How to Write a Rejection Letter for Non-interviewed Applicants

Whenever a company advertises vacant positions, sure enough there will be people who will apply for them. Those in the hiring department and in Human Resources will go through all of the resumes that they receive to see who meets the basic requirements in order to narrow the field of candidates. This means that there will be applicants who do not meet the essential requirements and they have to be informed that they did not qualify for consideration. Whenever that happens, you need to write a rejection letter, and this article will talk you through doing that.

Tips for writing an effective rejection letter

Recruiters will never have an easy time when it comes to rejecting people, but that does not mean they cannot make their letters a little easier to accept. So, here are the tips that would ensure your rejection letters are as professional and as empathetic as possible.

Never forget to thank your candidate

This is something you should definitely do if the candidate did not even make it to the interview section of the hiring process. You want to show these people that you appreciate the time and effort it took to submit their resumes to your company, and you have to make sure that you do not sound like a robot when doing so. Make sure that your thanks sound genuine so that these rejected applicants will feel that you have put some effort into trying to make the rejection sting a little less. Say something along the lines of, “We appreciate you showing interest in our company and reaching out to us.”

Always leave the door open

You want applicants to know that even though they were not qualified enough for the position, your company may just have a spot for the skills and experience that they possess for a position that can be open in the near future.

Provide a sufficient explanation as to why the applicant was rejected

It would be understandably frustrating for an applicant to be rejected even before he had a shot to show his capabilities in an interview. So, you owe each applicant an explanation as to why he was not considered for the position. Since the applicant was rejected because he was not qualified, you have to state that the skills, knowledge and experience that he possesses were not sufficient to meet the requirements of the job description.

Point out the redeeming qualities of the applicant

Even if an applicant is rejected, hearing about what would make him a good employee will at least cushion the blow of rejection, even if it is just a little bit. Since you have gone through the applicant’s resume, you should be able to find a number of things that you can compliment him on. You can also state that there are other companies that may have positions that will make better use of the applicant’s skills, education, and experience. Just be sure that you point all of these out nicely in your rejection letter so that the rejected applicant will not be too downhearted.

Now that you have learned how to write an applicant rejection letter, read other useful tips by checking out the rest of our articles.

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