How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
nathanmarz.com
How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
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Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
#2You don't have any company lawyers do you?
Most companies in the land of the lawyer don't even send rejection letters, just in case the candidate decides that it contains some grounds to sue you over.
It doesn't even have to be good grounds - they just need a sleazy enough lawyer. The more info you give them the more ammo they have.
Yes it sucks to simply not hear from a company, and it leads to negative recomendations about them to friends /colleagues /potential other recruits. You can still be friendly in the letter but I would be careful about telling someone why they aren't hired.
Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
#3The 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.
Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
#4The 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.
Indeed, no good deed goes unpunished these days.
Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
#5A lot of big companies do give feedback on request though especially for developer roles where you can give specific factual feedback (candidate was weak in multi-threading, etc.)
It's one of the big advantages of technical interviews. You don't have to rely purely on subjective human judgement.
Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
#6The 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 someone else -- I write a longer letter with references to the meetings.
3. Good candidates that we didn't hire (because another was better) are invited into my personal network. I recommend them to others, I invite them to dev events, etc. I give non-specific-to-our-interview job hunting advice. We'll have openings at some point.
4. I do the same for candidates that are just not a fit (they do X, we need Y). I might never hire them, but I have a personal goal to know every good developer within commute distance of my company (we live in a low population area).
Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
#7If 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.
Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
#8If 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.
Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
#9If 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.
fwiw, and this is certainly not my forte, i'd rather be an asshole than a defendant in a lawsuit like that
Re: How to reject a job candidate without being an asshole
#10If 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.
That math doesn't work. If you hire 1% and retain people for three years, you'll be sued once a year ($100 000/year) and spend e.g. 30 x $100 000 = $3 000 000 / year on salaries, before considering hiring costs. It's still expensive, but is it that ridiculous?