Hiring from your past applicants: runners-up, near misses and the rules on keeping their data

Before you advertise a new role, look at the people who nearly got your last one: finalists you’d have been glad to hire, and near misses for whom only one thing was missing. Contact them only if you told them you might, and only while you’re still entitled to keep their details. Then judge them against the new job’s requirements, exactly as you would a new applicant. It’s the cheapest source of candidates most small employers have, and the one they use least.

Why start here

People who applied before have already shown interest in working for you, and you already know something about their work. Large employers have noticed. In its October 2026 workforce report, the recruiting software company iCIMS recommended revisiting candidates already known to an employer, and Danny Rojas, its senior principal of product and market insights, put it plainly: “Start with the talent you already know… starting every search from scratch only makes it harder.” That advice comes from a company that sells tools for doing it, and its data describes large retailers, so take it as a sensible practice rather than a finding about small teams.

The case for small teams is simpler. You paid in time to read those applications and interview those finalists. A runner-up you’d have hired six months ago may be exactly who you need now.

Who to go back to

Group	Who they are	How strong a lead
Runners-up	Finalists you’d have hired if the winner had said no	Strongest
Near misses	Met every must-have, just below your shortlist line	Strong, for the same role
Applicants for a different role	Applied for one job, but their evidence fits the new one	Worth checking
People missing one thing	Missed a must-have that has since changed, or that they may have since gained	Worth asking

Go back to the written record, not your memory. If you wrote one line per decision when you shortlisted, this takes minutes.

First, check you may contact them

Applicant data is personal information. Before you reach out, check two things.

What did you tell them when they applied? If your application form or privacy notice said their details would be used for this job only, using them for a different job is a new purpose. Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, describing the principles of the federal privacy law PIPEDA, says to use personal information “only for the identified purposes for which it was collected” and to “obtain fresh consent if you intend to use or disclose personal information for a new purpose”. Which privacy law covers applicant data depends on your province or state and the kind of organisation you are, but that principle is a sound standard wherever you hire.

Are you still entitled to keep their details? The same principles say to keep personal information “only as long as it is needed to serve those purposes” and to set retention periods. Some rules set a minimum instead: the EEOC’s regulations require U.S. employers covered by them to keep employment records for one year. Our applicant tracking spreadsheet guide covers retention periods in more detail.

The simplest fix is to ask. On your application form:

☐ You may keep my application for up to 12 months and contact me about other roles I might suit.

And when you tell a strong finalist they didn’t get the job, ask again: “We’d like to keep your details and get in touch if a similar role opens in the next year. Is that all right?” Whatever they say, you now have a clear answer on record.

How you said no decides whether they come back

A runner-up who was left waiting for weeks, or told nothing, is unlikely to welcome your call. Across 86 samples, Hausknecht, Day and Thomas (2004) found that applicants who held positive perceptions of a selection process were more likely to view the organisation favourably and reported stronger intentions to accept job offers and to recommend the employer. A later review by McCarthy and colleagues (2017) concluded there is “solid evidence that applicant reactions have significant and meaningful effects on attitudes, intentions, and behaviors”.

So the time to start hiring your next runner-up is when you turn them down: promptly, personally, and with a reason tied to the job. Our article on candidate ghosting has a communication plan.

Judge them against the new job, not the old one

A past applicant’s earlier assessment was against a different set of requirements, at a different time. Two rules keep this fair:

1. Re-screen against the new job’s requirements. A strong runner-up for a Senior Accountant role may not have what a Payroll Manager role needs, and someone who missed the first job by one requirement may meet every one for the second.
2. No shortcuts, either way. Past applicants should meet the same must-haves as new ones, and shouldn’t be marked down for having been turned down before. If you advertise the role as well, read both groups against the same list.

Ask what’s changed since they applied. Six months is long enough for a new designation, a new job or a move.

A message you can send

Subject: A new role at Larkspur Partners

Hi [name],

You applied for our Senior Accountant role in [month], and we were impressed by [one specific thing]. We’ve just opened a [new role] position, which involves [one-line summary]. Based on your application, we think it may suit you.

If you’re interested, reply to this email and we’ll send the details. If your circumstances have changed, no need to reply, and we’ll remove your details from our records on [date].

[Your name]

Make it personal and specific. A template that obviously went to fifty people reads as a mailing list.

A worked example

Larkspur Partners, the fictional accounting practice used throughout our guides, finished its Senior Accountant search in the spring. Six months later, with the new senior accountant settled in, it opens a Staff Accountant role.

The figures are invented for illustration. From the spring search, the partner has one runner-up, who has since taken another job, and four near misses who met both must-haves but fell just below the shortlist line. All five ticked the box agreeing to be contacted about other roles for 12 months. The partner reads their applications against the Staff Accountant must-haves, finds three who meet them, and emails each one. Two reply, and both are interviewed alongside applicants from the new posting, against the same questions.

Keep a short list, not a database

You don’t need software for this. A short list kept with your hiring records is enough: name, the role they applied for, the date, the evidence that made them strong, the date they agreed to be contacted, and the date their details should be deleted. Check it before every new search, and delete each entry when its date passes.

Where SortTheStack fits

On the Practice and Group plans, SortTheStack can match your account’s past applicants from other jobs against a new job. You choose which ones to bring in, and each is read against the new job’s requirements, like a new application, with the evidence quoted. Imported applicants count toward your plan’s resume allowance in the same way as an upload. Whether you may contact someone is still your decision, based on what you told them when they applied. See how the screening works.

Sources

• Hausknecht, J. P., Day, D. V., & Thomas, S. C. (2004). Applicant reactions to selection procedures: An updated model and meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 57(3), 639–683. doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2004.00003.x
• iCIMS (2026, October 8). ICIMS Insights: Holiday hiring cooldown pressures retailers to move qualified candidates faster with AI and candidate re-engagement. Press release. Accessed 26 October 2026.
• McCarthy, J. M., Bauer, T. N., Truxillo, D. M., Anderson, N. R., Costa, A. C., & Ahmed, S. M. (2017). Applicant perspectives during selection: A review addressing “So what?,” “What’s new?,” and “Where to next?” Journal of Management, 43(6), 1693–1725. doi.org/10.1177/0149206316681846
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, PIPEDA fair information principle 5: Limiting use, disclosure, and retention. Accessed 26 October 2026.
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Recordkeeping requirements. Accessed 26 October 2026.