There is a moment in recruitment that never gets easier and that is the phone call where you have to tell a candidate that a role has been withdrawn.
Sometimes it is a restructure, sometimes a budget freeze, sometimes a change of direction that has nothing to do with them at all. Whatever the reason, the outcome for the candidate is the same. Hope, effort and time, all handed back with nothing to show for it.
We had two candidates go through exactly this recently, both at the same stage, both invited back for a second, onsite interview before the role disappeared from under them. Two people, the same disappointment, two completely different responses…and it taught us something worth sharing.
The first candidate was gutted. He said so plainly and did not pretend otherwise. But he also said something we will not forget. He understood that businesses change direction, that timing is not always kind and that this was nobody's fault. He thanked us for keeping him informed and asked if we would keep him in mind for the future. Graceful is the only word for it.
The second candidate was just as disappointed, and he had every right to be. But where the first candidate met the news with patience, this one met it with anger. The response that followed was harsh, unforgiving and frankly, difficult to hear. We understood the frustration underneath it. We did not enjoy delivering the news either. But how a person responds when things go wrong tells you more about them than any interview ever could.
That is the part we keep coming back to. A candidate's character does not show up in the good moments. It shows up here, in the moment they did not see coming and did not ask for.
So this week, our message is really for our clients. Please do not withdraw a role lightly and please do not leave it too long once the decision is made.
People put real effort into an application. They prepare, they rearrange their week, they tell their families they have made it to the second round. Some of them turn down other opportunities to keep their diary clear for you. We are not saying roles should never change or disappear. Business realities are real. We are saying that the people on the other end of that decision are real too and they deserve to hear it from us with care and without delay.
We can't play with people's lives. Not when they have shown up, prepared and hopeful, for something we asked of them.
