Helping Startups Achieve Product Excellence | Proven Product Management Leader | Specializing in Product Market Fit, User Retention, + GTM Strategies
I encountered THE BEST 'rejection' letter today... It was for a fractional product role I applied for back in April. No generic "thank you for your interest" message. Instead, this rejection letter contained what every rejection letter could easily have but doesn't: 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮. It provided: ➙ Number of applicants (600+) ➙ Number of applicants with specific industry experience (400+) ➙ Top locations of applications ➙ Median hourly rate From there, it provided context: what they were looking for, how their criteria shifted slightly, and how many people they actually talked to (just 9). They even summarized the experience of the person they hired. This level of transparency helped me understand where I stood and why I wasn't selected. It also made me feel acknowledged, not dismissed. I was going to post about more product insights today, but I thought this could... 1. 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. It’s tough out there, and every bit of feedback helps. 2. 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗿. Let's encourage more companies to communicate this way. Rejection emails don’t have to be a black hole. This information isn't sensitive, and I certainly feel better, not worse, hearing it. Let's raise the bar. Share your best (or worst) 'rejection' letters and let's show what good communication looks like. #JobSearch #Recruitment #JobHunting #CareerGrowth #HiringPractices
I know this takes a lot of time so not many recruiters/hiring teams can send rejection letters like this, but even one of these would make me feel so much better than just hearing "Your resume and experience is impressive but we went with another candidate" over and over again. Worst one: I spoke with a member of the hiring team after taking an hour long assessment and sending two videos of me answering questions about my work experience (part of the assessment). They seemed very enthusiastic about my application and said they thought the team would love me, so they were going to try to get me in front of the hiring manager asap. I followed up a week later after not hearing anything. The next day, I received a form rejection saying the role had been filled. It felt a little insulting that they couldn't even take the time to email me directly.
Worst one: I’ve had an application in progress at one company, meanwhile I’ve had a chat with a recruiter who told me that I’m asking WAY below my market value, and while this company was still thinking about what other hoops they could make me jump through, I’ve successfully interviewed at two other places. I’ve asked for a bit of haste as I have other offers waiting, they’ve told me that they’re prepping the offer. Then they’ve told me that the offer is at the CTO’s desk, waiting for approval. Then I’ve received a call from them, where I was told that the CTO has asked their recruiter to tell me that “They have way, WAY better engineers than I am for way, WAY less money than what I was asking for, and I should REALLY, REALLY look into myself and think about my REAL value”. So anyways, I’ve said thanks for the valuable input, and accepted the role which paid almost twice as much as what I was asking from this first company, and joined a team of people who actually VALUED me. Not just financially, but as a professional and a person too.
After like 3 or 4 rounds of interviews and lots of time invested in a director-level job, I got rejected. The hiring manager sent me the best-personalized rejection letter; she told me it was a hard decision, but they decided to go with an internal candidate, said they thought I was a good culture fit, demonstrated my abilities to perform well, and encouraged me to come back for other positions. This should be the standard after the candidate has invested time(money) to get the job. It's incredible how many hiring managers ghost you after you invest so much time in them.
Love this and this is the new bar that I will expect, but alas, I know I will be disappointed. One of the worst rejection emails I got from a Large, well known org read... Dear <Firstname> <Surname> You have been unsuccessful in your application for <Role title>... [Some waffle here] Please do keep applying as you were an excellent candidate...blah blah Kind regards <Hiring Manager> --- Yes - I was emailed the incomplete template. I felt really warm and fuzzy inside after putting some 20/30 hours of effort into this company for the interview process. Warm/Fuzzy = Rage! --- I did go back and ask for some feedback (Email and LinkedIn Messaging) from the recruitment team as well as the hiring manager, but alas I was ignored by both. Meh! Their loss 🖖
Here’s an example of a well-crafted rejection letter, balancing professionalism, empathy, and encouragement: Subject: Thank You for Your Application Dear [Candidate’s Name], Thank you for taking the time to apply for the [Job Title] position at [Company Name]. We appreciate your interest in our company and the effort you put into your application. After careful consideration, we have decided to move forward with other candidates whose qualifications more closely match the requirements of the position. This decision was not easy, as we received a large number of highly qualified applicants. We were impressed with your [specific skills or experience], and we encourage you to apply for future openings that match your qualifications. Your dedication to [industry/field] is commendable, and we are confident that you will find a role that is a perfect fit for your talents. We wish you the best of luck in your job search and future professional endeavors. Thank you again for your interest in [Company Name]. Best regards, [Your Name] [Your Job Title] [Company Name] [Contact Information]
You are aware it most likely was not written by a human, but especially if they had that many applicants and provided that kind of backend data as context. It's AI generated and NO human even reviewed your resume. That was done by AI too.
Great share! I received a rejection from a fellowship. The email mentioned the data, all Applicant and the number of application reviewers. They mentioned about the steps in application review processing and number of candidates getting to final interview and then the final list of selection along with my position. The mail also contained a generic recall of the required education skills and experiences. Then they mentioned about the specific information about their core selection decision and how could it not fit for the remaining final interviewees who didn't get selected (like I was). This email provided a transparency and didn't negatively affect me despite being a rejection. However, I have gotten to know that the same fellowship has stopped sending such regret mails to the fellows didn't get selected. That's a shame!
Love this! Hoping this gets shared as a new best practice. Frankly, once drafted, this could be a template, but would involve customization for each role. On a related note, so many JDs sound generic that it's hard to know exactly what the specific job entails. When the posted ad includes either a 30/60/90 plan or what your day looks like, I feel much more informed and inspired and I'd love that to be a norm, too! Any communication from a company is a form of PR, and I don't think it's always valued that way.
The best rejection I have ever had was a phone call from the CIO of a major corporation. She took the time to talk to me an explain their decision making process and how they determined that the other candidate was a better fit. We chatted for 30 minutes. The worst was an automated email that said they had carefully considered my application but felt I wasn't a good fit. This is standard, but I received it 30 minutes after my resume was submitted! I'm impressed that they can carefully consider a candidate in 30 minutes.
Director of Training Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
2wWorst: was highly qualified for the position I interviewed for . Since the field is highly specialized, I know there probably were not many applicants who are qualified . I got an interview which seemed to go well . I knew many people already at this organization. I never got any notification on whether I would be invited back for a second interview . A month later at a national meeting I attended something I heard in passing made me think a selection had been made , so I asked someone I knew there . Sure enough an internal candidate had been selected . 3 months later I got an email from the person running the search committee apologizing for not getting back to me and I must think them “rude”. The email was enraging . All it said was that I was not selected for a second interview and that the people who were invited back were seen as “better fits”. I wrote back a polities but restrained email that I knew an internal selection had been made only a couple of weeks after I interviewed so from my perspective this did not look like a true national search . I let them know that given the small size of the field , they should have been more transparent.