Cal Evans has posted the next in his series offering advice to companies (and recruiters) out there looking to hire good, qualified and technically competent candidates. In this new post he suggests that these organizations learn something from when they get a "no" from the candidate.

Most companies have some variation of [the same] process for interviewing developers. [...] Between each bullet point is a decision point on the part of both your company and the candidate whether to move to the next step. Don’t assume that just because you have a job, the candidate will be willing to move forward at each step. Some candidates will excuse themselves from the process for a variety of reasons.

He suggests that it's important to learn from the "no" and change things up accordingly. If you can find out the "why" behind the "no", you can make a change for the better. He reminds companies that "no" could also mean "not right now" or "not without extra information I don't have".

Set aside some time in your schedule soon after the break, but not immediately after – to contemplate why [the candidate said no]. Yes, this is largely navel gazing but it is important navel gazing. Did they see something in your team that you can correct? Is there a problem you can work on? Not every NO will be something you can fix, or even your fault, but make sure you spend a little time thinking about it.