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6 Editable Formal Job Rejection Letter Samples [Free Templates]

A job rejection letter is sent to the candidates who were shortlisted but unfortunately couldn’t get the job position. After completing the interviews of shortlisted candidates, and the selection of the final candidate, it is mandatory to appreciate the time of rejected candidates and inform them about the final decision at the same time.

Effective Components of Rejection Letter

After completing interviews, recruiting managers would evaluate each applicant’s talents and skillsets to decide who will advance for interviews. However, before moving, it’s critical to inform the others that you’ve chosen not to advance them to the next level.

It’s essential to pick your words carefully when writing a career rejection email. Being courteous and considerate to the rejected applicants would ensure that they have a reasonable opinion of the company.

A “thank you”

Express gratitude by adding a thank you note to a candidate’s letter for their involvement in the business and any time they spend filling out an application or interviewing with employees. This email not only tells candidates that your business values their time but also shows them how respectful you are.

Personalization

Writing down the candidate’s name and the job he or she applied for may be enough to keep you emotionally connected with the company. If it’s appropriate, add a note from the talk or mention a single positive trait you found admirable. Personalizing each rejection email can be even more complicated if you have launched a sizeable recruiting campaign, for example, and have 300 rejection emails to send. It is always possible to find phrases that will be personalized, even if the same ones will be sent to several candidates.

Concretely, classify and group your unsuccessful applications by reason. Then write a single personalized email for each group containing the specific reason for the refusal. This intermediate solution saves time while avoiding generalist emails purely and by sending each of your candidates a detailed rejection email corresponding to each type of profile targeted.

Feedback

Applicants welcome feedback from employers with whom they have conducted interviews because it will help them identify opportunities for change and plan their next moves in their career quest. If you pass on a candidate in favor of somebody with more expertise, the applicant can decide to apply for more appropriate positions for their level of experience. Avoid at all costs formulations. There is nothing worse than to make the candidate believe that you are laughing at him, even if that is not your intention.

Just get straight to the point, being honest while being tactful. If, however, you come across an overqualified profile that you want to keep for future opportunities, say so honestly, specifying for what position and for what precise reasons.

Invitation to apply again

If you believe an applicant will be a good match for the business in another role, tell them you would like them to apply for potential positions. There’s no reason to use this invitation in your email if you don’t think a candidate suits your company’s culture or skill set.

How to Write a Job Rejection Letter

When the decision is made to reject a candidate and have others selected to advance in subsequent interviews, a message should be sent to candidates who do not entirely fit the job offer and company culture. Generally, the following steps are involved in writing a job rejection letter:

Start with a follow-up phone call

Once you have confirmed that the applicant is not the right choice for the open position, the first move is to contact them. On the call, you express gratitude to the applicants for their time and effort in applying and attending the interview.

Make it clear that you have decided to give, or have already given, the job to another candidate. Then, submit an official candidate rejection letter as a follow-up to your initial call.

Compose your first paragraph

Begin your letter by expressing appreciation for the candidate’s interest in working for your company. To state clearly what the candidate rejection letter is for, note the work description for which they applied. You may either say that you reviewed a large number of applicants or that you reviewed a large number of applications.

Move to the main purpose of your letter

Use the term declined rather than rejected to clarify that you are declining to go forward with their submission. Giving the applicant explanations why someone else was selected over them will give them a better view of the business while still indirectly letting them know where they can develop their knowledge or skills.  It’s best not to say why an applicant was turned down outright.

Close your letter

Candidates worked hard to present you with a good application and trained their responses so that the job interview went smoothly. Appreciate them for all the availability and sharing of ideas.

Job Rejection Letter Samples

Job rejection letter for a candidate who is a good fit sample

Dear ABC,

Thank you for your interest in the ABC position in our company. We thank you for coming by our offices and interviewing our staff.

We have decided to go on with another candidate who has more leadership experience at this moment. However, your experience and business expertise fascinated us, and we believe you would be a good match for our company’s culture.

Stay tuned to our LinkedIn or our recruitment page to learn about our new opportunities. Otherwise, we wish you the best in your future pursuits.

Thank you!

XYZ

Job rejection letter for a candidate who is not a good fit sample

Hi ABC,

Thank you very much for your interest in the role of XYZ. We thank you for coming by our offices and interviewing our staff.

Although we were pleased with your qualifications, we have decided to move on with a candidate with more leadership experience.

We appreciate your time once again, and we wish you the best of luck with your professional endeavors.

Sincerely,

XYZ

Free Templates

Now that you know what a job rejection letter is and how it is written, we offer free professional job rejection templates that you can download and customize for free.

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    The critical thing to remember to refuse an application without upsetting the person applying is to be frank, direct, and honest while being tactful. Of course, the exercise is far from easy, but it will become so with practice.

    Tips for Writing a Candidate Rejection Email

    You can make even letters of rejection a way to establish good ties with candidates. If you want to keep candidates in your recruitment pool, here are some tips to make it more straightforward and easy to write your job rejection letters:

    Get straight to the point

    The candidate knows that you are writing them about their job application. Before you get to the point, you should not have them read five paragraphs. Tell them immediately what to say in a gentle and caring manner.

    There still have a chance

    You want the applicant to remain interested in your other positions or related roles, which might emerge in the future. Tell the disqualified candidate, where appropriate, that you have other open posts or that you will be eligible to apply again in the future.

    Send it immediately

    The typical recruiting process takes a lot longer than businesses or applicants want. Give a job rejection letter sooner rather than later. Candidates appreciate that they realize that they are not fit to move forward. In this way, everyone’s time is saved and respected.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What do you write in a job rejection letter?

    In a job rejection letter, you explain the reason why the applicant was rejected politely.

    How do you politely reject a candidate?

    You can politely reject a candidate by using the word declined instead of rejected and by showing empathy.

    How do you sign off a job rejection letter?

    You can sign off a job rejection letter by thanking the candidate for applying and giving his time.

    How do you write a good rejection email?

    You can write a good job rejection letter by being clear, professional, and polite.

    What do you put in the subject line of a rejection email?

    You can put the word declined in the subject line of a rejection email.

    How do you reject an internal candidate?

    You can reject an internal candidate by talking to him in person.

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