How To Reject An Interview

How To Write The Rejection Letter

The first consideration when you reject a job candidate is that you are not rejecting the candidate as an individual human. So, you want to term the rejection in a more positive light. Don’t use the word rejected.

Say instead, “The selection team has decided that they will not pursue your candidacy further. We will retain your application and consider it when additional openings come up.” Additional cautions include these.

• You may reject applicants using an email up until they have come into your company for a job interview. After an interview, you must call the applicant. Never reject the candidate by email, text message, or voicemail. You owe the candidate the courtesy of a call even if you follow up the call with a rejection letter.

• Make sure the applicant cannot misconstrue the words you use or find evidence of unlawful discrimination. For example, you may be tempted to tell the applicant that you have decided that you have candidates who are more qualified for the job. The candidate could well ask you to detail the differences. Why go there?

• Take care that you are careful about any criticisms or advice that you offer even when the applicant requests feedback. This can bite you in the form of an argument or make you vulnerable to a lawsuit.

How To Turn Down An Interview

There could come a time when you are given a chance to interview for a position or company that just isn’t a good fit. If you’re uninterested in a position that you’ve been offered to interview for, you will need to politely and promptly decline the invitation.

In this article, we list reasons for turning down an interview, give steps and tips on how to do so professionally and provide a few templates to use when contacting an employer to turn down an interview.

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You Know Someone Who Worked At The Company And Had A Bad Experience

It’s a good idea to research company ratings on websites like Glassdoor. However, an anonymous platform allows much room for misinformation, misunderstanding, and exaggeration. So, do look up your prospective employer but take what you find with a grain of salt.

If, however, you personally know someone who has worked at the company you are considering and hated it, that may be a good enough reason to pass on the interview. Different departments and bosses can certainly improve someone’s experience or make it miserable, but there’s no getting away from a problematic corporate culture or a dysfunctional business model.

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Keep The Relationship Alive

When declining a job interview, your goal is to say no while keeping the relationship between the both of you alive.

This ensures youre keeping the door open for later, just in case your current opportunity falls through or you unexpectedly lose your job. It happens to everyone, so you want to prepare for that.

You dont need to exactly state why youre declining the interview. Rather, you can be general about why you need to move on. Trust me, the employer will understand.

With that said, you want to keep this relationship between you and the company alive. My favorite tip to do this is to offer to take the hiring point person, or a team member, out for coffee or a drink to pick their brain and get to know them more.

They usually wont take you up on the offer because theyre so busy, but the fact that you offered is something that will stick with them. This ensures you stick in their mind with a positive memory.

Even if they dont remember you when you can email them back months or years from that point, you can remind them of your previous correspondence and theyll remember you or see your name in their inbox. That you had positive interaction with them before is important social proof.

Deborah Woolridge, MSED SPHR SHRM-SCP

Certified HR Professional

Tips To Politely Decline An Interview

Writing a good email to cancel an interview isnt a mammoth task, but its also easy to go wrong if you dont know how to politely decline an interview. Here are some tips that will help you to write a request email cancelling a scheduled interview:

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For Employers Who Want To Reschedule Interviews

Subject: Change in Schedule of InterviewDear ,Thank you for your interest in the position of at our company. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to cancel the interview that was scheduled for you on at due to . We would like to reschedule your interview for any of the following slots: Kindly confirm your availability with an acknowledgement to this email. In case the above dates are not suitable, please let us know your preferred date and time.I apologize for the inconvenience, and look forward to your interview again.Thank you.

Five Situations When Job Rejection Comes From The Job Seeker

You should never accept a job purely because its a job. It has to be right for you personally, professionally and financially.

If youve been offered a role and any of these things apply, youll need to be ready to dish out a slice of cold, stale rejection pie.

• The job wasnt what you thought
• You couldnt agree on terms
• You were put off during the interview
• Youre not ready to make the life changes required
• You were offered a better deal elsewhere

The next step is to work out how to do it.

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It Might Not Be Your Fault

The truth that nobody ever tells you is:

Each recruiter and hiring manager is looking for different qualities in an interview and its impossible to know beforehand what theyre targeting.

Companies all have unique preferences that they arent going to disclose to a candidate.

As a recruiter, I had some hiring managers tell me they wanted someone with a lot of experience. Others told me they want someone with less experience so they can pay them less.

You also dont know who else youre up against in the interview process.

Maybe you were amazing but two other applicants were also great, and the employer had to make a tough decision after days of debating.

Thats a common type of job rejection that happens.

Yet if you dont realize that this is what happened, you could take the rejection as a sign youre doing things poorly in your interview and need to change everything.

Here are more examples of reasons you may have been rejected:

While working as a recruiter, Ive had companies say, We want to hire a woman next because we have too many men on the team right now.

Ive had a hiring manager tell me that he thought one of the applicants would want his job in the future, so he didnt feel comfortable hiring them.

Theres a significant amount of luck in the interview process .

So keep this in mind and dont overreact to any one rejection from a company after your interview.

When To Reject A Job Applicant

Applicants for any job spend considerable time updating their resumes and writing cover letters when approaching you about your job opening. However they applied, they deserve the consideration of a reply from you. You need to acknowledge that you have received their application materials. This process is easily automated in this online application world.

They also need to understand the next steps in your hiring process. An email to explain next steps should include who will be contacting them next to step up an interview or letting them know that they will not be moving forward in the hiring process.

The candidates deserve to know where they stand in your process even if you ultimately reject their candidacy.

Your rejection process starts with your first meeting with your job applicants. Whether this is on the phone screen or at the first interview, one of the goals of the meeting is to explain your selection process to each candidate. Important tip here is to reassure them that you employee the upmost confidentiality policy during the hiring process.

When employers provide this information, applicants feel less in the dark and more positive about your recruitment process. In this conversation, you should also let the applicant know the points at which you will communicate with them about the status of their application.

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Thank The Employer For Their Time

Evaluating a job application and calling someone in for an interview isnt a major burdenits the job of a recruiter or a hiring managerand it does still take time. A hiring manager may have spent a few minutes reading over your application, but they will have had to compare you to other candidates, and then schedule an interview with you.

Even if you dont want the position for which you would be interviewing, you should start by thanking the employer for their time. Be gracious and considerate of the fact that they have taken time out of their workday to evaluate your application.

This is especially important if you dont think that the job is a good fit, but the company may be a good place to work. You dont want to come off as seeming ungrateful for the opportunity, as it may affect your prospects with the company in the future.

The Legal Implications Of Giving Too Much Feedback

An attorney warned us not to use this approach to informing the job candidate of his fate. If a rejected candidate sued the employer for discrimination, this simple statement opened the employer up to the possibility that the lawyers could request a copy of the application materials of every candidate who was considered.

Part of a resulting trial might be the consideration of whether the other applicants were more qualified. Consequently, I dont recommend that employers give a reason for the rejection anymore.

If the rejected candidate asks you for feedback, consider pointing out several of the strengths your hiring team noted during the interview process.

After making the phone call, follow up with a version of these, or similar, job rejection letters.

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Why Would You Decline An Interview

There are many reasons you need to decline an interview for a job, perhaps related to the job itself or for any number of personal or professional reasons. It is a good idea to make a courteous excite whenever possible, regardless of the reason. Some possible reasons to decline an interview could be:

• You’ve already accepted a job elsewhere.

• There is a potential conflict with your current employer.

• After a round of interviews, you determine that the position isn’t a good fit.

• You have insider knowledge about the company culture and realize it isn’t a good fit

• You did more research on the position or company and recognize that your goals aren’t in alignment with the company mission.

• You decided against relocation or other personal adjustments that the position would require.

• Your schedule changed and the hours no longer work for you or your family.

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Mention The Interview Details

When you call or email, be sure to mention the date, time and location of the interview. Include the position you planned to interview for as well. Hiring managers may work with many candidates for different positions simultaneously, so you should make it as easy as possible for them to identify you quickly. Including the details can help them find your interview slot on the calendar and plan their time accordingly.

Related:

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How To Cancel An Interview

• Before canceling an interview, be certain and ask if you cant simply reschedule.

• Be polite and prompt, responding within 24 hours so the recruiter can plan accordingly.

• Ask if they have any questions or require any additional information. Refer another candidate if appropriate.

During the hiring process, you may encounter an event that requires you to cancel an interview. Calling or emailing a cancellation notice allows you to maintain a professional connection with the company and interviewer. Learning the steps for canceling can serve as a guide for being polite and following basic business etiquette. In this article, we discuss how to cancel an interview and provide a template and example for canceling an interview via email.

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Resist The Temptation To Ignore The Interview Invitation

This may be your first reaction, and there is NO question that far too many employers ignore job applicants, quite rudely! So ignoring them feels like an appropriate response.

However, for many reasons, including maintaining your reputation as a professional, politely turning down a job interview to keep the door open without burning bridges is a very good idea.

The good news is that being professional may pay very big dividends in the future with this employer or these people because you have left a good impression even though you turned down this opportunity.

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You Couldnt Answer A Big Question

Interviews are designed to test you, and interviewers will typically have one killer question that is set up to make or break the candidate. Fail to answer it and job rejection looms large.

Often, there’s no right or wrong answer but the interviewer will want to see that youve done your research and know enough about the role or industry to be considered.

So, the key is to prepare.

Research the company as much as possible online before the interview find out everything there is to know. Study the job description thoroughly so you know exactly what the role entails, and make sure youre ready to backup everything youve said on your resume.

If youve done your homework, answered all the questions as best you could, avoided some big interview no-no’s, and put forward some good questionsof your own and the interview still doesnt go well, its probably them and not you.

And, hey at least with a bad interview you know what the outcome is going to be!

The interview went well, so why was I rejected? Perhaps we should reframe this question. It is your opinion that the interview went well. It may not have been the opinion of the interviewer , or alternatively it may have gone well from their point of view, but there was simply a better candidate. The key fact about job rejection is that it is almost always final, so make an appropriate response your first priority.

The Company Culture Isnt A Fit

Its likely you did some research before starting the interview process with a company, but additional interviews sometimes reveal a company culture isnt one youd be happy with. If youre confident it isnt a fit, you should decline the interview. This one can be a bit trickier, so be delicate.

I really appreciate the opportunity, but I dont think the company culture is a fit for me. Im looking for a workplace that and it seems like COMPANY is more (the opposite, so I dont want to waste your time by continuing in the interview process. Thank you again for the opportunity!

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You Know Someone Who Worked At The Company Had A Bad Experience

No company is perfect. It’s possible that your friends bad experience isn’t the company’s fault.

Like the scenario above, you should talk to your source to verify the whole story. Ask how long ago it happened too. Who knows, things may have changed since then, or better yet, you wont even be in the same department where they worked.

If thats not the case, like if you would be working in the same team or you know from online reviews that its not an isolated case, you can politely decline the job interview. Just say that youre pursuing another opportunity.

How To Decline A Job Offer

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Have you decided to decline a job offer, but arent quite sure how to do it?

Maybe you have heard the analogy about catching a bus in London. You wait a long time and no busses come. But then suddenly a few busses arrive at the same time.

That might exactly be your experience with job offers and you need to turn down at least one. Or perhaps, the job offer just isnt a good fit for you.

In a few years, maybe an opportunity will open up at this company that lines up perfectly with your career goals and what you enjoy.

To prepare for that possibility, you will definitely want to reject all job offers by being polite and professional.

The best way to turn down a job offer is:

• Show appreciation for the opportunity.
• Say something positive about the opportunity.
• Clearly decline the job.

If you would like a sample to customize quickly, copy and paste the template below:

Dear ,

Thank you very much for offering me the opportunity to work with you at as a . It was really great to meet you and to learn more about this role.

The role is one that is very exciting, but sadly I will have to decline your offer. Unfortunately, the position does not appear to line up with my career goals.

Best wishes,

Lets dive in to all the information you need to politely turn down a job offer.

Always try to decline a job offer by phone call.

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