Job seekers want to hear from you! They want to hear about the status of their application, feedback on interviews and where they stand in the overall process and even the dreaded, thank you but no thank you.

A personalized response is the best way to keep job applicants happy. This may not always be feasible so I advise creating a program that includes sending automated responses utilizing your ATS system and templates for personalized communication.

Since most employers succeed in keeping applicants feeling good who are interviewing we will focus on communicating at the start and end of the recruitment process. Apply a little personality, creativity and include good information.

Automated Application Response:

The Muse posted this letter in a blog and well, I love it so much I am copying a piece below. The tone is conversational, it uses humor to warm the audience and most importantly it sets expectations!

Hurrah! We have received your job application. At least, we think it’s yours. It is possible that someone who thinks very highly of you is forwarding around your resume while pretending to be you. That’s not a bad thing, is it?

In any case, this is an automatic email, sent by a mindless robot, to let you know that we’re absolutely thrilled that you would be interested in working for Trello. We’re very honored.

Even though this is an automatic email, it’s not the usual blah blah, so please read on!

First of all—what to expect? Well, it may take a week or ten days (or even three or four as our volume of applications have increased) before a developer gets around to reviewing your application. We’re a small company, and to be honest, sometimes eating lunch seems more important than reviewing resumes. But we will assure you that a real live human being, not an automated computer zapper program, will review your application carefully, and only after drinking plenty of coffee and getting lots of sleep and exercise, and under no circumstances will we reject your application because you lack ten years of experience in a technology that was invented only last year.

Next—yes, you will hear back from us. It is our policy to reply to all applications, even if we have to send you an unpleasant “go away, you smell bad” letter. We always tell people when we’re rejecting them for olfactory reasons.

They go on to ask for some specific information in the form of a reply….use this area for anything you like.

Rejection Letters:

Here are some great examples to humanize your rejection letters.

1. Thank the applicant warmly.

Cold: Thank you for applying to the POSITION at COMPANY.

Human: We really appreciate that you took the time to consider us. We know there are a lot of companies out there that are hiring. 

2. Leave the door open.

Cold: We’ll keep your application on file should another position become available.

Human: We hope you don't mind if we reach out to you in the future. 

3. Identify a strength. Writing something complimentary about a candidate’s skills or experience can greatly cushion the blow of receiving a rejection

Cold: We were impressed with your experience, but...

Human: The team was really impressed with your ability to get things done — even with limited experience — such as when you built out the entire e-commerce and payment solution at [previous company].

4. Provide a satisfying explanation.

Cold: Your candidacy is not a good fit at this time.

Human: We're currently focusing on hiring more senior engineers, one for infrastructure, and one who can be a tech lead for our full-stack engineering.

This type of rejection will quiet the candidate’s understandable frustration after interviewing and not receiving the job. Many applicants invest considerable time in interviewing and they really just want to understand why it wasn’t a match. If you hire another applicant share why. Over or under qualified, explain why?

 Menlo Partners promises all our applicants feedback on every client interview. This is an important part of the process and one we take very seriously. If only it was a standard and not a basic communication tool. We hope that these examples will help you better your recruiting process and communication with job seekers.

If you need help finding great talent and a partner who can provide feedback to your job applicants at every stage, contact Menlo Partners Staffing today.