Hiring Managers Beware Reverse Rejection!

👉 This tip is for hiring managers and recruiters out there. There is a defense mechanism that takes place with candidates that we need to be aware of. I call it reverse rejection. Here’s how it works.

👉 Let’s say a candidate has their first phone interview with the hiring manager on Monday. If they don’t get feedback at least by the end of the week, reverse rejection begins to set in. Reverse Rejection is a defense mechanism that candidates have when they are expecting to be rejected, where they start coming up with reasons why they should reject the company.

👉 The same things happens after a final interview. Let’s say a final interview takes place on Monday, and after the interview, the hiring manager tells the candidate that they will hear back in two weeks. Invariably, by Friday of that first week, if not sooner, I’m getting probed by the candidate for feedback.

👉 If I, their recruiter, respond that I haven't received any feedback or if they go into the weekend with no news, well then, reverse rejection begins to set in.

👉 You see, the candidate heard 2 weeks, understood 2 weeks, but is not emotionally ready to handle a 2 week wait. In preparation for being rejected themselves, they start thinking of all the negative things about the company and spin it in their minds that they really didn’t want the job that badly anyway.

👉 So, what can hiring managers, internal recruiters, and external recruiters do to stop reverse rejection from setting in. What I do is I try to touch base with every candidate I have in process before the weekend. The most reverse rejection happens over the weekend, when they are not preoccupied with work.

👉 I see the best companies, the ones most interested in the candidate experience, aren't trying to hire people who have been rejecting them for the last ten to fourteen days. So they move quickly. They don’t rush, but they move quickly and act decisively.

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