Rejections in the application process: appreciate your applicants with video

Legally correct — human in terms of content

Job ghosting — a term that is unfortunately being used more and more frequently. If candidates do not receive a response from the company to their application, this causes displeasure. And can in the event of an angry reaction on review platforms or in times of social media far-reaching consequences for a company's image have. Because how much appreciation employees are shown now plays a major role in choosing an employer. And customers or partners also do not like to be associated with negative external effects. Recognition therefore starts with the application. For this reason, the positive appreciation of every applicant is in the company's interest, regardless of whether they will be part of your team in the future or not.

Therefore, give your application cancellations a personal touch with a small video message, which for more commitment to your employees and ensures a better image in the long term.

Cancellations are not mandatory, but professional

While companies spend a lot of time thinking about how they want to attract attention to themselves and attract talented applicants as part of their recruiting process, many reject the application step often with less attention — and therefore also to the candidate who receives it. 

Although rejections are an unpleasant task for recruiters and applicants alike, it should not be underestimated how positive a rejection can have on a company's image. Or: how negative if there is no impersonal rejection with standard phrases. From a legal point of view, there is no obligation to cancel. However, job cancellations have a major influence on employer branding for existing employees and the overall public image. When employees know that their employer values each individual, they are ready to recommend the company to others. Especially since new talent can often be recruited through existing contacts within the organization. So give your candidates the attention they deserve throughout the candidate journey.

You should keep this in mind when canceling via video

Don't just win suitable candidates with video via video speech for yourself, but also leave a professional and friendly impression on applicants whom you, unfortunately, cannot hire.

A cancellation should polite, legally correct, and formulated be, whether in written form or as a video. The AGG (General Equal Treatment Act) passed in 2006 specifies which rights and obligations must be complied with. These include, for example, the prohibition to discriminate against and not hire applicants based on ethnic origin or gender.

In terms of content, there are always personal, empathic statements better than standard phrases. This includes a successful cancellation:

• Mention of the job title 
• Thanks for effort
• Formulated rejection 
• Reference to an exceptional profile, successful application, etc. 
• Encouragement of motivation, offer for future applications, talent pool, etc.

It is particularly important from a legal point of view that the cancellation is communicated to avoid any legal disputes. There is no need to give a reason for the disappointment. 

When it comes to wording and tonality, you can always adapt a recorded rejection to the addressee. A different wording may be appropriate for a graduate than for a manager with several years of professional experience. The video format also has the advantage that the message can be formulated even more humanely and create more connection with the applicant through facial expressions, gestures, etc.. A friendly face can convey a message, albeit a bad one, better than continuous text.

It is also important that HR managers pay attention to the timing. It can take 2 days to 2 weeks to respond to an application. However, you shouldn't wait more than a month before canceling. 

How to use StoryBox for your (entire) recruiting process

Use our intuitive, cloud-based HR software to record various video messages, such as your individual, human-appealing cancellations. With templates developed especially for you Every HR manager in your team can quickly and easily record videos and send them to applicants.

You don't want to tell your candidates a final decision, but just inform them of a delay or how to proceed? A video message with StoryBox is also suitable for this, to remind yourself again and arouse further interest. 

We would be happy to show you the app at a short demo and present your use case in practice!