4 Ways to Reject Candidates Without Compromising the Candidate Experience

Do you remember the last time you had an awful meal at a restaurant?

Perhaps the manager replaced your meal and offered free dessert on the house to make up for it. Even though you encountered a negative experience, you’ll most likely leave the restaurant not feeling so bad about it anyway. You might even consider going back.

But if nothing was done to fix the bad service, you might leave a few bad reviews on TripAdvisor and maybe even warn your friends. Which could ultimately tarnish the restaurant’s employer brand.

Similarly, the way you reject candidates can negatively impact the candidate experience as well.

Rejection is part of life – and a big part of recruitment too. Unfortunately, you’ll have to turn down a lot of candidates at some point in your life – and be the bearer of bad news.

But there’s a better way to do that. In this blog, we’ll discuss the delicate art of how to reject a candidate without compromising the candidate experience.

How to reject a candidate without burning bridges? 

Rejecting candidates can be a tough task for recruiters. Some may struggle with finding the most courteous approach, while others may not have the time to notify every candidate. But fret not, we have you covered with tips on how to reject a candidate with ease.

Choose the right tool

If you have to reject a candidate, coming up with a friendly email template is just half the battle. You need to find the right tool to make sending these emails a refreshing breeze. This works wonders for improving your candidate experience. Wondering how to reject a candidate with an awesome ATS? Let’s see!

An ATS allows you to send rejection letters in time and in the most efficient way possible. Essentially speaking, an ATS like EVA-REC allows you to craft or edit existing email templates to your own liking. Prior to kick-starting any hiring process, you can customize your own bank of email templates and store them within the ATS to send them as updates or follow-ups to candidates.

So when you begin building your pipeline and moving candidates between different stages, you can customize various HR-related email templates that you want the candidates to receive automatically. Including the rejection email! Now remember, you need to craft it with caution. Or, you can use the email template below!

Subject line: Your job application to [Company_Name]

Dear [Candidate_Name],

Thank you for your interest in the [Job_Title] position at [Company_Name]. We appreciate the time and effort you invested in your job application!

While your [skills, education, experience, accomplishments, and qualifications] is/are impressive, we regret to inform you that we have chosen to move forward with a different candidate for this position.

[Feel free to give your feedback or mention something positive that specifically drew your attention to the candidate] We think you could be a good fit for other future openings and will reach out again if we find a good match.

We hope you’ll keep us in mind and apply again in the future.

We wish you all the best in your job search and future professional endeavors!

Regards,

[Your name]

[Signature]

As a result, sending candidates automated and personalized email templates will simultaneously boost and improve the candidate experience. These emails can be personalized to the candidate’s experience and background, letting them know that their application was reviewed and appreciated. This personalization shows that you value their time and effort in applying for the position, even if they weren’t selected.

Reject candidates as soon as possible

You spend endless hours crafting the perfect cover letter, filling in your application, and tweaking your resume. Only to hear nothing in return. Radio silence. How would you feel?

Well, ghosted. To say the least.

You don’t want candidates who didn’t make the cut to be left in the dark. Hearing crickets. Instead, show them that you value their time and be prompt in the way you communicate with them. That’s your simple ticket to improving the candidate experience.

Even if you come bearing bad news, candidates would rather hear it promptly from you. So avoid keeping rejected candidates in your pipeline for weeks – or even worse – months on end. Which is the start of a very negative candidate experience.

To avert that, show candidates that you value their time with swift and fast communication. If you’re not using an automated tool or ATS, give the rejected candidate a call or drop them an email as soon as you unqualified them for the vacancy. Schedule a weekly time slot or set up a couple of phone reminders. This will help you to remember to contact rejected candidates.

In short, you must boost the candidate experience and show rejected candidates you value their time through real-time communication. Candidates want to hear from you promptly, even if you’re sharing bad news, so avoid waiting weeks to send rejection emails. As a rule of thumb, let candidates know you’re not moving forward with their candidacy as soon as you know. Book a weekly time slot to remind yourself to contact those who won’t advance in your hiring process.

As soon as you let candidates know that they didn’t land the job, it will show them that you at least valued the time and effort they spent on the application or hiring process. And don’t forget to personalize your rejection letter by:

• Addressing the candidate by his or her name
• Pointing out any skills that stood out to you during the interview process
• Thank them for their time and effort
• Give them a valid reason as to why they got rejected
• Encourage them to apply to other future vacancies if more fit
• Close with a friendly and warm statement

Now, if you have a couple of candidates who have gone through several stages of the hiring process. Set aside some time to call them. Perhaps they’ve already formed a strong bond with you, and you don’t want to ruin it with a bad candidate experience. This could actually be the best way to reject a candidate. 

Be courteous and respectful

Rejecting candidates is one thing, but being courteous is another. While many recruiters are swamped with work, it shouldn’t be a reason that you rush through the words you use in the rejection letter. Especially if you reject a candidate after interviews. 

Rather, there’s a friendly and polite way to reject a candidate. Getting rejected already hurts, so might as well ditch the super professional and cold tone. Instead, use keywords and an amicable tone of voice that candidates can relate to.

At the end of the day, you want to make sure that the candidate can’t misconstrue your words and use them against you or the company. So refrain from using any discriminatory or controversial words. Or worse, compare the candidate to others. Take extra caution when giving the prospective candidate any criticism or advice – as it can easily escalate into a heated argument or lawsuit, which negatively impacts the candidate experience.

Invite them to stay in touch

Just because you rejected a candidate doesn’t mean that they won’t be a good fit for another vacancy in the future. If you see that the rejected candidate has big potential but lacks the required skill sets, encourage them to develop and grow their expertise – and try again in the future.

So make sure to keep communication lines open with this candidate and invite them to stay in touch. Maybe you can invite them to follow your social media channels or career page to keep an eye out for future vacancies that are most suitable for them.

When you show them that you want to continue the relationship with them, they’ll actually vouch for your company or even tell their friends. Which is a wonderful way of boosting the candidate experience.

To maintain the relationship, be sure to make casual check-ins, invite them to an upcoming job fair, share industry needs, or connect with them via LinkedIn.

Over to you

The way you reject a candidate will play a big role in their candidate experience and the impression they’ll cultivate about your company. Rejected candidates are humans too, and they deserve to be directed on the right path to finally get the job offer that they’ve been dreaming of. So be that recruiter. Show rejected candidates respect, give them feedback, get back to them in real-time, suggest areas for improvement, and invite them to stay in touch. Treat rejected candidates no different than customers, and see how you will instantly enhance their candidate experience and your employer brand – even if it teams that they won’t be joining your team.

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