how to respond to a volatile rejected job applicant

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Career Catalyst

A reader writes:

I have a question regarding job applicants who, after being interviewed and rejected more than once, apply over and over again.

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I have one applicant who has been interviewed twice, rejected twice, and keeps sending new applications. The first time she was interviewed was two years ago by our recruitment coordinator, and a second time by me a few months ago. This applicant seems emotionally unstable, and the position I am hiring for is home care for vulnerable adults. When I rejected her a few months ago, I sent her a standard form rejection email. Afterwards she left me multiple voicemails asking why I rejected her. In some of the voicemails she was shouting, and in some she was crying.

I do not want to interview or speak to this person again, but I want to let her know that we will not be considering her application. Normally I send out a form letter, but I feel that’s a bit cold in this case. How can I politely let this applicant know we will not be interviewing her again?

I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You

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