Application rejections leave your A lasting impression on applicants and therefore have a major impact on your employer brand. On the one hand, it is often the case that applicants are not suitable for a specific vacancy and you therefore have an interest in keeping the applicant on board. On the other hand, bad experiences are quickly shared among friends and cast a bad light on the company as a whole.

3 tips you should bear in mind when writing your application rejection letter:

1. Be honest: Give the applicant as much open feedback as possible. Your applicants will thank you for it. After all, they will know what they can do better at the next interview.
2. Timing: Don't forget - your applicants are waiting for your response. Long waiting times frustrate your candidates.
3. Talent Pool: It is not uncommon for you to receive promising applications from qualified candidates to whom you are unable to offer a suitable position at the time. Nevertheless, inform your applicants of your interest and communicate that you would like to keep them on file. In this case, a personal call can also be a good basis for future collaboration.

Rejection letter for unsolicited application

Dear Mr Max Mustermann,

Thank you for your initiative and your application.

We have checked all possible employment opportunities in the relevant areas of our company. Unfortunately, we have to inform you that we are currently unable to offer you a position that matches your profile.

However, this may soon change. We therefore invite you to visit our careers page from time to time and keep an eye out for suitable vacancies.

Yours sincerely

[Your name]

[Signature]

Application cancellation after receipt of application

Dear Mr Max Mustermann,

Thank you very much for your patience and the painstaking preparation of the application documents.

We have thoroughly examined many applicants and have come to the conclusion that we have to turn you down this time, as other people running for this position unfortunately fulfil our requirements even better.

As you may be an ideal fit for our team in a different role, we would still ask you to keep an eye on our careers portal. We are always on the lookout for ambitious talents and are constantly advertising new positions that might spark your interest.

Yours sincerely

[Your name]

[Signature]

Cancellation of application after interview

Dear Max Mustermann,

Thank you very much for the interesting conversation and your patience up to this point.

As you were already part of a shortlist and also made a good impression on us, the decision was particularly difficult for us. In the end, however, we unfortunately had to decide in favour of someone else.

Sometimes it's only nuances that tip the scales in favour of a decision. In this case, a competitor was a small step ahead of you. We ask you not to take this as a negative judgement of your skills or person and thank you for the trust you have placed in us.

We would very much like to consider you for future vacancies and keep your application documents on file. As personal data is subject to the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and we are obliged to remove it after the purpose of its processing has been fulfilled, we need your consent to do so. The data would be stored by us until the end of an extended retention period of [First]. Correction or deletion would be possible at any time. If you would like to agree to these conditions, please confirm this by clicking on this link [confirmation link].

Regardless of your decision, we wish you the best in your future career and hope to find an opportunity to work with you in the future.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]

[Signature]

Please feel free to contact us!

We would be happy to advise you and work with you to find the ideal model to make your recruiting even more successful.