The Candidate Who Was Rejected

Ninety-four per cent of candidates get rejected during a hiring process. If you are careless and inconsiderate instead of showing care and respect for them, how many candidates are you turning into detractors? Perhaps it’s time to reconsider the way you reject potential employees.

Today we interview Carmen Pareja, a job seeker who had a positive candidate experience right after the most sensitive stage of the hiring process, the rejection.

While the interviewer and candidate pick up a coffee to go in the trendy neighborhood of Malasaña, Carmen replies to a couple of messages from her colleagues in Teams. Both head out to walk the streets of Madrid, and there, the interview conversation ensues.

Interviewer: You are currently a Software QA Engineer at Beezy, right? What is your background?

Carmen: What I studied has nothing to do with my current profession: double major which combined Tourism and English Philology and got a Master’s degree in Teaching right after that.

I always felt curious about Graphic Design and my brother, who is a Computer Engineer, encouraged me to go for programming. So I took several IT courses and discovered that IT was meant to be my professional career. In IT, I’ve always enjoyed teaching myself, and this is what I continue to do now. I got to work at Banco Santander as a QA Engineer, but I had less opportunities to grow there.

I: Is that the reason why you decided to move on?

C: Exactly. This was the reason I decided to actively look for another job. Felicitas, the Director of People Operations & Culture at TrustYou, got in touch with me at the best moment. When she first contacted me, I was receiving offers from other people, but I liked what I was hearing from her – they were building a new team in Madrid, and there was lots of opportunity for growth. The role required knowledge in automation, which was something I lacked, and that is the reason why they decided to hire a more senior profile in the end.

The first interviews were cordial, and she was very caring and friendly. She shared all the details of the role and company with me. I was never missing any information from her side. I always appreciate it when recruiters give me feedback quickly, whether it be positive or negative, and she did give me timely feedback. This is something I am very grateful for. It is very frustrating when recruiters leave you in limbo, without knowing what to do or whether to move on in your search. On top of that, Felicitas not only gave me quick feedback, but she also recommended me to Circular, and I found this to be a very nice gesture.

I: How does it feel to be rejected and recommended to a hiring community like Circular?

C: I didn’t know about Circular or any other hiring communities like it. I didn’t know that something like this existed! – she says smiling. Felicitas explained it to me and suddenly, everything made sense. I wanted to give it a try, I didn’t have anything to lose. I started receiving messages from Laura Caetano, a recruiter at Beezy, among others. I chose Laura and Beezy because I felt that the process was very transparent, and the role was in line with my expectations. I wasn’t as focused on the company perks so much as the chances I would have to advance in my career, and that’s what motivated me. They seemed to care about my professional goals, too, and guaranteed that I would have more freedom to train myself during periods when I had a lighter workload. I was scared of joining a company where I would get bored and where my suggestions would go unconsidered. Beezy, through its informative hiring process, cleared my concerns right up!

I: How has your experience at Beezy been so far?

C: Beezy is exactly what they promised me it was going to be. They’ve even exceeded my expectations, by far! I am very happy with the atmosphere, on both a professional and personal level. Beezy takes care of its employees and it is definitely a company I would recommend to friends.

I: Would you also recommend TrustYou to friends?

C: Definitely. I know that with Felicitas, they won’t struggle along the hiring process and they’ll have the information they need, whenever they need it.