HOW TO LET DOWN INTERVIEWED CANDIDATES AND MAINTAIN POSITIVE RAPPORT.

At Willamette, it is our expectation that search committee chairs will personally contact, by phone, each candidate that was interviewed and not selected to be hired for a given position to inform them that the decision has been made. Candidates that applied but weren’t interviewed will be sent a letter by Human Resources informing them that they were not selected.

The reason for this expectation is one of public relations and intended to reflect the character of our organization as one that is responsible to and serves our communities well. In addition, the candidate that isn’t successful in getting hired for your job may well be successful in another selection process and against a different pool of candidates, so it is important to foster a continued positive impression of Willamette University (and your department!). We may very well want these candidates to apply for another job, and if they are eventually hired somewhere else on campus, you will want them to have a favorable impression of your department. It is also possible that if for some reason the candidate you have selected doesn’t work out, you may need to go back to the pool of candidates that weren’t originally successful to fill the position.

These can obviously be difficult phone calls to make, and there are certainly reasons for caution in what you say. Below are some good phrases which may be helpful in making these phone calls. Some of them may not be true for the given situation of your selection process, and in such cases they should not be used. You should always do your best to be truthful and genuine in your responses back to rejected candidates. It is our experience, however, that most of these statements are true of most search processes.

When in doubt about what to say and what not to say, don’t hesitate to contact Human Resources for guidance.

I’m calling to inform you that the position for which you applied and interviewed has been filled.

We had over XX applications and interviewed XX candidates who met the minimum qualifications, including yourself.

We had an excellent candidate pool, so the search committee really had its’ work cut out for it.

Unfortunately, we only have one position to fill and the search committee feels it has selected the candidate that most closely meets our needs.

We appreciate your having applied and greatly appreciate your having taken the time to come meet with us.

We encourage you to continue to keep an eye on Willamette’s job postings for positions that are of interest to you and for which you are qualified.