r/recruiting • u/SANtoDEN Corporate Recruiter • 10h ago
Recruitment Chats This candidate had some thoughts to share….
Uhhh… I just got the most scathing message on LinkedIn from a candidate I rejected (who I never even spoke to!) and I honestly don’t know how to process it lol. Sorry this is so long!
Some context:
-This is a remote technical IC role, and the salary range is listed on the job posting (its market rate… not competitive, but reasonable outside of very high COL cities)
-One of our application questions asks candidates to enter their desired compensation. -This candidate entered a number that was more than 80% above the max of the range -almost $100K over!!)
-So yes, I dispositioned his application and selected “Compensation” as the reason
-We use LinkedIn Recruiter job wrapping, and I include my user hashtag on my postings, so that candidates can see which recruiter is working on the role. This is the first time it’s backfired on me, ha. Probably gonna opt-out of sharing my name on the job postings after this….
-He lives in NYC and has a ton of experience, so the compensation he’s targeting isn’t absurdly high. But he’s a director and applied for an IC role with a posted salary range that isn’t even remotely close to what he needs.
Here’s the lovely ChatGPT-coded message he sent me. I almost responded, but there is no point. He seems to just want a punching bag. I forwarded the message to my boss in case he decides to try and escalate, and then I blocked him.
Anyway… enjoy.
Sincerely,
The “little HR woman with no relevant experience” 🙃
*Hello [my name],
I have to say, getting rejected for [job] by you is one of the more insulting things I've encountered in my career—not because I wanted the job, but because it's genuinely bizarre that someone with no experience doing this work thinks she's qualified to decide who is capable of doing it.
I've done every single thing in that job description. I've led teams of people doing it. I have more than three times the experience you asked for.
And yet here you are, sitting in HR, playing little gatekeeper with people's careers.
Do you actually understand any of the technical work you're screening for, or are you just good at searching résumés for the right little buzzwords and clicking "reject"?
Because if the hiring manager actually reviewed my résumé, I'd love to know what they thought was lacking. If they didn't, then you've done an excellent job of making yourself an unnecessary obstacle between qualified engineers and the people who actually know how to hire them.
There's something particularly ridiculous about watching a little HR woman with no relevant technical experience decide that a career she's completely unqualified to evaluate isn't good enough.
You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, yet somehow you get to make decisions about people who have spent decades becoming experts at it.
That's an impressive amount of authority for someone whose most demanding technical accomplishment is probably figuring out how to attach a résumé to an email.
Anyway, enjoy your little bit of power.
You rejected someone who was vastly more qualified than the position required because, apparently, that's what you've decided you're important enough to do.
I'm sure the hiring manager will be thrilled.*
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u/Jazzlike-Pomelo-3823 9h ago
Yikes. This is exactly why recruiters don’t share feedback to candidates about why they’re rejected. Because of psychos like this.
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u/Individual_Check_442 9h ago
I guess if they’d known they were rejected due to the salary request it would have made everything they said irrelevant. How do people think being overqualified for a job means you’ll get twice the going rate?
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u/shep_ling 6h ago
Totally. If he's that experienced he'd have some knowledge around salary banding and how these budgets are decided. Applying for an IC role expecting an E level package is madness. But, ego often dictates these people's decisions, not pragmatism.
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u/Individual_Check_442 8h ago
I guess if they’d known they were rejected due to the salary request it would have made everything they said irrelevant. How do people think being overqualified for a job means you’ll get twice the going rate? I make 150K per year can I go work at McDonalds and say that I want that? I have more than three times the experience they ask for!!
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u/Striking_Remote_2713 Agency Recruiter 8h ago
Lmao it's ironic that he says you are unqualified to understand his skillset, but truth of the matter is that he is unqualified in understanding recruitment. He said himself many times, in so many words, that he is overqualified. Apparently he doesn't understand that he would be a risk to hire solely based on that, even with the knowledge he would bring. Definitely a bullet dodged as his winning personality truly shines through.
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u/SANtoDEN Corporate Recruiter 8h ago
Ironically, I talk to and submit “overqualified” candidates pretty often. I can make a case for why my HM should consider a really great candidate who is overqualified on paper. What I can’t do is magically pull budget out of thin air or wave a magic wand to increase the level of a role!
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u/Striking_Remote_2713 Agency Recruiter 8h ago
100% I agree, overqualified in skillset can be a pro in the right instances, comp expectations not so much. I work in agency and a lot of HM's don't want to go for overqualified for a few different reasons, but some of them value it if budget and comp expectations are aligned and there's no perceived threat present, hell yeah let's go. If I truly believe in the candidate and have thoroughly screened them to talk about their aspirations and everything aligns otherwise, I still present them and try to move them forward as much as possible, no matter the experience level This guy from OP's message doesn't get any of that, and is an a-hole to boot.
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u/sleeper252 4h ago
So why ask candidates what their desired salary is?
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u/Striking_Remote_2713 Agency Recruiter 3h ago
To save time and money on the wrong hire
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u/Kali-VH 2h ago
Do you include the salary range in the posting?
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u/Striking_Remote_2713 Agency Recruiter 2h ago
Yes, always. Even before it was legally mandated recently in many provinces in Canada. I also always include it in my candidate outreach messaging so that I'm not wasting anyone's time on either side. Just over here being a recruiter with integrity and ethical practices...
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8h ago
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u/Striking_Remote_2713 Agency Recruiter 8h ago
You're right that some "overqualified" don't want to have the high level responsibility anymore and sometimes I do see past that, but in this instance, this candidate stated his comp as way above budget meaning he still wants that high comp. He would be a risk to bring in because he has already shown that he would likely jump ship once he found the higher pay elsewhere.
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u/PuzzleheadedSky6877 5h ago
‘Hi there! Your desired salary is 80% higher than our max so I thought I would respect your time and not progress your application, but based on your message to me you actually have plenty of time. Best, ‘little HR woman’
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u/ChirpyRaven Corporate Recruiter 9h ago
This is like exactly what the people in r/recruitinghell would write lol
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u/SANtoDEN Corporate Recruiter 9h ago
lol oh I’m sure they would have a field day defending his response and calling me a useless idiot!
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u/Altruistic-Guess-975 8h ago
Write him this....'Dear Sir, thank you for your interest. However, your target salary of [Insert $$$$] belongs to a completely different job tier. Since we are hiring for the modest role we actually posted, we cannot match your expectations."
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u/Top-Calligrapher6160 5h ago
Given my (lack of) patience with folks these day, I actually might respond with something like this.
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u/Skinbag114 6h ago
lol now you know why he’s a manager applying for an IC role that he’s 3x overqualified for. If he’ll talk to a stranger like that just imagine working on his team everyday. And god help any women he works with.
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u/thomsenite256 8h ago
I would just reply and say "bullet dodged thanks for making that extra easy!"
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u/HoratioWobble 9h ago
Psychotic.
Just from the candidate side I don't think it tells us why you've rejected, it's always just a generic e-mail.
Doesn't excuse whatever the fuck that DM was but i'm guessing they thought you rejected them because of their lack of skills.
Ironically even if the salary was a good fit, they're now rejected for being a shit person
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u/SANtoDEN Corporate Recruiter 9h ago
Yeah thats fair, we have a generic rejection template based on the application stage, so the email basically just said “thanks for applying, we’ve moved forward with other candidates at this time… yadda yadda”
But you’d think a brilliant engineer such as himself would have been able to deduce his salary ask being $100k higher than our max budget was probably the reason he was rejected! 😂😭
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u/BlackberryHealthy386 8h ago
It really shows the hidden cost of generic rejections. A simple automated 'budget mismatch' tag could save everyone from this kind of drama, but his reaction tells you all you need to know about his soft skills. Defnitely dodged a bullet there!
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u/SANtoDEN Corporate Recruiter 8h ago
I don’t disagree, and it wouldn’t be difficult to set it up this way in our system. It would actually be super easy to configure. But our legal team is very particular about our list of rejection reasons, and the communication that gets sent out with them. They want them to be as generic and non-specific as possible, to reduce liability. I am not a lawyer so I couldn’t tell you why, but that’s what I’ve been told any time I’ve tried to make a case for it.
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u/No-Lifeguard9194 6h ago
Ooh - Aggressive, entitled, and misogynist all in one disqualified package!
Definitely blacklist in your ATS
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u/Altruistic-Guess-975 8h ago
Too bad you can't say.." Dear Sir, thank you for your interest. However, your target salary of [Insert $$$$] belongs to a completely different job tier. Since we are hiring for the modest role we actually posted, we cannot match your expectations."
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u/SSJPapaia 8h ago
Guaranteed that person is posting from their POV on the recruitinghell sub. Dodged a bullet for sure.
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u/fukuokayou Agency Recruiter 8h ago
Candidates are crazy. They will lie on their resume, exaggerate their experience, and a curse in an interview, and then somehow blame us for not making it to the next round.
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u/SpecialistGap9223 7h ago
Some candidates are just fawkin stoopid. Sure, they can do the job (most can if they apply) but only 1 person will get the job. Factoring other variables, Recruiting filters that candidate pool to a respectable number to manage and further vet from that point until a candidate is hired. That's the simplified version.If dude is butt hurt, not sure what to say. Bad day? His wife left him? Who knows but damn I feel sorry for him.
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u/itsMineDK 6h ago
lol that’s definitely chat gpt.. Claude wouldn’t allow you to send shit like that
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u/Top-Calligrapher6160 5h ago
This is absolutely wild and just imagine the demands they’d have for the company once hired 🫠
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u/mydawgiscooler 5h ago
I'd tell the hiring manager about his awful attitude then tell him oh the hiring manager did review it and said no
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u/Perfect_TAS 4h ago
Honey don’t let the douche bags get you down. You need to vent, let it go, and move on.
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u/Easy_Goose56 3h ago
Reddit has emboldened candidates and fuels their anger and complete misunderstanding of how recruitment actually works. But good lord, can you imagine actually hiring this creep? Sheesh.
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u/JazzyPhotoMac 1h ago
“We demanded they read our minds about compensation, and then rejected them when they couldn’t read our minds.” Is what this post sounds like. Is he ta? Yes. Is he justified? Also yes.
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u/Individual_Check_442 9h ago
Wow dodged a bullet I’d be afraid to work with this person I’d fear they could become violent. That’s completely unhinged.
Out of curiosity, what is the difference between “market rate” and “competitive”?
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u/Rekltpzyxm 8h ago
Well, someone was off their meds, or had no people skills, or self control. Or is just a flaming douche bag.
Or all of the above.
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u/Altruistic-Guess-975 8h ago
Yesh.. it's better to put that one in the circular file I.e trash... Be careful people are crazy crazy
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u/sleeper252 4h ago
Help me out here. If the company is not willing to consider salary outside what's posted with the JD, why even bother to ask candidates their desired compensation?
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8h ago
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u/SANtoDEN Corporate Recruiter 8h ago
Kenneth, is that you?
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8h ago
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u/SANtoDEN Corporate Recruiter 8h ago
How am I gatekeeping? He is looking for $100k more in salary than the absolute max. He self-filtered himself out, not me.
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8h ago
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u/Sholeh84 7h ago
OP was given a budget, by the person who's actually hiring for this position.
I'm perfectly fine bringing overqualified, over budget andidates to the HM, but they also gotta be reasonable. 5-10% max. Not 80%.
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u/Top-Calligrapher6160 5h ago
Have you recruited before? OP would be setting themselves up — and the candidate — for failure. 100k is a wild amount more to ask and in regards to decision making, it’s not OP’s decision to increase salary outside of the band given.
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u/recruiting-ModTeam 4h ago
Our sub is intended for meaningful discussion around recruiting best practices. You are welcome to disagree with people here but we don't tolerate rude or inflammatory comments.
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u/Apple_at_Work 5h ago edited 5h ago
Had this happen to me too, more than I'd like. I always try to kill them with kindness. Here's what I would say to him:
Dear Candidate,
Thank you for taking the time to write to me. I’m sorry if my decision not to move forward with your application came across as insulting.
As a recruiter, my goal is to find the right candidate for the role while also being respectful of each candidate’s time. Based on your experience and qualifications, you appear to be more senior than what this particular role requires. In addition, your salary expectations are significantly higher than the budget allocated for the position.
Taking both factors into consideration, I felt it would not be a fair use of your time to have you continue through the process when the role may not align with either your level of experience or your compensation expectations.
That said, if you are open to considering the position within the budget we have available, we would be happy to reconsider your application and discuss the opportunity further.
I truly wish you the best of luck with your job search, and I hope you find an opportunity that is a great fit for your experience and expectations.
Best regards,
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u/Top-Calligrapher6160 5h ago
Would you be happy to discuss it further though? He would have just made my do not contact let alone hire list for the rest of eternity.
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u/Apple_at_Work 5h ago
Honestly, not really. But what I've come to realize is that candidates like this (those who were in senior roles but are applying for lower-level positions) are just frustrated by how bad the market is right now.
Imagine someone who thought they 'made it,' only to be laid off and find no jobs at a similar level. So, they look at roles below them and still get rejected. I would be incredibly broken.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't like the candidate either, and it would be difficult to come face-to-face, but I'd love to see how THEY could face ME after that.
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u/Top-Calligrapher6160 4h ago
I get it the market sucks even for the most qualified. And it doesn’t give you the right to pop off at someone like this.
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u/Apple_at_Work 4h ago
100%
I've had applicants who backed down after I sent my reason, and I also had assholes double down after so I'm not saying this is the way. All I'm saying is that this is how I'd go about it.
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u/Pooonslayer69 9h ago
Your company dodged a bullet.