How To Word A Rejection Letter To A Candidate

Human Resources
Written By Matthew Burzon, SHRM-SCP

“Matthew, when’s the best time to send a rejection letter to a candidate we aren’t going to hire?”

I say, right away. You owe every candidate complete transparency and a chance to keep going with their job search. 

Unfortunately, amidst a busy hiring time, a lot of of hiring managers get overwhelmed and don’t get around to sending that letter quickly.

It helps to have a template on hand that you can tweak and send. Something along the lines of:

“Dear so-and-so,

While we enjoyed meeting you and appreciate the time you took to meet with us, we have decided to pursue other candidates whose prior experience better fits our immediate needs.

Again, we appreciate your time, and we wish you the best of luck in your career endeavors.”

Having a template like this on hand can take the psychological pressure off of creating a letter from scratch.

Matthew Burzon, SHRM-SCP

As the Founder and President of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆, my mission is to transform the recruitment process for businesses seeking exceptional talent.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆™ is a B2B and B2C e-commerce platform offering on-demand recruitment and placement solutions and is the parent company to 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙎𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙆𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙡 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙣 𝙃𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. Source and Recruit is also the Founding Sponsor of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙪𝙢, a free community platform created to promote and support the professional development of recruiting professionals throughout the US and beyond.


Our team utilizes AI-driven strategies and in-depth market analysis to deliver bespoke recruitment solutions, ensuring a seamless fit between candidates and company culture. We've cultivated a robust multi-brand e-commerce platform that connects organizations with top-tier professionals and supports informed hiring decision making.

Our approach to talent acquisition is rooted in modern recruitment techniques and a deep understanding of diverse sourcing, candidate engagement, and AI-driven personalized recruitment email marketing. We are truly a prototypical 21st century artificial intelligence-empowered recruitment agency enabling businesses to overcome the hiring challenges of today's competitive landscape.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewburzon/
Previous

How To Rewrite Your “Why Work With Us” Section On Glassdoor
Next

How Many Candidates Is Ideal?