Turning down a qualified applicant

lukkieseven

I need help fast please -- my company has been advertising for a Senior Management position that would be second in command to our Exec Director. Many of the applicants are local people and our Exec Dir knows the candidates' previous employers so he is able to find out information about the candidate that normally we would not know. Based on the information that he received about one of the very qualified candidates (qualified on paper that is), our E.D. decided not to call this person for an interview. I won't go into the details of what our E.D. found out, but suffice it to say that this candidate would definitely not be a good fit for our organizaiton, although he has ALL THE QUALFICIATIONS, EXPERIENCE, ETC. for the job. The candidate has called the E.D. twice now asking why he has not been called for an interview, because he keeps seeing the ad running. The E.D. is reluctant to call him back because he does not know exactly what to say to this person without revealing the "real reason" for not interviewing him.

Any suggestions on what the E.D. can say to this person and get him off our E.D.'s back?

LarryC

I would say at this point in your process, you don't owe anybody any explanation yet. You're still advertising, your still interviewing, and your still collecting resumes. Any phone calls can be answered by saying, "We are still processing resumes and have not completed our selection yet. Our selection is based on the best qualified candidates, as we see them. If we deem yours as such, you will be notified."

Down_the_Middle

Nicely stated LarryC........
Eventually you'll need to inform this candidate (& all others) that you've chosen an individual that most closely satified the position requirements.......... That will likely do it for the person who thinks he's perfect for your vacancy.

Gillian3

While I do not usually suggest going through the motions it might be a good idea here. If there is a lot of common friendships or interaction between people at various organizations so that people know each other, it might be best for relationships to give the person an interview. The individual might accept the final decision a bit better if they feel that they had an opportunity to interview and if you don't want the bad mouthing that might occur if it doesn't. Don't bother unless there are a lot of relationships that must be maintained.