How to Tell Someone They Didn't Get the Job

Informing a Candidate over the Phone

Call the candidate on the phone. While sending an email may feel more comfortable for you, since it removes any chance for an awkward conversation, it’s more polite and professional to speak with the candidate over the phone. Do this for each of the candidates who came in for a face-to-face interview. Call during normal business hours, so the person won’t be eating dinner when you call.

Do not chat or make small talk. Plan to keep the conversation short, ideally under 5 minutes. Identifying yourself then getting directly to the point also shows the person you’re talking to that you respect their time and don’t want to keep them. Don’t inquire about the person’s personal life, crack a joke, or ask about the weather. For example, it would be inappropriate to say, “Hi, Ben? This is Susan from Vitamin World. Great seeing you for that interview! Wanted to ask you, what’s the weather like where you are? Heard there have been a couple tornado warnings; any of those headed your way?”

Explain that the company extended an offer to a different candidate. Politely express that you were happy to meet the candidate during their interview and that you’ve seriously considered them for the position but decided to extend an offer to someone else instead. It’s best to get this out of the way, so make this statement right after you’ve both said “hello.” Say something like, “Hello, Ruth, this is Mike Fritz at AAA Tech Services. Thank you again for coming in for that interview last week; we all enjoyed meeting you and found your resume to be impressive. I wanted to let you know, though, that we’ve decided to extend the job offer to a different individual.”

Mention a couple specific strengths that the hired candidate possessed. Many rejected job candidates genuinely want to know why the hired candidate managed to get the job and they didn't. While it would be impractical to offer a point-by-point breakdown of their resume and interview performance, it’s appropriate to mention a couple of advantages that the hired candidate had over the person you’re speaking with. For example, say something like, “While we appreciated your years of experience, the candidate we chose had a master’s degree, and that level of education is very important to us.” Or, “The individual we chose to hire has been working in this exact position at a different company, so we knew they’d make a seamless transition.”

Explain that many other qualified individuals applied. Qualified job candidates can feel as if they’ve been cheated when a job is denied to them, or as if they somehow failed personally. In these cases, it can help to remind that candidate that they were competing with a large number of other qualified individuals. Say something like, “Although you were a strong candidate for the job, we had some stiff competition for this job opening. I’m sorry to say that you did not win that competition.”

Invite them to connect with the company on social media. This may be a difficult conversation for the person you’re talking to. So, lighten the conversation by inviting them to connect with the company professionally online. This will also show that there are no hard feelings. So, say something like, “We’d love to keep you in mind in case any positions open up in our organization in the future. Can you send the HR department a LinkedIn invitation?” Or say, “We’d like to keep you in the loop; the company has a lot of exciting programs coming up. Check us out on Facebook and Twitter to see what we’ll be up to next!”

Disengage if the candidate wants to argue their case. In some cases, candidates may say, “Give me a second interview and I’ll change your mind!” or, “This is a mistake; I know I was the best candidate.” If this happens, don’t get into a point-by-point discussion of what the candidate could have done better in the interview or the strengths and weaknesses of their resume. To politely disengage, say something like, “Although we’re hiring someone else, don’t feel as if you did anything wrong. I’m confident that you’re going to find a job that’s right for you soon.”

Encourage strong candidates to apply again in the future. Just because a candidate wasn’t the best fit for one job doesn’t mean that there won’t be a place for them at your company in the future. To avoid wasting an already-forged relationship, explain to good candidates that, although they weren’t the best fit for this job, you'd like them to keep in touch. Explain that there may be a better job opportunity for them in the future. So, say something like, “Don’t hesitate to apply if our company posts another job in the future! You were nearly selected for this position, and should definitely apply to work here again.” If they were a particularly strong candidate and you think they would do well elsewhere in the company, offer to connect them with that department. This is a win-win for everyone.

Writing a Rejection Email

Email the individual as soon as you’ve hired a different candidate.Once you (or the HR department or hiring manager) have selected a candidate to fill the job opening, send a rejection email to non-interviewed candidates as soon as possible. This will keep the candidates from developing false hopes and allow them to begin searching for another job. Ideally, send a rejection email on the next business day after you’ve made a hiring decision.

Draft an email that’s no longer than 3-4 sentences. Since the candidate never came in for a face-to-face interview, the message can be fairly brief. Open with the candidate’s full name. Then, write something like, “Thank you for your application for the position of Creative Director at ABC Advertising. While we were impressed by your resume, we ultimately offered a different candidate the position. We wish you the best of luck in your career.” Sign your name at the bottom of the email, and send it once you’ve checked for any errors.

Do not apologize for not hiring the candidate in the email. Finding out that their job application has been rejected can be tough for applicants. However, for the sake of professionalism, don’t apologize or act as if you disagree with the company’s hiring decision. Never let on if there were any differences of opinion regarding hiring the individual. For example, don’t write write, “Although I would’ve loved to hire you, our hiring manager had other ideas.”

Offer a brief reply if a candidate writes back with questions. If the individual replies to your email and wants to know what strengths the hired candidate possessed that they didn’t, reply with another 3-4 sentence email. Make your email succinct and objective so you won’t get involved in a back-and-forth email exchange. For example, write something like, “While we found your resume compelling, it came down to an issue of work history. You had several multi-year gaps in your employment history that inclined us to hire a different individual.”