How do you politely reject a candidate after an interview?
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Use this post-interview candidate rejection letter sample or rejection email template to inform candidates after interviews that they didn't pass to the next round. You can customize this post-interview
rejection letter sample or candidate rejection email template based on your specific needs and company culture language. In this letter, the most important thing to keep in mind is to give a brief explanation of the main reason for disqualifying candidates.➡️ Download The Ultimate Candidate Interview & Employee Onboarding Checklist! How to send a post-interview rejection letter sample or rejection email template to candidates?When rejecting a candidate for a specific job role, keep in mind that these same candidates may be a good fit for some other current or future job opening. Building a good talent pool and being ready to find and hire quality candidates is essential for more productive and faster hiring process. In addition, this is a great way for improving your company’s reputation and Employer Brand. In order to stay in touch and engage with your current talent pool, use this post-interview rejection letter sample or rejection email template. How to use this template for post-interview rejection letter sample or rejection email?Here is our post-interview rejection letter sample or candidate rejection email template. Feel free to copy this post-interview rejection letter sample or candidate rejection email template, but make sure you customize it to fit your own needs. Post-interview rejection letter sample or rejection email templateDear [candidate name], Thank you very much for investing your time and effort to interview with our team about our [role title] position at [company name]. All of us really enjoyed meeting you, learning about your skills and experiences and having a really interesting conversation. Unfortunately, at this time, we decided to proceed with our selection process with another candidate. It is a decision we didn't make easily because you are really a strong candidate with a wonderful personality. We will definitely keep your resume in our talent database, and in case that we have a job opening that better fits your profile, we will make sure to get in touch with you. If you have any further questions or need more feedback, please do not hesitate to ask. I will be more than happy to answer any of your questions. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and hope we'll have a chance to meet again soon. Regards, [Sender Name] Need more HR and recruiting templates like this post-interview rejection letter sample or rejection email template?Check templates for Human Resources and templates for Recruiters. Do you use a modern recruitment software? If not, you're missing out. See how your life can be easier. Start your free 14-day TalentLyft trial.Start my free trialSimilar to thisAll too often, when candidates apply for roles, they are never contacted if they are unsuccessful. When employers do send out rejections, they tend to be impersonal and non-specific, either through a lack of time or from fearof causing offence. Failing to give feedback is one of the most common mistakes employers make. Why bother? This is especially important for non-profit organisations, as their employees usually overlap to a great extent with their supporters and donors. You want candidates to feel good about your organisation, even if they are unsuccessful, so they don’t spread negative comments about you among their friends and relations. Candidates also might not be right for one role, but could be a good match for a future vacancy, or could be a potential employee after they have gained skills and experience elsewhere. Turning them off your employer brand means you’ll lose them as a potential candidate (and possible donor or advocate) forever. Finally, if a candidate has taken the time to fill in an application form, or to attend an interview, it’s only polite to let them know the outcome. It may even save you time in the long run, as you won’t have to field calls or emails from candidates following-up. When should you do it? Best practice is to give a candidate feedback as soon as you are absolutely sure they are not right for the role, and to let them move on as soon as possible. You don’t need to wait until you have filled the post if you are sure the candidate isn’t right. Many employers already know at the end of interview (either on the phone or in person) if a candidate is a definite rejection, and it can be a good idea to let them know right there and then. Candidates usually have an idea if an interview has not gone well, and most appreciate candour and honest feedback. By giving a candidate feedback at the end of an interview, you won’t have to spend time following up with them at a later date. Very occasionally, the candidate will be able to counter your points, bringing them back into the recruitment process. You don’t want to miss an ideal candidate just because they may be a nervous or inexperienced interviewee. However, most employers still prefer to take some time after an interview to reflect on a candidate’s performance or compare notes, and contact them at a later date. What should you say? The rule of thumb is to make feedback as constructive and personalised as possible. A standard email may be acceptable for candidates rejected prior to the interview process, but more detailed feedback is important for interviewees. There is really no excuse for not sending at least an email to rejected applicants – most email software will allow you to set up a mail merge or autotext that enables you to do this in seconds. At this stage, all you need to say is that there was a high level of response to the vacancy and that other candidates met the person specification more closely. Sweeten the pill When you’re giving constructive criticism to a candidate, whether on the phone or by mail, it’s always a good idea to start off with the positives and give them some compliments before you tackle the areas where they fell down. Wherever possible, you should also end by repeating their strong points. This softens the blow of any negatives and is more likely to leave them with a positive impression of your organisation to take away. Be honest and specific Unsuccessful candidates who have turned up for an interview expect and deserve a clear reason for their rejection, even if it is just “we have other candidates who better matched our requirements”. Wherever possible, tell them exactly which areas of the interview they could have handled better - most will already have a good idea of where they struggled. Make sure your reasons are concrete, not subjective like “I didn’t feel your personality would fit with the rest of the team”. You also need to avoid any comments that could be misinterpreted, like “I didn’t feel you could handle the workload” that could leave you open to potential charges of discrimination. Be candid but gentle in the language you use – being honest is not the same as being blunt and ultimately you want to leave the candidate feeling good about your organisation and about themselves if possible. Don’t mention the person you decided to hire in any way, even as a comparison. Feedback should focus exclusively on the person you are talking to. Finishing up To make the feedback process feel less one-sided and more of a conversation, why not ask the candidate to supply their own comments on the interview. This can help head off problems with your recruitment process and gives you the chance to improve your interview technique. If you are likely to consider the candidate for future opportunities, letting them know you’ll keep their details on file will help soften the blow of the rejection. If the candidate has been interviewed, thank them for their time and wish them luck with their future job hunt. Always sign-off from a person, not just “HR Manager” or similar, and give them a way to contact you for further details if they need to. Of course, all this takes time Using a recruitment consultancy like TPP will take most of the administration of recruitment out of your hands, freeing you to concentrate on your day job. We do the initial sift through candidate responses to advertisements, only shortlisting the ones we are confident will be a good match. We’ll also contact all unsuccessful candidates and pass on your feedback to them, ensuring they leave with a good impression of your organisation. We’ll also pass on any comments they make on the interview process back to you, which can be extremely useful as candidates are also more likely to be candid with a third party. For more information or to talk about a specific role, please contact the relevant TPP division. Further resources Some sample rejection
letters: How do I reject candidate after interview?When rejecting an internal candidate, it should not be done via an interview rejection letter or email. Instead, ask to meet with the candidate in person or schedule a phone conference. During the conversation, let them know why they were passed on for the promotion and try to be as specific as possible.
How do you reject a candidate politely example?Dear [Candidate_name], Thank you for taking the time to consider [Company_name]. We wanted to let you know that we have chosen to move forward with a different candidate for the [Job_title] position.
How do you tell a candidate they were not selected sample?We regret to inform you that (organization) will not be pursuing your candidacy for this position. Though your qualifications are impressive, the selection process was highly competitive and we have decided to move forward with a candidate whose qualifications better meet our needs at this time.
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