Taking a Pass? How to Handle Candidates You Don’t Hire

Taking A Pass?

How to Handle Candidates You Don’t Hire

By STEWART GOTT

Whether you’re interviewing for one position or a hundred, you will undoubtedly run across job candidates you don’t want to hire. It’s important to your brand to handle these applicants respectfully. Here are three reasons why:

• They talk. Candidates who feel they were rudely treated during your recruiting process may tell people. You could lose future great candidates if they hear about it.

• They post on social media. Job applicants who were ghosted, strung along, or just not handled well in general can post it on social media where thousands of people could see it. This is bad for your company reputation.

• They leave reviews on job boards. Hopeful job seekers often research a company’s reputation before they even send in a resume. A bad rating on the many company review sites could decrease your high-quality responses.

Another thing you need to think about are the valid reasons not to hire someone. Here are six situations that may happen during the hiring process that would cause you to take a pass on a job candidate.

Late. Rude. Sloppy. NOPE A good guideline is to assume the job candidate is going to look, act, and perform their best during the interviewing process. This means if they’re late to the interview, rude to anyone they encounter, sloppily dressed or lacking in hygiene, you can expect them to be that way on the job. Do you want to deal with that all the time? No, no you don’t. Unenthusiastic About the Position

Lackluster answers, few insightful follow up questions, and passive body language can signal they aren’t excited about your company or the position. None of these are signs of stellar future performance. Keep searching until you find someone who shows passion and eagerness for the opportunity.

Bad Fit with Company Culture Protecting your company’s positive culture is essential. If you detect attitudes and behaviors during the interviewing process that aren’t in line with your culture, it would be a big risk bringing that person on.

Sluggish to Respond to Follow Up If you candidate takes days to get back with you, if you send multiple texts and emails with no response, or if they don’t send requested follow up items in a timely manner, do you really think they’ll meet their deadlines once you hire them?

Background Check Issues Even if the candidate aces your interviews, there could be behavior that shows up on the background check that gives you pause. Criminal convictions, spotty employment history, and issues with the education they claim to possess are all reasons you might pass on an applicant.

Unreasonable Demands About Salary or Benefits Candidates are entitled to ask for what they believe they’re worth, but that doesn’t mean you must fork it over. If their requests are beyond your budget, finding someone whose salary and benefit expectations are more in line with yours is within your right.