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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect a rejection letter

66 replies

JanuaryShoes · 22/01/2014 10:45

I've just applied for a job, I got a letter acknowledging my application and then nothing.

The interview day has long passed so I assume I haven't been successful.

Isn't it just good manners to send a letter of rejection?

OP posts:
LondonMother · 22/01/2014 14:08

If you have an online recruitment system it is easy to generate automatic messages at every stage. If you don't (and very few small businesses would have that, I'd imagine) then as everybody else has said replying to all the people who're not going to get an interview would be massively time-consuming (if you're dealing with dozens of applications, as lots of employers are in these difficult times). At its most basic, you have to find their email addresses and paste them into a spreadsheet or an email message just to get to the point of sending one email with a bcc to all the unlucky ones. Even more time-consuming to send individual emails, and completely unworkable and expensive to send letters nowadays.

I thought it was a given now to say in the advert 'Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted so if you do not hear from us within x weeks of the closing date you should assume you have not been shortlisted'.

BarbarianMum · 22/01/2014 14:09

Now that I agree with. And a fairly prompt one too.

Juno77 · 22/01/2014 14:09

frosty It's not 'us applicants' - I was one of you last year!

I applied for over 100 jobs. I know how disheartening it it.

But as an employer, I also realise how infeasible it is to reply to them all.

Sadly, the people who do not put in the time and effort, and just email a CV off without much thought, are the ones ruining it for everyone who does make the effort.

MillyONaire · 22/01/2014 14:10

JanuaryShoes this was me a year ago - hadn't heard and too scared to ring. Well I did ring and they hadn't even started going through the applications (the deadline was long over) anyway evenutally I got a rejection letter but so sure was I that I'd get an interview (after ten years as a sahm!!!!!) that I rang or emailed the HR dept and to my surprise got a very encouraging letter back saying I'd been close but someone else had more specific experience (hmmm: she was the bosses sister....I guess I couldn't have trumped that!!) Though the whole thing was disappointing I felt much better that I had been proactive enough to ask about the job rather than submissively waiting to hear. Not too sure whether it would've harmed or enhanced my prospects if there hadn't been a rellie in the wings. Good luck!

LondonMother · 22/01/2014 14:10

Completely agree, though, that not letting people know the outcome of an interview is very bad. The numbers involved at that stage aren't going to be all that high usually so it really is just disorganisation and laziness, surely, not to let them know. Could mean you're well out of that place, of course!

Chippednailvarnish · 22/01/2014 14:19

I applied for a job last year, went to two interviews with them. They made me an offer, I declined, they asked what I would accept, I told them. I've never heard back from them. Given the time and effort we both spent going to interviews, I think this is rude.

However I am completely with Juno regarding not being able to reply to every single applicant.

Original poster
JanuaryShoes · 22/01/2014 14:39

Milly - that's heartening, you've given me the encouragement to ring them.

It's hard applying for jobs after a long period away. I have no confidence in my abilities at all and yet people used to fall over themselves to recruit me, I've been headhunted twice. I need to get my confidence back somehow.

OP posts:
BombayBunty · 22/01/2014 15:11

My DH went for an interview for a job in a university four years ago. He's still waiting to hear if he got the job.....

Justholdthesmile · 22/01/2014 15:17

Sadly this is the case now, there are hundreds of applicants for each position. It just isn't feasible to respond to them all.

Exactly. I was applying for jobs this time last year. Some I rang to apply for the job and was told that they were not taking anymore applications (this was well before the final date). I could have been the perfect candidate for the job but they weren't interested.

It's a shame but apparently I've heard it's not as bad this year. All you have to do is keep trying and develop a thick skin. If you're not successful it's not because your application is bad it's just that they have so much choice.

ThinkAboutItTomorrow · 22/01/2014 15:17

Not following up after an interview is absolutely unacceptable and rude.

frostyfingers we have just hired someone 18 months after our initial interview with her. We loved her at the time but went with someone else for a variety of reasons. When a similar role came up we contacted her on the off chance she was still interested. She was. We re-interviewed, still liked her and offered. she is doing really well.

frostyfingers · 23/01/2014 08:11

Juno - sorry that wasn't meant to be as rude as it probably sounded! As I said, I agree that you can't reply to everyone, but do you put the bit about "if you haven't heard from us by such and such" in your job ads? To me, that's fine - at least the applicant knows where they stand. What I think is totally unacceptable is not letting someone who've you have interviewed know whether or not they've been successful. Think - I'll keep hoping then!

I do actually have a job, just looking for another so am fortunate in the respect that at least I have some income coming in, and, although it's frustrating, it's not life and death as it is for some people.

callamia · 23/01/2014 08:19

Not providing feedback after interview is very poor.

We don't provide feedback unless you were shortlisted. I am sympathetic to wanting a rejection response, and a blanket reply that is clear about feedback expectations seems reasonable. I definitely couldn't provide feedback for 100-odd people who weren't shortlisted. My HR dept does expect me to provide feedback for anyone who was interviewed though.

DamnBamboo · 23/01/2014 09:15

What if 200 people applied, should they send letters to them all?

The standard default phrase, 'if you don't hear from us you haven't been successful' is pretty clear really isn't it.

Or should they give individual feedback to each person too?

And it definitely isn't lack of courtesy.

frostyfingers · 23/01/2014 13:50

If it is clearly stated in the advert for the job that if you haven't heard from us by .... date then you have not been selected for interview then there's no need for letters to the initial applicants, and feedback for those is totally unnecessary - I don't think many/any applicants would expect that. It's not rocket science to put something like that in an ad and it cuts out any need for 100's of letters.

What I feel is inexcusable is the lack of notification and/or feedback after interview - that rarely involves more than a dozen people, most I know of only interview 5 or 6 - and is common courtesy surely?

icetip · 23/01/2014 13:55

I'll always give some specific feedback after interviews if requested. But I'm not doling out career advice (as some seem to expect).

grumpyoldbat · 23/01/2014 16:20

80-90% of my applications haven't received replies. It's more soul destroying than a rejection.

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