If the search is delayed significantly or re-advertised, then a simple email is again sent. Finally, when candidates have been considered and not shortlisted, a brief communication that advises them that they are no longer under consideration is a minimum requirement.
Some applicants would like the option of finding out why they didn't make the cut, but this is up to the employer or agency.
The best agencies and employers may follow through with applicants to the end of the process, letting them know who has been hired and giving a brief profile of the successful applicant and their qualifications, and thanking the other applicants for their interest. This communicates that the company has made a good hire, and allows others to see that a good candidate has been selected. This establishes the firm as an attractive employer, interested in communicating with (potential) staff and open and transparent in its processes.
Wouldn't it be great if they were all like that.
* * *
Q. I recently applied for an advertised position in my company. There were a lot of applicants inside and outside the company as it was a desirable position and would have been a good promotion for me.
The short-list came down to me, another internal candidate and an outside person. The job was offered to the other internal person and they accepted it, which left me out in the cold.
I was hoping to get the promotion, and I probably could have handled the news if they hadn't done it so badly. The decision-making was dragging on and on, and no one knew exactly what was happening.
On a day that I was away at a course, the general manager decided to make the announcement of who they had decided on, and the first I knew about it was sympathy calls from friends at work to my house that night. I felt so bad, I spent all that night writing a resignation letter in my head and called in sick the next day.
I haven't resigned yet, but I still feel embarrassed and depressed about work. Don't employers realise how their decisions and communication affect the people who work for them?
A. Selection decisions are even harder to manage when there are internal people vying for jobs. The same communication standards apply to internal candidates as other job applicants; you should have been kept informed on the status of your application for the job.
Missed promotions are one of the main reasons that high-performing employees leave organisations. Your own supervisor should have been involved in explaining to you why you weren't selected, preferably before the decision became common knowledge.
In addition, it is important that you feel valued by the organisation, that there will be other opportunities for you and that there are clear pathways for you to achieve the desired promotion.
The GM may have thought that he was sparing your feelings when he announced the appointment on a day you weren't there; that might have been the case had you known the decision was coming and felt that this was only a minor set-back in your career plans.
Depending on your current status in the organisation, you may want to discuss, with your supervisor or the GM, the impact of that communication choice.
* * *
Email a question for Dr Marie Wilson
