Dear John: Some Potential Suggestions for Writing Applicant Rejection Letters

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It is always interesting to discuss how to craft a candidate rejection letter. Indeed, some might wonder whether such letters should even be written! I found a recent article discussing some characteristics of a successful rejection letter.

Most interestingly, the author mentioned a practice that Circuit City used years ago, in which the rejection letter offered a 10% discount on purchases. I thought that this was a good idea, but the author felt it was a bad practice!

Anyhow, here are some suggestions, and my comments, offered by the author on a well-crafted rejection letter:

*Rejection letters should be sent to applicants who are not offered a job (I agree; better for the candidate to know and move on than to wonder and hope that an interview/offer may be forthcoming);

*But don’t send the rejection letter too quickly — the candidate may feel that he/she was totally unqualified (I don’t completely agree; as above, better for the candidate to know and to move on);

*Be personable and specific about why another candidate was hired – but not too specific, as that could cause legal problems (I agree, but I think it difficult to write a personable letter. I also think that legal concerns push companies to be very vague in their reasons for hiring another candidate);

*Include a statement about the person who received the job (I disagree on this; I don’t think that many candidates will find the information useful and I think it is more likely to cause legal problems than build good-will among rejected candididates).

Here is my spin on rejection letters; it is never easy to write an effective one and there is probably more to be gained by being vague, general, and non-specific than there is by being specific and precise.

Read more on this interesting article on how to write a better rejection letter.

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