What to do with ALL those applications!

A new manager recently asked me after he interviews someone if they aren't going to be hired, what should they do with the applications and what if anything should he communicate to them. My response was: First of all you need to keep the application on file for one year. I recommend making a hanging file for each month and file them by month. Then each month you shred last year’s from that month and have an empty file to start filing them in for this month. This also helps if you have someone you didn’t hire call up and say I put in an application last month – you can quickly find their application and see if you would consider them or not. A better suggestion is to have a file folder for “Strong Possibilities” these are applicants that you didn’t hire but WOULD consider them in the future. That way when you have another opening you can quickly find a person that looked pretty good. 

For the second part of your question – if you have interviewed them – I say definitely communicate back to them “yes” or “no”. If you don’t hire them, a quick e-mail or postcard that says:

Thank you for your interest in working at our store and meeting with me last week. We enjoyed meeting you and we appreciate your time. We had many applicants with varying experiences, skills and schedule availability. We have offered the position to someone that more closely fits our ideal candidate. We do keep applications on file for one year so we may contact you in the future if the need arises.

Best of luck in your job search and we truly appreciate your interest.

It is important to keep applications in an organized fashion for future recruiting and to stay compliant with the law.

Happy Hiring!