As a standard practice, I always suggest to hiring managers the need to conduct the selection and hiring process with a purposeful goal of bringing not only the preferred candidate and finalist – but two — through the entire selection process. This is common sense, yet this advice is often dismissed as soon as they can identify a particular candidate to their liking, at which point the others are soon forgotten. Then, as can happen, something goes wrong at the end of the hiring process or possibly even sooner after starting a new job.
Bringing two finalists to the conclusion of the hiring process and job offer stage should be a standard operating procedure, whenever possible. Failing to do so, in my opinion, is short sighted and a dereliction of a manager’s responsibility – especially when fall-offs and turn-downs have increased in some market sectors, wherever there is high demand for qualified professionals. Instead, some managers seem to think there is an endless candidate pool or a magician’s hat in HR, where you can always magically find more resumes. But sadly, unless you are willing to extend your reach and relocate the people you need, there is a finite supply of the kinds of people you want and need to employ. Human resource professionals, recruiters and some managers understand this because the reality is that while indeed there are lots of resumes and people looking for a job, there may only be a handful of the candidates who are A) Qualified and B) Interested in your job and/or organization, which narrows your choices.
What I suggest is not difficult; just continue to advance both the first and second choice candidates through the entire process and to the final stage, all along informing them that only one will receive the offer. By the way, competition is good and nobody should be led to believe they are the only person under consideration for a job; it creates other problems, among them a sense of entitlement.
At the offer stage, the second choice candidate will be told, “…we liked you, but… the other candidate was chosen”. Though, don’t completely discard the number two finisher just yet, because you’re not done until the first choice candidate not only starts but completes the 3-month probation period.
Whenever I have to deliver this kind of news to the person who didn’t get the job, I’m simply honest with them and suggest that while indeed the process is over, sometimes things happen. I suggest that however unlikely, for one reason or another, if a circumstance presents itself, may I re-contact them and would they be willing to reconsider the situation? Depending on the mood I further remind them that, up to this point, they were interested and well-regarded by the company, which unfortunately chose the other. Most often this is reasonable for them and they respond that it depends on their situation but they are open to the possibility. Sometimes this is all it takes for a potential insurance policy of sorts, a fall-back position should it become necessary. More often than you may think I’ve had to make that call and say, “Hi, remember me? Well, guess what happened…?”
There is something else to consider when things fall apart and you don’t plan for a back-up candidate. I don’t care how great a company or job it is, anytime a position remains open for a lengthy amount of time, there grows a perception there is a problem with the position, the management or the company. That mere perception can make it harder to find new candidates who might be justifiably cautious, because when a hiring process is perhaps poorly managed, the perception is valid.