4 job rejection email templates to use – done with tact
It’s a tough time to be a job candidate right now. 75% of jobseekers have been ghosted by the company after an interview. When they do get an answer, they can be sitting and waiting for weeks before they hear anything back.
Out of the heaps of candidates you interview for a position, only one will be given a job offer letter. This means that, sadly, you’re going to have to be the one breaking the bad news to the others.
That’s where job rejection emails come in handy to help you maintain a strong candidate experience. Sending a job rejection email isn’t fun, but having a process in place makes you look professional and using the right wording is essential to communicate with the candidate.
For me, having a job rejection email template on hand helps a lot, as I don’t have to think about what to say, but I also tend to tailor it to the candidate if they’ve gone to a later stage of the process. In this blog, I’ll show you how to word your job rejection email and give you a few customisable job rejection email templates you can use.
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Why you should write a job rejection email?
Applying for jobs is not easy. It’s filled with anxiety, worry, anticipation, and hope. The job description may have sounded like the perfect fit for some candidates, but it wasn't. A thoughtful rejection email acknowledges this journey and shows you appreciate the effort they made.
It also reflects the way you do business. A timely and respectful job rejection email means you don’t only value the contributions of your employees, but of everyone interested in working with you as well. It’s a great way to improve your reputation among potential job seekers and make you more attractive as an employer – take it as something you would do, such as sending an interview invite email.
Besides, just because a candidate is not the right fit right now doesn’t mean they won’t be at some point. A personalised job rejection email leaves the door open for potential collaboration down the line and encourages the candidate to reapply when the time is right.
With Charlie Recruit, personalised emails become super easy – let the AI do it for you and store ready-made templates on the platform as well.
4 job rejection email templates you can use for your business
Writing and sending job rejection emails with a standardised template helps make your organisation look professional. Having a template helps you avoid any awkward wording that can be taken the wrong way, and makes the job rejection process automated while keeping high standards of professionalism.
Here are a few of the job rejection email templates I use for different interview stages.
No interview offered job rejection email template
This is a job rejection email template you can use after you review the candidate’s CV and decide early on that it’s not a good fit.
Hey {insert name},
I hope you’re well.
Thank you for your interest in our {name of role} role.
We’ve been overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of candidates for this position and have been fortunate enough to put a shortlist of candidates together for this role.
We appreciate you taking the time to apply and we apologise that we can’t move forward on this occasion — we wish you the very best of best of luck with your job hunt. 🙂
We’re actively hiring this year, so please feel free to keep an eye on our careers page for any future suitable vacancies.
All the best,
Name, role and company
Feedback is extremely important to us here, so if you have any feedback on the application process for this role, please email us.
We will keep your CV on file for 24 months in case we have any suitable vacancies come up in the future. If you do not wish for us to do this, please reply to this email to let us know and we will delete your data.
After screening call job rejection email template
This is a job rejection email template you can use after you've had a screening call with a candidate.
Hey {insert name},
I hope you’re well.
Thank you for your interest in our {name of role} role.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us regarding the {name of role} position. We really appreciate your interest in the work we do and your enthusiasm for working at our company. It was a pleasure to have a chat with you over the phone and get to know you better.
After careful consideration, however, we have decided not to move forward with your application for this role. It wasn't an easy call to make, but we received many applications from a lot of qualified candidates, so although your skills and experience were relevant to the role, we have decided to go with other candidates who aligned more closely with the requirements for this position.
We'll save a copy of your resume in our system if any other roles were to arise, and we hope to see you apply in the future.
Thanks again for all your efforts. Best of luck in looking for a future position.
Best wishes,
Name, role and company
Feedback is extremely important to us here, so if you have any feedback on the application process for this role, please email us. We will keep your CV on file for 24 months in case we have any suitable vacancies come up in the future. If you do not wish for us to do this, please reply to this email to let us know and we will delete your data.
Late stage of interview job rejection email
This template is for job candidates who made it to the second round of interviews or later. You owe the job candidate extra personal feedback and communication if they made it this far in the process.
Hi {insert name}
Thank you so much for interviewing with us on [date]. I appreciate the time and effort you put into our discussions and for considering [Company Name] as a potential next step in your career.
I regret to inform you that we will not be moving you through to the next stage of the process. This was a difficult decision, as I was really impressed by your [specific skill or experience], [second specific skill or experience], and [third specific skill or experience]. Your dedication and the breadth of your experience are truly impressive.
However, after careful reflection on our conversations and the notes I’ve taken, we have decided to move forward with candidates whose qualifications more closely match the specific requirements and strategic goals of this position. Specifically, we are looking for [reason for rejection – e.g., more extensive experience in a particular area, specific technical skills, cultural fit considerations, etc.]. This decision in no way diminishes the quality of your background and the professional achievements you have shared with us.
We genuinely appreciate all the efforts you’ve put into this hiring process. Your enthusiasm and professionalism were evident, and we wish you all the best in finding a role that is a perfect fit for your talents and career aspirations.
Feedback is extremely important to us. If you’d like any more detailed feedback about your interview, I am happy to share it. Additionally, if you have any feedback for us, please do fill in this 2-minute survey [insert link to survey].
Thank you once again for your time and for considering [Company Name]. I wish you all the best in your job search and future endeavours.
All the best,
Name, role and company
Last stage of interview job rejection email
This template is for job candidates who made it to the very final round of the interview process. It's important that you take the time to give thorough feedback that they can take onboard for their professional developement.
Dear [Name],
Thank you so much for taking the time to interview with us on [DATE]. We truly appreciate the effort you put into the final stages of our interview process and your interest in the [Job Title] position at [Company Name].
After thorough consideration, we regret to inform you that we have decided to proceed with another candidate for this role. This was an extremely difficult decision given the high level of skills shown by each candidate, including you. I want to really emphasise how impressed we were with the set of skills and qualities you brought to the interview process.
Hopefully, the feedback we'll provide below will be helpful for your professional development and it will put a bit more perspective onto our decision, which I can imagine is difficult this late in the interview process:
- Strengths:
- [Detailed feedback on a specific skill or quality]
- [Detailed feedback on another specific skill or quality]
- [Detailed feedback on a third specific skill or quality]
- Areas for Improvement:
- [Constructive feedback on a specific area]
- [Constructive feedback on another specific area]
- [Constructive feedback on a third specific area]
Even though we were very impressed with your experience, we had to go for a candidate that matched our expectations of the role and that made more sense from a strategic perspective. This should not overshadow the strengths you displayed during the interview process.
We sincerely appreciate all the hard work you put into this process and your interest in joining our team. I encourage you to stay in touch and reapply for future opportunities that may better align with your skill set and career goals.
Feedback is extremely important to us. If you have any additional questions or would like further insights into your interview performance, I am more than happy to discuss this with you. Additionally, if you have any feedback for us, please feel free to share it through this [insert link to survey].
Thank you again for your time and for considering [Company Name]. I wish you all the best in your job search and future endeavours.
Best wishes,
Name, role and company
4 best practices to write a good job rejection email that makes you look professional
Writing a job rejection email requires tact, sensitivity, and respect for the job candidate’s time. Here are a few best practices for writing job rejection emails you can follow to give closure to the job candidate and protect your business reputation.
1. Be prompt and personalise your message
Leaving the job candidate in a protracted state of anticipation is frustrating and stressful. Here’s what can you do to alleviate this:
- Send a rejection email as soon as a decision has been made. It shows respect for the candidate’s time and emotional investment.
- Use the candidate’s name and specific details of their application or interview. There are few things more off-putting than a generic job rejection email that you’ve sent to dozens of others.
2. Express gratitude and be clear about the outcome
Acknowledge their effort and the time they took to apply for the position. Be clear and direct about the decision, as it gives the job candidate the finality they need to move on, whilst keeping a kind and professional tone.
3. Offer constructive feedback
Interview feedback is most appropriate for candidates who reached the final interview stage, and focused on specific aspects of the interview or their performance that could be improved.
Frame it in a way that’s helpful and encouraging, and stay away from any remarks that could be perceived as personal criticism.
4. Encourage future applications for a positive ending note
It never hurts to keep the door open to work together at a future date. Apart from being the nice thing to do, it makes sure your talent pipeline is filled with qualified candidates who are keen to work with you. Close on a positive note with well-wishes for the candidate’s job search.
If you think you may not have time for this, that's ok. Our Charlie Recruit tool can help you automate your hiring process from start to finish. Simply move your candidate through the hiring stage and trigger automated emails and actions from it, including sending a job rejection email template. Sounds good? Get a free demo booked today.
