How Rejection Letters Help Candidates Feel Less Rejected

Rejection can be tough to swallow. Nobody likes to lose out on something that they wanted, especially when that something is as big of a deal as a job. Whether you’re aware of it or not, the experience that candidates have with your company in the application process can have a big effect on how job seekers view your company.

If it’s a great experience, then applicants will tell their colleagues and friends about a great little company that values their employees and is probably a great place to work. If, however, most of the candidates that come into contact with you have a negative experience, then you can bet that they won’t be singing your praises to their friends and professional network.

With the potential for such negative impressions to spread like wildfire over the internet, it’s never been more important to treat every applicant with the respect that they deserve.

One of the most common complaints of job seekers is that the application process leaves them in the dark. They go to the effort of applying and interviewing at your company and, only after weeks of uncertainty, assume that they were eliminated from the running. Doesn’t that sound stressful? Just imagine if you were a candidate that was called in for multiple rounds of interviews. Wouldn’t you expect some sort of courtesy after that sort of commitment to a company?

In order to make sure that the candidate experience is as painless as possible, you must follow up with each and every applicant about the closure of your job. While it’s generally good form to do this over the phone for those candidates that stand out as potential future hires, sending a simple rejection letter or email is a courtesy that most companies don’t extend to their applicants.

Now, this rejection letter doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, especially for those candidates that are eliminated before the interview process. Your rejection letter for the majority of applicants should go something like this:

Examples of Rejection Letters for Job Candidates

(Applicant Name),

We regret to inform you that the _______ position that you applied to has been closed. We appreciate your interest in our company and thank you for the time that you took to apply.

We encourage you to apply again in the future, should you see a job posting for which you qualify.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

Though it may seem a little bare-bones, even this sort of template rejection letter serves to enhance the candidate experience by keeping them informed on the status of the job. Instead of wasting time on worry, your applicants will be able to move on with their job search.

For those candidates that you’d like to fill other positions at your company, your rejection letter should include a few more personal details than the bare-bones model. For high profile candidates, your rejection letter should go something like this:

(Applicant Name)

We regret to inform you that the _______ position that you applied to has been closed. It was a difficult decision to come to and you were in the last group of ___ candidates to be considered for the job. Because you showed so much interest in _______ aspects of our company’s ________, we encourage you to apply to another position in the future. If you’re still interested in being considered for our next open job, please let me know.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

These types of letters being sent to applicants will leave them with a positive viewpoint of your company!

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