How To Write A Job Rejection Letter

Page Overview:

At Aaron Wallis Sales Recruitment, we help employers maintain professionalism and goodwill by crafting considerate rejection letters that reinforce your brand. This page explains why timely, personalised responses, even when delivering disappointing news, can preserve candidate confidence, save internal time, and support future outreach. We offer both concise and more detailed email templates (including a downloadable sample letter), and guide you on choosing the right format, email, letter, or phone call, based on your relationship with candidates and the recruitment stage. Use this resource to handle rejections with empathy and efficiency, ensuring every interaction reflects your values.

Whether you are a small business owner or a large corporation, ensuring that every candidate gets a response within a few days of their interview is essential.

Rejection letters or emails are a necessary part of the recruitment process. They should be written professionally and courteously, ideally incorporating some personal detail and perhaps tips for the future. This article provides guidance on what to include, along with samples of short and detailed rejection emails or letters.

Example of a Short Rejection Email

Dear [Applicant's Name],
Thank you for your interest in the role of [Position Name].

Unfortunately, your application has been unsuccessful at this time.

We appreciate the time and effort you placed into your application and enjoyed meeting you.

Regards,
[ Your Name ]

Above is the simplest form of a job rejection letter. But read on to improve your process:

Unfortunately, not everyone you interview during recruitment will be right for your business. For whatever reason, there will always be cases where the applicant just isn't right. Time is valuable in business, but there are a range of reasons why you should respond to candidates with a simple rejection letter. Here's our guide to rejecting applicants, along with a sample letter for you to use with your candidates.

Click the link to see an example of a Longer Rejection Letter 

Why is it worth writing a rejection letter?

Rejected applicants should still have a good opinion of your business:

Even if a candidate doesn't meet your requirements, it's important to treat them with respect to avoid them spreading negative comments about your company. In a similar vein of thought to customer service interactions, a bad experience is far more likely to be shared than a good one.

It can save you time:

Candidates who have invested time in a job vacancy often reach out to employers from whom they have not heard back. A simple interview rejection letter can save valuable time by letting candidates know where they stand.

Candidates may be right in the future:

Often, when an applicant isn't suitable for a current position, they could be ideal for another role presently or in the future. This is particularly important in specialist fields, as these industries are small worlds where you will likely interact with the same person again.

Rejection letters are easy to write:

A simple response can be written and posted within minutes, and candidates are usually satisfied with one simple, constructive piece of feedback that they can take into the future.

View a full job rejection letter sample in your browser here.

Things to consider:

All applicants want from a rejection letter is constructive criticism that will help them in future job applications. When interviewing a candidate or reading through an application, it can be good practice to already think of that one piece of constructive criticism you can give if you have decided they are unsuitable for the position.

There will be occasions when you want to put more time and effort into writing a rejection letter, which is to be expected. Examples of these times can be:

• An applicant with whom you have a personal relationship – Often, it can be worth going into a bit more detail about why they are not suitable for a position with candidates whom you deal with regularly. In these cases, a phone call can often be more appropriate.
   
• Lengthy recruitment processes – For a vacancy with multiple rounds, such as. For first, second, third, and subsequent interviews, it is usually worth writing a more personal rejection letter. If a candidate has passed a series of rounds, it's likely someone you'll want to consider in the future!
   
• Someone who has obviously invested a lot of effort – Candidates who have travelled a long distance or have had to invest a lot of time into an application should deserve a more detailed rejection letter than someone who has failed on the first round due to a psychometric test. This is common sense, but it goes back to the idea that you want to give people who could talk about your business a good experience, even if they have been rejected.

Should a Rejection be a Letter, email, or phone call?

In this day and age, the majority of rejection letters are sent through email. After all, over 90% of job applications are sent through a website or email anyway! 

What's the best timing for sending a rejection letter?

A common misconception with sending rejection letters is that you must wait a given period after the application or interview to treat the candidate respectfully. Employers often think that if they send a rejection too quickly, candidates will feel down that they haven't had sufficient consideration.