Hey Brooke,

I’ve been dealing with this unique conundrum at work. I play a special role where I assist referrals (for employment) that come from our senior leadership. Many times these referrals are not qualified to work at our company. There are all sorts of competing priorities with these referrals.

1) The executive wants this candidate to have a good experience in their application
2) I have the idea that even though a candidate may not be qualified for many (if any) of the available positions, I can still help them in some way (like give them coaching on their resume, interviewing, and networking) and that if they were to take massive action, they could accomplish whatever they set their mind to.
3) Sometimes I think that it would be better for the candidate to know the truth that there is no way they are going to make it into the company (this conflicts with point two)
4) I feel limited and helpless sometimes because I think of all the things I can’t control – like how many openings we have, like whether a hiring manager will want to interview someone with not the ideal experience, like how little time I have each day to assist the many candidates.

I can’t decide whether I should have faith in my candidates or just tell them the truth that they will not likely get any position. Underneath all of this is the hardship I have with telling people “no” – both candidates and executives. I think there is some definite benefit to telling the candidate the truth so that they can move on to other companies to have a greater chance.

Would love your thoughts on this.

Best,
-Tyson