Rejection email after interview: 3 templates
Most recruiters put off writing a rejection email after an interview, and the delay is what turns an ordinary no into a bad experience. Someone who met your team, prepared for it and took the time deserves a decision inside a week, in words a person wrote. The three below cover a first interview, a final round where the choice was close, and the case where you want to stay in touch for something later. All of them are short, because length reads as padding rather than care.
The templates
Subject Your interview with [Company] for [Role]
Hi [Candidate first name],
Thank you for meeting [Interviewer name] on [Date and time], and for the preparation you clearly put into it. After talking to everyone at this stage, we are not taking your application further for [Role].
The decision came down to depth of experience with the tools this team works in every day. Your answer on how you work with designers was one of the clearest we heard.
I am sorry not to have better news, and I wish you well with the search.
[Your name] [Company]
Subject After your final interview for [Role]
Hi [Candidate first name],
Thank you for coming back for the final round on [Date and time]. This is a hard email to write, because the decision was close: we have offered [Role] to another candidate.
What separated you was time spent leading a team of this size, and nothing beyond that. Everyone you met spoke well of the conversation afterwards.
If the detail behind the decision would be useful, I am happy to talk it through on a call. Reply here and I will find a time.
[Your name] [Company]
Subject Not this role · but let us stay in touch
Hi [Candidate first name],
We are not moving forward with your application for [Role]. The team enjoyed meeting you on [Date and time], and this was about fit for this particular job rather than about your work.
We expect to open something closer to what you do best in the next few months. If you are open to it, I will keep your details and write to you first when it happens.
Thank you for the time you gave us.
[Your name] [Company]
When to send it
- Within a week of the interview, and within two days once the decision is actually made.
- After the offer is accepted, never before, if you are holding a second choice in reserve.
- On a weekday morning rather than a Friday evening, so the candidate can reply while you are still at work.
- Individually. A rejection that reads as a mail merge undoes the goodwill an interview built.
What to change
- The reason. One concrete sentence, kept factual and about the role rather than the person, is worth more than three lines of regret.
- The compliment. Make it something you actually remember from the conversation, or leave it out.
- The offer of feedback. Only include it if you will take the call. Tracking who was interviewed and where they stopped is one of the things an ATS for a small team is for.
- The sign-off name. It should be the person the candidate met or spoke with, not a generic careers address.