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E-mail me!. Unfortunately, I can’t answer every question, but I do try to do as many as I can. To increase your chances of getting your question answered, please limit yourself to two-three reasonably sized paragraphs and try to figure out what your real problem is. Punctuation and capitalization are pluses.
All HR people are evil, it’s in our job description. Or at least, that seems to be the prevailing theory. In reality, there’s just more going on behind the scenes than most people know. I’m here to demystify your Human Resources department and tell you just why you worked your tail end off all year and still got a 1.7 percent bonus.
The rudest rejection letter I've have been the ones which aren't sent. Given that in most cases I've spent a lot of time putting information into another computer system, there's zero excuse for this – the computer could send the necessary emails.
OTOH, it does at least enable me to remove that company from any and all future consideration.
Oops, the link above does not work.
Yes, the worst is by far the no response rejection.
The second worst is when you receive a letter or email in which the person spends the whole first paragraph feeling sorry for her whiney-self because it is "just so hard" to choose and sending out rejection is a part of her job that she absolutely hates.
I don't really care about "your feelings." Damn it, you're in the position of hiring and firing – grow some backbone and be a professional. The rejection letter should NOT be about the HR person (or hiring manager, etc); it should be about the job candidate.
Anon 4:34, the link is working now. Don't know what the problem was.
Anon 2:46, You're preaching to the choir here. I hate it when no one responds.
Charles: But it's always about MY needs, isn't it?
This is a place where ethics codes can come in handy. It will be a violation of every code under the sun for me to award a contract to a company with whom I've applied for a job. In the absence of a rejection letter, I must assume my application to still be under consideration, so, regrettably, I will be unable to invite your company to submit a tender.
This doesn't really answer the question, but I thought I'd try to show that not all companies / managers have such disregard for applicants.
We don’t currently write to reject candidates who are not shortlisted – our not very user friendly online system won’t do it automatically (one day it will change, when it gets up the IT priority list). We get a lot of candidates, and as a NFP not a lot of resource to respond manually. However, interviewed candidates in my patch are contacted, normally by phone, with a response and offered feedback. Usually this is done by the hiring manager, and has often made even a rejection a positive experience. We’ve even had people contact us to say how the feedback helped them, so I’m really glad that my managers will make the effort – I can’t promise though that all of them do.
Dear (your name here),
Your application was both informative and well scripted. Unfortunately the parts that were well scripted were not informative and the parts that were informative were not well scripted.
Consequently we have arrived at the conclusion that you shoud apply to one of our competitors so that we may rest easy that our efforts going forward will, (given that your lamentable self is in fact considered hirable even by them), continue to bring the exemplary results we have come to expect in the face of such substandard competition.
Goodbye and get lost.
Funk Elliotteer
Senior Partner
Ellioteer, Groveler, Harvath and Knob
Attorneys and Quantifiers of Risk
Augh, not any rude ones. Although if I had, it would have been on the internet for all to see faster than a jackrabbit on a hot desert highway.
I agree–not sending a response after an interview is super-rude. I wouldn’t expect one for an application (though I’ve gotten them), but if a person takes the time to prepare for an interview and actually do it, then they deserve a response.
I have to agree that not sending a response after an interview is the worst. This leaves candidates wondering where the company is at in the hiring process and if a decision has been made. As a courtesy, simply send applicants a letter letting them know another candidate was chosen.
Either is fine, well not FINE… OK, here’s how I interpret “Rude rejection” and “None at all”.
Rude rejection:
Not a company that deserves my AMAZING presence. Their loss! (Yep, regardless if I have every single qualification or not. They LOSE!)
None at all:
See “Rude rejection” above.
Just like them, I’m gonna move on.
Honestly yes, it is infuriating wasting fancy résumé stationary or the displacement of electrons required to apply via an internet/email. Almost as irritating as having coffee spilled on your blouse on the way to an interview by a stranger in the convenience store where you stopped to get a bottle of water and breath mints…
I don’t think the frustration is because of the rude reject or no response reject. I think it’s anxiety. No one likes to feel rejected in any way. It’s like having that particular hope-filled balloon just POPPED, and startling the beegeezus out of you. I’d prefer that the hope is let out by untying the knot. Then the balloon can be refilled later. Balloons are expencive, sheesh!
As far as I understand, yes, HR peoples can be REALLY loaded with a big hiring or not, but there’s no reason not to be prepared with a polite general copy-paste rejection letter. And if the HR peoples aren’t weighed down with piles of résumés and accompanying cover letters, what’s the harm in a wait of at least a week before sending a rejection?
“Thank you for your interest. You will not be called for an interview.”
This was received the same day I submitted my résumé. It may not seem rude, but it is certainly not professional.
“Thank you for your interest in our company and the Doodling Position. Regretfully, we will not be arranging an interview due to either the position having been filled, or your skills and qualifications do not meet our needs at this time. We will keep your information, should a position in which your skills and qualifications come available in the future. Best regards, HR Dept.”
I have a few like this on file. They still frankly, suck lemons, but it didn’t pop my hope balloon and startle the beegeezus out of me. I was able to let out the hope by untying the knot. (Though I’m still irked at them keeping my résumé printed on fancy résumé paper…. That stuff is expensive! Especially, when you aren’t fortunate to be employed while looking for a new employer!)
I have had a few along the lines of “while your resume is very impressive we dont want to talk to you but keep us in mind”. Any and I mean ANY company that uses back handed complements in a rejection letter to me will NEVER be considered in the future. It is very rude to give a backhanded complement in a rejection letter and show me more than enough about a companies principles that I am more than glad to never have gotten into the company where they will treat you even worse.