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Do you tell external candidates that an internal candidate is being considered for the position before they interview in person? I have received feedback from candidates asking me why I didn’t tell them this upfront. They share that they feel defeated and that the interview wastes time when they find out they weren’t chosen. What is best practice? In these cases, internal candidates are not guaranteed the position, and we intend to consider all candidates genuinely.

Recruiters and hiring managers shouldn’t have to explain to candidates that it’s unlikely they will actually get the job when they interview. It might be nice to explain “there are three finalists” or “we are interviewing 10 people in this first round, and then we’ll take the top three to the next round.” More information is always better. It allows people to decide whether the odds are worth their time.

But what if it’s not even? What if 90 percent of the time you hire the internal candidate? If that’s the case, it is a waste of time for the candidate and the recruiter, hiring manager and anyone who sits on the hiring panel. Why are you bringing in external candidates at this point?

If, on the other hand, you are just as likely to hire an external candidate as an internal candidate — and you say you intend to consider everyone equally — there is nothing wrong with keeping information about other candidates quiet.

After all, you don’t send out the resumes of all the candidates to the other candidates and say, “Here, judge for yourself if you think you are better than these people!” Can you imagine the disaster that would occur if you started doing that?

Let’s break down best practices and obligations.

Do you legally have to post jobs externally?

For private sector roles, you don’t have to post externally unless it’s part of your collective bargaining agreement or you are a federal contractor. Public sector jobs have different rules; depending on the situation, you may have to post some or all jobs publicly. But for a private business without federal contracts or a union, you can do as you please.

So if you have strong internal candidates, it makes little sense to post externally. Managers who “just want to see one more candidate” are wasting people’s time. If they are 90 percent sure they will hire the internal candidate, they should simply hire the internal candidate.

Should you disclose the composition of candidates?

As I said, presenting candidates with their competitors’ resumes would be utterly ridiculous. But if a candidate asks specifically if you are considering internal candidates, you should answer that question honestly.

“Yes, internal people have applied, but we consider all candidates equally,” can be the response. If the candidate opts out at that point, that’s okay. Remember, interviewing is like dating: Both parties get to decide if they are interested in moving forward. It doesn’t make a candidate a bad choice if they don’t want to compete against an internal candidate.

You can also flip it into a positive for the candidate: “We encourage internal promotions and support our current employees when they wish to apply for other positions. We consider external and internal candidates equally when hiring, but if you join our company, you won’t have to worry about being held back from other opportunities. We hire and promote the best, regardless of where they come from.”

But regardless of whether you tell people about the internal/external makeup, you should give them the numbers and describe your process. Let them know:

• How many people you are interviewing
• How many of those will advance to the next round
• How many rounds of interviews there will be
• The projected timeline

Many people won’t take a day off work to come in for an interview if they are one of 10. They may make time for a 30-minute video interview. If there are three people at this stage, and this is the final round, well, that just may be something they are willing to do.

Letting candidates know where they stand in the process is far more valuable information than whether the other candidates are internal or external. Candidates will be disappointed if they don’t get a job offer, regardless of who got it.

But a caution: I know you consider all candidates equally, but not all businesses do. If you are interviewing external candidates because you have a policy to do so but have already decided to hire the internal candidate, you are behaving unethically. Stop it.

Have a dilemma for the Evil HR Lady? Send questions to evilhrlady@gmail.com.

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