Not all applicants pass the screening process. An applicant will be rejected if they have not demonstrated that they will be a safe, consistent, collaborative and/or a mission-aligned mentor. Rejections also occur if an applicant does not pass the background check. An applicant can raise concerns during any stage of our program, most often in screening and other times at orientation. 

Steps to rejecting a mentor:

1. Create a flag for the applicant.
2. Discuss the flag during a screening team meeting or with your direct supervisor.
3. If the ultimate decision is to reject the applicant, the owning screener will write a low-inference "rejection" blurb and send to the Associate Director of Mentor Screening for approval. The blurb should be around 2-4 sentences, outlining the reason why screening does not deem them a good fit, including brief, low inference examples. 
4. When the blurb is approved, the screener will ensure the flag is resolved, paste the rejection blurb in the 'Match Logistics' field in Salesforce and change the applicant's status to 'Rejected' in Salesforce.
5. The Associate Director of Mentor Screening will inform the regional Mentor Engagement team.
6. The Associate Director of Mentor Screening will generate a formal rejection letter that is mailed to the applicant's home address on record. An electronic copy is saved in Box. (**All screeners must confirm applicant mailing address in their interview or collect one if not given. This is where a rejection letter will be sent.)
7. For NYC applicants who withdraw or are rejected, they need to be marked as INACTIVE in PETS. For those screeners without access to PETS, please Chatter the Screening Manager for NYC.

VIP Mentor Rejections: 

On occasion, an applicant considered for rejection may be marked as a VIP by the regional Mentor Engagement team, or come from a key corporate partner. In such cases, rejecting the applicant may have an impact on the relationship built at that company. When this situation arises, follow these steps:  

1. The screener who owns the application will follow flagging procedures as normal, clearly articulating the rejection recommendation.

2. Once a rejection decision is confirmed, the AD of Screening will communicate the flag and impending rejection to the regional Director of Mentor Engagement. This is done via Chatter, including the flag and proposed steps forward. 

3. The Director of Mentor Engagement will communicate the rejection to the recruiter managing the relationship. Together, both team will develop a damage control strategy if needed. 

Responding to a Rejected Mentor

On occasion, a rejected applicant will reach out to their assigned screener, for a status follow up (perhaps they didn't get the letter) or for an explanation of rejection. In such cases, please forward the message to the Associate Director of Mentor Screening. The AD will respond with a version of the following email template:

Dear XXX,

My colleague XXX forwarded your e-mail to me regarding your request for an update about your applicant status. We sent a letter to your address on file on MONTH DATE YEAR. I apologize if you did not receive the letter. I am attaching a PDF here for your records.

Unfortunately, we are not able to fulfill your interest in volunteering with iMentor at this time. In order to protect the rigor and integrity of our screening process, we are unable to provide any specific details about our decision. We can share that in addition to screening our mentors for safety, given that we work with youth, our process includes assessing a potential mentor’s fit with our program as well as the ability to commit and adhere to the iMentor program model.

I thank you very much for your commitment and interest and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

NAME