Rejecting Applicants can be performed by any Account Administrator or User assigned the "Applicant Tracking and Processing" permission to "Reject" applicants. Once you decide to reject an applicant, scroll to the bottom of the Stages tab in the applicant's file and click the Reject button. You’ll be given the option to send a rejection email or reject the applicant without sending an email. All rejection actions are traced in the Streams tab of the applicant's file.
Rejecting applicants if they are not a good fit is an important step in the hiring process, as applicant communication is key and it provides valuable data for reports as well. After rejecting an applicant, their stage will be set to Reject and they will be removed from the active candidates pool.
Reject an Applicant
For consistency, when rejecting applicants who applied to the same job, the displayed rejection notification template will be the default template assigned to the job's workflow when the posting was created.
Follow these steps to reject an applicant:
- Open an applicant file.
- Click Reject from the Stages tab.
- If the Disposition Codes setting is activated, select an applicable code from the Disposition Code drop-down.
- From the Sending Details drop-down select one of the following options:
- Send Now and proceed to reject with the applicant receiving the selected notification immediately.
- Schedule Rejection and then choose to "Send in 24 hours (default selection)", "Send in 48 hours", "Send in 72 hours" or opt to select a "Custom Date / Time".
- Use the panel to review the job's default rejection template or select another available rejection template from the drop-down.
- To include one or more supporting documents, use the Add Attachment button.
- Click SEND to email the rejection notification immediately to the candidate or click SCHEDULE REJECTION to send the rejection notification email at the designated future time. Upon making a selection, the applicant will be immediately moved into the "Rejected Stage" for reporting.
Note: The rejection notification template is created and stored in the message templates library. If you make changes to the email when rejecting an applicant, it will not alter the standard template. The changes will apply for that specific applicant only.
Reject an Applicant (without sending email)
When selecting "Reject without sending email," the candidate will not be aware of any change in their application status, and they will not receive a rejection notification. For example, if the HR team has already told the applicant it's not going to work out in an interview or phone call, there is no need to further notify the applicant, but the rejection needs to be recorded in your hiring system.
Follow these steps to reject an applicant without notification:
- Open an applicant file.
- Click Reject from the Stages tab.
- If the Disposition Codes setting is activated, select an applicable code from the Disposition Code drop-down.
- From the Sending Details drop-down select Reject without sending email.
- To finish the rejection process without notifying the applicant, confirm by clicking Reject without sending email.
Rejecting Multiple Applicants
To reject multiple applicants at one time, see Bulk Rejections from the Applicant Queue.
Tip: When rejecting applicants, it's best to have consistent processes. Enabling disposition codes or adding comments for why candidates were rejected is suggested.