue? I would love to know my weaknesses in the eyes of others.

Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole

#20

Post by dasil003 » Thu, Dec 09, 2010, 9:23 PM UTC

tjr wrote: post #13

One time I got a rejection letter from a company that included a list of reasons that people are usually rejected. One of the reasons was spelling or grammar errors in their cover letter or resume. As it happened, this letter that they sent out contained both a spelling error and a grammatical error. In retrospect, this was perhaps a little too snarky, but I wrote back to them and pointed this out. They contacted me…

Hopefully not HR copy editor.