It’s no secret that putting your all into the hiring process only to be rejected is a very disappointing reality.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a new way that hiring managers are choosing to let down job seekers, and it’s quite possibly the cruelest way to tell someone that they didn’t make the cut
In an article from Slate Magazine, many hiring managers and interviewers are moving away from the classic rejection email and instead scheduling live video rejections where hiring managers invite candidates on a video call. Unbeknownst to candidates who believe that they’re being invited to be told they’re getting the job, it’s not a celebratory invitation at all.
One unnamed interviewer told Slate that the practice is a “matter of policy,” explaining, “If you make it to the final interview stage, HR wants us to reject people by Zoom or at least over the phone. They say it’s kinder and doesn’t feel as impersonal after people have invested their time interviewing with us.”
“Supposedly, we owe them the courtesy of a real conversation. But every time I’ve done it, the person sounds crushed. It’s horrible.”
Despite the well-intentioned idea that candidates would want to be rejected over video instead of in a simple email, that ends up being a person’s worst nightmare. Most people would assume that if they’re receiving a Zoom call invitation, it means they’ve gotten the job, which makes it even more disappointing and awkward when that turns out not to be the case.
To make matters worse, the job hunting process has become such a hassle for many job seekers as it is. According to a report released by the Josh Bersin Company and AMS, a workforce solutions firm, the amount of time it takes to hire a new employee reached an all-time high of 44 days in early 2023.
Many companies are stretching to hire more employees, and instead are forcing people to undergo more and more interviews.
In an interview with TIME Magazine, Michael Cook, who was laid off from a gaming company in December 2022 after more than a decade in the professional labor market, and who has applied to hundreds of jobs since, explained that the job-hunting process is “tiring” and “frustrating.” He’s had one company put him through six rounds of interviews over multiple months.
Another company asked him to create a project for them but didn’t give him credit or hire him and instead used his idea for themselves; others sent him take-home tests or asked him to record himself answering pre-set questions. And yet, he didin’t receive a single offer.
Cook’s experience isn’t abnormal, and many other job seekers are facing the same struggle. On top of all they have going on, no one wants to be rejected from a job position in a video call.
One job seeker, according to Slate, who experienced this latest practice, said this about the debacle: “I sat there semi-dumbfounded, in a full suit, feeling like an idiot with little to say. It felt extremely awkward. I had no room to emote in that moment and no time to process. I kept a smile plastered on my face and just said, ‘Thanks for the opportunity; if you ever have a position that matches, please reach out to me..'”
They admitted that it was extremely “bizarre” and made the rejection just as painful, if not more. The job seeker explained that they were shocked that there was an entire video call scheduled and time carved out of everyone’s day, but especially theirs, just to let them know they weren’t being accepted for a job.
“This happened to me last year for an internal role. I was excited when I got the Zoom meeting invite, and then felt crushed and struggled to keep it together when I was told that I didn’t get the role,” another job seeker told Slate.
“I later gave the hiring manager the feedback to please stop and think about what meetings need a Zoom call and what should be a phone call. I think a lot of people have gotten into the habit of making everything a Zoom meeting and they don’t stop to think.”
If companies feel the need the schedule calls, then it should be a last resort if that job seeker is looking for additional feedback or conversations about why they were rejected. Other than that, there’s nothing wrong with an old-fashioned email letting a candidate know their resume and application won’t be moving forward.
Blindsiding someone with that type of rejection isn’t kind and does more harm than good at the end of the day.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.
