‘Our company’s policy is to never hire rejected candidates’
😲
I sometimes fear I’ll run out of things to rant about each fortnight, and then I hear a doozy like this.
Is that not the biggest load of crazy you’ve ever heard? Never hire rejected candidates? 🫤 Admittedly, I heard this second hand and the person who shared it with me was as shocked at the foolishness of it as I was.
So someone applies, interviews, is rejected because, say, the offered candidate interviewed a whisker better, and that is that for the rejected applicant.
No returning at a later date to interview again.
A LIFETIME ban.
Want to know what was worse?
The TA partner was told to conduct a 30 minute interview with a returning applicant but to reject them anyway because, ‘we never hire rejected candidates.’
WTAF. 🤬
The arrogance of the leaders in this company to think this is acceptable behaviour. The shortsightedness of the person who created this policy in the first place. The crazy that it remains in play unchallenged or, if challenged, is overruled.
Dear Company,
Stop being so narrow minded. Consider instead what you miss by not hiring rejected candidates.
The rejected applicant takes on your interview feedback. They get a job at your competitor. They study, learn and grow. They excel. In fact, they are now better than your employees but they like your company. They like it so much they apply again. It’s been 3 years, they think, ‘Why not? Now I bring new and better skills to this company I aspire to work at.’
So what is the perceived problem with this person? [hint: nothing]
What do you gain by wasting 30 minutes of their irreplaceable time and rejecting them anyway? [hint: nothing]
Want to know what you lose?
Time: while you overlook this now amazing re-applicant and keep interviewing others.
Money: while you overlook this now amazing re-applicant and keep interviewing others.
Reputation: people talk. With over 5 billion people using the internet, policies like these always become public. So you are closing the door to more than just returning applicants.
Cut it out!
Me.
Dear TA,
Anyone out there got any hard evidence that never hiring silver medalists, let alone any other rejected candidates, is advantageous to a company?
Nah, didn’t think so.
