Job Applicants Make Decisions About Your Company Based On How You Treat Them While It May Be Easiest To End Communication With All Applicants Once Youve Made Your Selection Its Certainly Not The Wisest Choice Ending Contact After The Interview Translates To: We Dont Care About You And Who Wants To Work For A Company That Doesnt Care
Its hard enough being rejected, but receiving a standard form letter meant for the masses just adds insult to injury.
Starting with one of these rejection letter templates makes personalization easier. During the interview, take notes on all of your applicants. Write down successes or strengths that catch your attention. If you dont end up hiring them, at least youll have personalized content to include in this part of the process.
What To Do If You Dont Hear From An Employer
What is the best way to handle it, if you dont hear back from an interviewer? Its appropriate to follow up on the status of your application, especially if you are juggling multiple job applications or offers or need to make an immediate decision on another job offer.
Following up immediately after an interview with a thank-you email is a particularly effective strategy, since this allows you to remind the employer of your qualifications, answer any questions you feel were not fully addressed in the interview, and keep you top of mind as employers make their hiring decision.
It is also fine to contact the employer with a second email or phone call after two or three weeks, if you still have not heard from them.
Keep in mind that you may not receive a response. So, while you’re waiting, be sure to continue to proactively job hunt.
Don’t consider your job search complete until you’ve receivedand accepteda job offer.
Ask For Insights On Your Process
Just like theyre curious about what could have gone better, you should be too. Ask people that run through your process what they liked and didnt like. Ask them what felt awkward or if there was anything that you could have improved. By asking for insights, you show them that you value their experience, but you also get the opportunity to hear different perspectives on how you could improve your interview process.
Don’t Miss: How To Crack Amazon Data Scientist Interview
Tips For Writing A Job Rejection Email
Hiring managers can use these tips to write more empathetic rejection emails:
- Send them right away. As soon as you make your hiring decision, send out your rejection emails. This gives candidates the opportunity to focus their attention on other job prospects sooner.
- Proofread your writing. While this is a low-stakes email to send, you still are representing your company. Ensuring you’re using proper language and grammar shows candidates that you’re a professional organization.
- Consider other roles. If you find you really like a candidate during the interview but they aren’t right for your particular role, think about what other job openings your company might have. You may be able to offer them an interview for a different role that better aligns with their skills and experiences.
- Be responsive to candidates. In order to grow as professionals, some candidates might ask for additional feedback. Responding to such messages with constructive feedback can help a candidate develop their skill set and see your company favourably.
Related:Understanding The Steps Of The Interview Process
When Employers Notify Applicants
Employers dont always provide applicants with the courtesy of letting them know where they stand in the hiring process:
- Some employers let every candidate know the status of their application.
- Some companies notify applicants who havent been accepted for an interview, while others only contact candidates they wish to discuss the job with.
- Some employers dont even notify applicants who interview that they werent selected for a second interview or the job.
- Other companies may send rejection letters to applicants who are not selected for a position after the interview process is complete.
You may not receive a letter directly after your interview, if the organization notifies applicants.
Many employers wait until they have hired someone for the job before notifying the other candidates.
Thats because they may want to give the applicant pool another look if their leading candidate rejects their job offer.
You May Like: How To Perform Well In A Job Interview
How To Write A Rejection Letter After An Interview
-
Content Manager and Career Expert
Any hiring process can be an exciting and stressful time. Exciting because of the prospects of finding a candidate that will fit perfectly into your team and make it stronger, but also stressful because youll need to reject a number of unsuccessful candidates in the process. And dishing out the decline pie isnt fun at all!
While many employers dont bother informing unsuccessful candidates about their decision, its usually good practice to let them know you wont be taking their application any further. Not only will this put interviewees mind at rest , but it will also do good to your reputation.
Luckily, were here to help heres how to let them down gently in a professionally written rejection letter.
What Should I Include In A Rejection Email
A thorough rejection email should include the following elements:
- A thank you: Always thank an applicant for their interest in the company and any time they spent completing an application or interviewing with staff. In addition to being polite, this message also shows applicants your organization values others time.
- Personalization: Use the applicants first name and the title of the position. If possible, you may also include a note from the conversation or mention a specific positive attribute you appreciated.
- Feedback: Applicants often value input from employers theyve interviewed with because it provides insight into areas of improvement and may help them consider the next steps in their job search. For example, if you forgo a candidate in favour of someone with more experience, the applicant may choose to apply for positions better aligned with their career level.
- Invitation to apply again: If you feel a candidate is a good fit for the company in another capacity, let them know you would like for them to apply for other opportunities in the future. However, if you dont feel an applicant is a good culture or skill fit, theres no need to include this invitation in your message.
Recommended Reading: How To Prepare For A Manager Position Interview
Job Rejection Email Template
It’s helpful to create a template that you can use for all of your rejection emails. Here’s a template that you can customise:
Dear ,
We appreciate you applying for the position at . After meeting with several candidates, we have decided to move forward with another candidate for this position. We appreciate you taking the time to meet with us and learn more about our company. Our hiring team enjoyed learning more about your experiences, skills, and qualifications.
While we were impressed by your , we were looking for a candidate with . One thing that stood out during your interview was . In the future, we may enjoy learning more about these experiences.
As you continue looking for jobs, please consider the other roles in our hiring portal. If we ever find a position we feel you are suited for, we can reach out directly as we have your resume on file. We appreciate the time you took to meet with us and wish you the best of luck in your job search.
Sincerely,
Here is an example of a rejection email you can send after interviewing a candidate:
Subject line: Social media strategist at Social Corp
Dear Nathan,
We appreciate you applying for the social media strategist position at Social Corp. After meeting with several candidates, we have decided to move forward with another candidate for this position. We appreciate you taking the time to meet with us and learn more about our company. Our hiring team enjoyed learning more about your experiences, skills, and qualifications.
Invite Them To Stay In Touch
Just because a candidate doesnt seem like a good fit now, it doesnt mean theyre never going to be the right fit. For all you know, you might find yourself hiring the same candidate, three years down the line. So, make sure to cultivate a relationship with the candidate. Include links and invite them to follow your careers page and other social media channels, in your email.
If you can establish a continued relationship with them, then they are likely to refer friends and vouch for you. Some might even end up being your clients representatives and become involved in other business relationships with you.
Read Also: How To Prepare For Programming Interview
Sample Job Interview Thank You Notes
- Sample Thank You Note After a Rejection if they hire someone else for the job.
About the author
Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a recent Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Susan is a two-time layoff graduate who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. Since 1998, Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt.org. Follow Susan on Twitter at and on , .
Why You Might Benefit
Theyve already offered the job to someone else and probably gotten an acceptance. But that person may change their mind and never start the job. Or that person may take the job but prove to be unsatisfactory.
New hires fail more often than you think.
So, what does the employer do when they face this situation? They groan, roll their eyes, and take another look at the applicants who almost got the job. Why? Because they really dont want to start from scratch, post the job, review the resumes, schedule interviews, spend time in meetings discussing the job and the candidates, etc.
- If the new employee failed quickly or didnt start at all, they may reach back to the almost-hired list to see who is available.
- If the new employee stayed a while before they failed , a new job may be posted, but you might have an inside track IF they have a positive impression of you based on receiving this thank you when they hired the other person.
Sending this message can move you higher up on the list of the almost-hired a great place to be for the next job opening or if the new employee doesnt work out.
You May Like: How To Prepare For An Engineering Interview
Keep Learning And Developing
Your confidence can take a hit when you get a rejection, so it is important to work hard at keeping your morale and motivation levels buoyant.Especially if you are not in current employment, it is a good idea to keep your skills sharpened and your experience up-to-date. This may take the form of a part-time training course , a charity project, mentorship, or a voluntary position in a company of interest. While these activities might take place remotely in the current landscape, by keeping professionally active in this way, you can aid ongoing development, boost confidence, give yourself a focus outside your job hunt and provide a discussion point in your next interview.Now is the time to find your next interview with Michael Page and put all this into practice.
Give Feedback To The Candidate
Mention why the candidate was rejected and mention the ways the candidate can improve themselves. Note that rejecting a candidate on bases of age, gender, nationality, marital status, disability, or religion can be considered discriminatory. Thus, sometimes it is legally safer for the business to not state why the candidate was rejected.
For example:
For our position as lead writer, we require someone with at least a Masters degree in English
Recommended Reading: What Job Interview Questions To Ask
How To Turn Your Thank
It’s OK to acknowledge your disappointment in not getting the jobin fact, it’s probably best to be honest about that, lest your letter seem disingenuous. But keep your tone positive and upbeat: now is not the time to express anger or to rail against the hiring manager’s decision-making skills.
Be specific about the things you’re thanking them for: their time, yes, but also the information they provided, especially if you’re excited about it, and any special steps they took to make your interview worthwhile, including an office tour or a business lunch, for example.
Finally, offer an opportunity for follow-up by asking to be considered for future positions. Just because this particular position wasn’t a good fit for you today doesn’t mean there won’t be something even better available tomorrow. If you’re gracious in your thank-you letter, you could be first in line for that new role.
Optionally, you can also ask for feedback with questions like “Did you identify any key qualifications for this job which were missing in my background?” Just don’t be surprised if the hiring manager doesn’t respond or doesn’t provide an in-depth answer. There might not be a specific reason why another candidate was selected over you, and even if there was, the interviewer might not feel comfortable delivering criticism. If so, that’s their problem, not yours.
Rejecting Applicants: A Template For The Perfect Rejection Letter
You never knowone of your now-rejected candidates may be an excellent fit for one of your roles in the future!
Before the pandemic, every corporate job attracted about 250 applicants. Of those, anywhere between four and six would make it to the final interview, and only one would get the job. In a post-pandemic world, there are over 12.6 million unemployed people in the United States alone. That means the number of applicants is even higher. So are the rejections that go with them.
When youre rejecting so many candidates every day, it starts to get challenging to remain human. You get desensitized and may even forget that the people you are dealing with on the other end are just that: people. Now, more than ever, its essential to be kind. Check yourself before you respond to any applicant, no matter what their stage. Heres a checklist you can use to go through your responses and craft templates that work the best for your company and help your candidates still feel valued, even in rejection.
Recommended Reading: How To Watch Oprah Meghan Markle Interview
Why Is It Worth Writing A Rejection Letter
Rejected applicants should still have a good opinion of your business
Even if a candidate doesnt meet your requirements, its important to treat them with respect so that they dont spread negative comments about your company. In a similar vein of thought to customer service interactions, a bad experience is far more likely to be shared than a good one.
It can save you time
Candidates who have invested time in a job vacancy will often reach out to employers who they have not heard back from. A simple interview rejection letter can save valuable time by letting candidates know where they stand.
Candidates may still be of use in the future
Often when an applicant isnt suitable for a current position, they could be suitable for another role presently or in the future. This is particularly important in specialist fields, as these types of industries are small worlds where you will likely interact with the same person again.
Rejection letters are easy to write
A simple response can be written and posted within minutes, candidates are usually satisfied with one simple, constructive piece of feedback which the can take into the future. Here is a sample interview rejection letter written by Aaron Wallis Sales Recruitment:
View the full job rejection letter sample in your browser here.
Application Rejection Email Template:
Hello ,
Thank you for expressing interest in and the position you applied for. While we were impressed with your qualifications, unfortunately, weve decided to move forward with other applicants whose skills and experience better meet our needs at this time.
We sincerely appreciate your interest in and hope that youll stay in touch. Please dont hesitate to reach out if we have another open role that interests you.
To stay up to date on current job openings and ensure youre included in our search for future great candidates, we encourage you to join our talent community and connect with us here: < Link to Talent
Pipeline Nurture Page> .
< Sender Name>
Here are some tips for writing a rejection email following a resume submission or application:
- Do not send the email out immediately after youve decided to reject the candidate. It would help if you let enough time pass for the candidate to know you thoroughly reviewed their application.
- Let the candidate know that they should feel free to apply for other positions they may find at your company.
- Give the candidate a choice to opt into your candidate relationship management program to receive notifications about new, relevant job openings.
Don’t Miss: What Are Questions They Ask In An Interview
The Importance Of Learning How To Respond To A Job Rejection Email
Receiving a job rejection email can be emotionally challenging and difficult to handle. Rather than deleting the email and going about your day, you should know how to respond to a job rejection email by sending a response expressing your gratitude and requesting consideration for future positions. Learn more about how to respond to a job rejection email and review a template and example to help you write a professional response.
How Do You Act Around Your Crush Who Doesnt Like You
What To Do When Your Crush Doesnt Like You Back
Also Check: How To Ace And Interview
