What to do with a Green Candidate with a Great Attitude

If you hire senior-level engineers or designers, you have probably found yourself in this scenario...

You get an email saying that you have a new application for your open Android position.

And wow, what an application. This thing is personalized, unique, and fun to read. What’s that... the cover letter even talks about the funny copywriting that is on a page within a page within a page on your website.

It is clear from the get-go that this candidate has put a ton of time and energy into researching and applying for your position.

But, there is a catch.

This person is just kicking off their career and does not have the experience needed in order to be successful in your role.

It’s a tough situation to deal with. If I had it my way, we would hire everyone with the right attitude. I have chatted with enough candidates to truly appreciate people that invest time and energy into researching your company and submitting a thoughtful application.

Fortunately, I don’t have it my way because hiring folks simply for their attitude and preparedness is neither practical for us as a business nor fair to the candidate.

So what to do? We know we can’t move forward, but how do we reject them?

In the spirit of supporting emerging technologists and, in general, being a friendly human, I have started to try something new.

Along with a formal rejection, I offer up 15 minutes of my time, in which I share more about Livefront and the types of things that we look for in a candidate.

Here is a quick look at what that email might look like:

“Hi *Candidate*

Fun to see that you are just wrapping up your engineering degree at the University of Minnesota! I am a former gopher myself.

Our open Android role is a senior-level position. Unfortunately, we will not be able to move forward in our process as we are looking for someone with more extensive experience.

With that, in the spirit of connecting and meeting awesome technologists who are new to the industry, I’d be happy to hop on a 10-minute call to share more about Livefront and what we look for when assessing candidates. If that sounds like it would be helpful, feel free to suggest a few times that work on your end, and we can set up a time to chat.

Thanks,

Nels

In almost every case, when I have sent an email like this, a candidate has taken me up on the opportunity.

It’s a small gesture, sure, but the conversations are a ton of fun, and the folks I chat with are always appreciative to have the opportunity to learn. It’s easy to forget, but finding your first role, especially in the tech world, can be super difficult. I have chatted with folks who have been rejected from hundreds of positions and are just happy to have a human to chat with.

I have not regretted one informational interview I’ve had. If you are a recruiter and find yourself in this position I highly recommend offering the option. The time investment is fairly minimal, and who knows, maybe a few years down they might be ready to join your team!

• Nels Pederson

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