Unfortunately, that’s the nature of business, but it doesn’t mean you have to leave rejected candidates with a bad impression. If you learn the right way to reject applicants, they might become ambassadors for your company without ever working there. You can pitch your benefits package and great culture on social media all you want, but applicants won’t quite believe it unless they hear it from someone they know. So, how do you turn people you didn't hire into ambassadors? Follow these tips to transform rejected applicants into enthusiastic brand ambassadors: 1. Avoid that impression by sending personalized emails to candidates who make the interview stage. That personal touch could turn someone who almost worked for you into a long-term brand ambassador in his or her social circles. And if your best candidate asks for time to think about the offer or wants to talk more about compensation, make the calls, anyway. Start the conversation by asking candidates if they would be interested in feedback. When rejected applicants feel respected, they're far more likely to tell people in their social networks (some of whom might be excellent future employees) about how great your company is.
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Turning down a good job candidate is never easy. Whether you found someone even better or promoted from within, an applicant who doesn’t get a gig usually doesn’t feel great about the result.
Unfortunately, that’s the nature of business, but it doesn’t mean you have to leave rejected candidates with a bad impression. If you learn the right way to reject applicants, they might become ambassadors for your company without ever working there. With ManpowerGroup reporting that 45 percent of global employers struggle to fill roles, that extra help might pay off in a big way down the road.
Why you want rejected applicants to like you
Most companies market to two groups: potential customers and potential employees. The first group cares about products and prices, while the second cares more about innovation, culture and benefits.
With the talent shortage in full swing, businesses need every advantage they can get to attract the best candidates. A candidate who doesn’t earn a job might not be ready to join the team, but that candidate probably talks to and works with plenty of others interested in how your company does business. Those people might be just who you need, but if your rejected candidates come back with bad reports, you’ll never get the chance to interview them.
Word-of-mouth marketing is incredibly valuable. You can pitch your benefits package and great culture on social media all you want, but applicants won’t quite believe it unless they hear it from someone they know. They probably don’t know many people who work for you, but you can spread a much wider net by encouraging rejected applicants to sing your praises, too.
How many applicants did you get for your last opening? When you hire one person out of 20 interviewees, only one person is left with a positive impression of your brand. The rest are, at best, neutral about you. If you could transform those opinions into positive outlooks, you could exponentially magnify the number of people saying good things about your company — thereby attracting even more…
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