1. Scope

This standard establishes minimum requirements for informing every person who has completed a formal application or otherwise submitted a documented expression of interest for an employment opportunity. It applies irrespective of recruitment stage, application volume, or the technology systems employed by the organization.

The standard applies to all the following:

• Employers of any size or sector;
• Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) providers operating on behalf of an employer;
• Staffing agencies and contingent workforce suppliers; and
• Third-party placement and executive search organizations.

Minimum Acceptable Practice. A brief, unambiguous statement issued after review of a submitted application constitutes the minimum threshold for compliance with this standard. An example of an acceptable minimum-threshold response is: "Thank you for your interest in our Senior Accounting position. After careful review of your application, we are moving forward with other candidates." While this satisfies the very baseline required, organizations are strongly encouraged to enhance their communications as described in Sections 4 & 5.

Non-Compliant Practices. Providing no response or communicating only that "We will contact you if we are interested" does not constitute closure and is expressly non-compliant with this standard.

In addition, multiple surveys show that immediate & automated rejections issued at the moment of an applicant's submission of interest are also non-compliant with this standard and foster a strong negative response from applicants.

2. Rationale

Applicant closure has emerged as a core element of a responsible recruitment model. The treatment of applicants reflects directly on an organization's values, its employer brand, and its obligations to the labor market. The following considerations underpin this standard.

2.1 Historical Context

Prior to the widespread adoption of internet-based recruitment circa 2000, the absence of applicant closure carried limited commercial consequence. The lack of a structured closure was treated as an operational inconvenience rather than a material risk. The scale and speed of digital applications transformed this dynamic: rejection or non-response, previously limited in reach, has become a widespread and measurable driver of negative employer perception.

2.2 Evidentiary Basis

Beginning in 2010 and to this day, several organizations have offered systematic measurement of the job seeker experience. The Talent Board's ongoing Candidate Experience (CandE) research program, for example, identified candidate closure as among the most influential variables affecting applicant attitudes and subsequent outcomes.

Research demonstrates that applicants who receive clear, timely closure are two to three times more likely to reapply for future roles and to recommend the organization to peers.^1,2 Conversely, the absence of closure is consistently linked to reduced offer acceptance rates, social media reputational risk, and erosion of consumer brand sentiment.^3,4

Timely communication rejecting candidates has also been shown to significantly improve Candidate Net Promoter Scores (cNPS), a metric increasingly adopted to evaluate recruitment function performance.

2.3 Legislative Development

As of January 1, 2026, Ontario, Canada became the first known jurisdiction to legislate a candidate closure obligation. Under the Working for Workers Five Act, 2024, enhancing the Employment Standards Act, 2000, employers are required to provide written or electronic notice of a hiring decision within 45 days of a final interview.⁵

This legislation, informally known as "anti-ghosting" legislation, applies to employers with 25 or more employees. Notably, it does not extend to applicants who were not interviewed. This Canadian standard establishes a narrow obligation and lacks consequences to employers who do not comply.

3. Terms and Definitions

For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply.

4. Requirements

Organizations covered by this standard shall satisfy the following requirements in order to publicly claim conformance with this standard.

4.1 Notification Obligation

Employers shall issue closure notification to one hundred percent (100%) of applicants who have expressed interest in any specific role, regardless of the stage at which that applicant exits the selection process. No exception is permitted on the basis of application volume, system constraints, or resource limitations.

4.2 Timing

Closure notifications shall be issued as promptly as practicable following a disposition decision and, in all cases, no later than the point at which any applicant proceeding to the next stage has been notified. Organizations are encouraged to establish internal service level agreements (SLAs) for closure communication and to communicate these expectations to applicants at the point of application.

The following timing principles shall apply:

• Closure for applicants eliminated prior to interview should be issued within a period proportionate to the stated timeline of the recruitment process;
• Closure for applicants who have completed one or more interviews should be issued within a period that respects the time and effort invested and, especially the expectations for that timing set by the employer;
• Where legislation establishes a specific timeframe (as in Ontario, Canada, where a 45-day post-interview requirement applies), that legislative minimum shall be observed as a floor, not a ceiling; and
• Automated immediate rejections at the moment an application is submitted are non-compliant.

4.3 Communication Method

Acceptable methods of closure communication include, but are not limited to:

• Mail (electronic and postal);
• Short message service (SMS) or text notification;
• Secure candidate portal message;
• Applicant tracking system (ATS) automated communication, provided it satisfies the content requirements of Section 4.4; and
• Voice communication, where preferred by the applicant or required as reasonable accommodation.

Organizations shall take reasonable steps to align communication methods with applicant preferences, as collected during the application process. Where accommodation is required for people with disabilities, the method of communication shall be adapted accordingly.

4.4 Content Requirements

Each closure communication shall include, at a minimum:

• A clear and unambiguous statement that the applicant will not be considered further for the specified role;
• An expression of appreciation for the applicant's interest and time;
• Explicit identification of the specific role to which the closure applies;
• Disclosure of any externally acquired information that informed the decision, including but not limited to the use of artificial intelligence screening tools, publicly sourced data, background verification services, or third-party assessments; and
• (Where applicable) A statement consistent with local data privacy requirements regarding the organization's retention and use of applicant data, and the applicant's right to request its deletion.

The following elements are optional but encouraged as a path to best practices:

• Guidance on future opportunities, additional resources for job hunting, or next steps the applicant may take.

4.5 Prohibited Practices

The following practices are expressly non-compliant with this standard and shall not be employed:

• Failure to respond to any candidate ("ghosting");
• Use of language that implies continued consideration in the absence of a specific future action, such as "We will keep your resume on file" without a defined follow-up commitment;
• Issuing closure only to interviewed applicants while omitting pre-interview applicants; and
• Justifying the absence of closure because of application volume, system limitations, or resourcing constraints.

4.6 Conformance and Recordkeeping

An employer publicly claiming conformance with this standard should maintain documentary evidence sufficient to demonstrate that all applicants on a closed requisition have received closure communication. At minimum, the organization's system of record should be capable of producing the following data points upon audit or investigation:

• Submission timestamp for each application, linked to a specific requisition identifier;
• Evaluation timestamp for any automated screening, assessment, or AI-based review conducted;
• Timestamp of any human-in-the-loop review of the candidate record;
• Timestamp of final disposition decision; and
• Date, method, and content of the closure communication issued to the candidate.

From a legal and regulatory compliance perspective, employer records should include a documented, objective reason for non-advancement.

5. Illustrative Examples

The following examples are provided for illustrative purposes only. They represent compliant minimum-threshold communications and should be adapted to reflect the organization's voice and circumstances. These examples are informative, not normative.

Normative References

The following documents and sources are referenced in or inform this standard. Dated references apply to the edition cited. Where a reference is undated, the most recent edition applies.

• ISO 30405:2016 — Human Resource Management: Guidelines on Recruitment. International Organization for Standardization.
• ISO 26000:2010 — Guidance on Social Responsibility. International Organization for Standardization.
• Grossman, K. & Schoolderman, A. (2022) — Candidate Experience. SHRM Press.
• Talent Board — North American Candidate Experience (CandE) Awards Research (annual). www.thetalentboard.org
• LinkedIn Talent Solutions — Global Candidate Experience Reports (annual). LinkedIn Corporation.
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) — Candidate Experience Research. www.shrm.org
• Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 — Ontario, Canada. Amending the Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/00e41
• Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) — Recordkeeping and Disposition Requirements. U.S. Department of Labor. www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp

The CXR Foundation is a 501(c) non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the Talent Acquisition industry and advance the profession of Recruiting. Active participation in the CXR Foundation includes members of CXR and non-members interested in our mission. https://community.cxr.works/cxrfoundation/home

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