Fatal Rejection

Bob Weinstein is a journalist who covers technology, project management, the workplace and career development.

 

So, what do you do with difficult candidates who reject rejection?

That's the question Ray Costello sought to answer a couple of years ago when he was besieged by candidates he rejected. They wouldn't take no for an answer. Some rejected candidates are so desperate for a job, they'll actually stalk a manager hoping he or she relents and agrees to reconsider them.

It's hard to believe, but Costello--a former CIO of jewelry manufacturer Donald Bruce & Company in Chicago--is living proof. It's hard enough hiring the right person, but it's twice as hard getting rid of candidates who think rejection means acceptance. Commonplace definitive words like "no" hold a different meaning to them.

Virtually anyone with decision-making power--CIOs, CTOs or senior project managers--are prime targets for clingy candidates. An unflinching competitive job market is a plausible reason why some candidates won't give up even after they were firmly rejected for a job.

Many candidates who refuse to walk away from a rejection gracefully and continue their job search elsewhere think companies want aggressive workers who have the gumption to fight for what they want. They feel it's an understated requirement that's not spelled out. But they fail to consider is that that rationale applies after they're hired. They don't realize that following rejection, …

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