We all have received rejection mail at some point in our careers. I know this is a disheartening, challenging, and very embarrassing moment in one’s life, but we all have faced this. So you don’t need to worry that you are the only one.
Whenever a job seeker receives such kind of mail, they simply delete it and try to move on. But what if this mail can be of great use? What if I tell you that this mail can completely transform your job-hunting technique in the future?
Responding to a recruiter with a thoughtful note is always a better choice than deleting the mail. This gives you better opportunities to build a strong professional network in the industry.
We will know more about this in detail throughout the article. So, you must go on.
Why Do You Get Rejection Mail?
Whenever you get a rejection mail, you should never forget that a rejection mail from a company does not necessarily mean that they are not interested in working with you or will never hire you in the future.
Getting a rejection mail simply means that they don’t want to hire you specifically for a particular job role that you have applied for. It allows you to always come back in the future and apply for the same job role if you have to build some skills to fit in the position perfectly. It may also happen that the company may offer you some other job role in the upcoming future.
Furthermore, suppose you want to again apply for any job in the future. In that case, these emails allow you to remind the company of your availability if you send a reminder mail in the same thread. But if you delete the mail, then remembering the company seems to be an impossible task.
Job candidates have a habit of continuously applying for jobs, and sometimes they don’t even know the company’s name because they are eager to have a job. So it’s always better not to delete it but to respond to the recruiter or the employer in the same mail thread.
Also Read: The Best Questions To Ask In An Interview With Examples
How Does a Rejection Mail Look Like?
In this context, I will try to make you understand by giving a simple and basic example.
Monika is searching for a job, and she continuously applies to different companies. After a few days, her profile gets shortlisted, and she’s called for an interview with recruiters. She realized that her interview felt like a conversation with the recruiter and her expectations for the job increased. She has good academic background and experience, so she’s sure she will receive an invitation or offer letter from the company by the end of the week.
After a few days, she receives a message from the HR department, and she reads it carefully, which leaves her wholly devastated, angry, and emotional. The email was:
“Thank you for your valuable time, but we have decided to go further with another candidate. We will contact you in the future if we have any other openings in the company.”
I know this was not supposed to happen. But we all have faced this.
Don’t worry; it’s completely normal to get such emails.
Furthermore, the recruiters did not send these emails to every individual who has appeared in an interview or whose profile was shortlisted for the interview. If you are getting such emails, that means the recruiter liked your profile, but because of the limited vacancies available in the company, they went for the other candidate.
The recruiters will contact you in the future. This suggests that they believed you would bring valuable ideas to the company. Still, due to limited seats, they moved to another candidate.
A candidate always needs to understand that thousands of people are applying for around one vacancy in a company. It is a big task for a recruiter to shortlist the deserving candidate and call them for an interview. You should always appreciate the fact that they informed you because replying to a non-selected candidate is not an employer’s job. Responding to them also helps build a better professional relationship with the people.
Why Should You Respond to a Rejection Mail?
As mentioned earlier, most candidates simply delete these kinds of emails from their inboxes because they don’t want to recall a situation in their life where they have been rejected. But, believe me, if you apply to the same company after a few years, you can always go back to that mail and memorize what additional skills you can add to that resume and how you have improved in these years.
Whenever you see that mail in your inbox, you will get an idea that this company was interested in hiring me. You can also reply on the same thread to learn about the present vacancies and opportunities available in the company.
You should never abuse or use foul language that doesn’t make you professional and degrade your behavior in front of the recruiter. It’s not a good sign to remain in the industry. Another significant factor is that whenever you reply to the rejection mail, it always helps you to provide a networking opportunity. This will help you make professional connections with the recruiter or employer that can be used in the future.
There are several other reasons to respond to rejection emails. A few of the reasons are listed down below:
If you have received a rejection mail, you were among the deserving candidates. If you got lucky, the selected candidate may not join the company or decide not to take the position. In that case, the recruiters will get back to you if you have replied to the rejection mail with respect and dignity.
Whenever the selected candidate starts the job and realizes that they are not suitable for the work culture or are not a good fit for this kind of job, they will immediately leave the company. In this condition, the recruiters will again go back to the candidates whom they have sent emails to. If the other candidate has not replied to their rejection mail, they were not wholly interested in working with the company.
If you have answered in the same thread, you are very active and professional in developing the skills and are genuinely interested in working with the company.
The most critical aspect of reverting in the same mail thread is knowing about the future opportunities that may be open. If you have replied, the recruiters will contact you.
Whenever you reply to the rejection mail, it automatically makes you stand out among the other candidates. This will benefit you because the majority of the managers or recruiters do not start going through the new candidates if they are searching for different vacancies.
They try to determine if some candidate’s complete profile is already saved in their system because of their ability and credibility. It also cut down the process of going through many new candidates and shortlisting, making their job much more manageable.
Also Read: How to Tell a Recruiter You Are Not Interested in a Position?
How Should You Respond to a Rejection Mail?
There are several ways to react or reply directly to the rejection mail. But, you should always note that your reply should be a gracious and polite response that automatically reflects your personality and shows that you are professionally well behaved. Replying to the mail is a widespread courtesy that everyone should do.
Your mail should not be very lengthy or not a very short mail. If you have nothing to say, you can always reply with “acknowledged,” “noted,” etc., just to show the professional behavior of an individual. In the case of rejection mail, a one-word reply does not go pretty well. The person on the other end always wants to know that you have received the mail, and if the recruiter gets your mail, they will appreciate the response you have given to them.
A few ways that you can use while responding to a rejection mail are listed down below:
1. Express Your Gratitude Towards the Rejection Mail
I know it’s tough because you have just received your rejection mail, and you are disheartened about this. But expressing your gratitude towards the mail can help you build a positive and professional relationship with the recruiter.
In addition to this, the majority of the recruiters do not even inform the candidate that they are not selected. So, always express your gratitude for their consideration and the time. Always let them know that you are interested in working with them and believe that you will get an opportunity to work with the company. Mention this information in only one to 2 sentences and don’t make it too long, which shows your extreme eagerness.
2. Express Your Disappointment
It is evident that you are responding to a rejection mail and definitely wouldn’t be happy to write the email. Be completely honest with the recruiter and tell them that you are disappointed to hear but you are working towards making yourself better and fit for the company in case of future opportunities.
It shows your genuine interest in the company and the position you have applied for, and it also maintains a positive tone in the entire email. Don’t worry. The recruiter will completely understand that because they have also faced several rejections in their career and have to deal with disappointment after getting a rejection mail. So don’t be afraid to be honest with the recruiter.
3. The Show Continued Interest
Whenever you write a mail, always consider this point. You should always hint to the recruiter that you are interested in the position and still want to work with the company in the future. This way, the recruiter may assume that you are ready to work with the company and improve.
This way, they will mark your mail so that if there is any new coming up or vacancy, they will directly contact you instead of going through the latest bunch of candidates’ resumes. Continuously expressing your interest will also help the hiring manager to let you know about the opportunities.
They always search for a candidate who is genuinely interested in working with the company instead of a person who has the capabilities but not interested in giving their best and have no interest in the company.
4. Feedback
Whenever you reply to a job rejection email, make sure that you ask them about their feedback. This will help you develop specific skills that may have worked against you because you didn’t know them.
Secondly, it also gives an idea to the recruiter that you are ready to improve and are interested in working on building the skills. This also raises your acceptance rate in the future and industry. Ask the Question very respectfully and professionally. It shouldn’t look like you are very emotionally disappointed and questioning the decision.
The Main Takeaways
- Always start with a formal greeting
- Two sentences for thanking them
- Express your disappointment in a concise sentence
- Ask them about the future opportunities
- Ask them to provide the feedback if they have time to do so
- A professional signature to close the email
A Template of a Job Rejection E-mail Response
We have listed several tips and tricks to use while responding to a rejection mail. Below is an example of the template you can use while responding to such emails. Always make sure that you have included the specific details, and it should not seem like a generic or a very copy-paste type of e-mail. It should look like you have invested time writing the mail to the recruiter.
Dear [the recruiter name]
Thank you for informing me about the decision. I’m incredibly disappointed to hear about the rejection of my profile for the job position of [shape]. However, I highly appreciate that I received an opportunity to participate in the interview process, which helped me. I enjoyed this learning process and also to know more about your organization. I will work on my skills and improve to be a much better version of myself. I hope that you will contact me in case of any further opportunities or the availability in the company that can help me provide my services to the company. Furthermore, I know you must be busy with lots of work, but I would appreciate it if you would provide me feedback regarding the application and the interview. I want to know where I can improve, as this can help me grab the right opportunities. I’m thankful for your time and consideration. I hope we will cross our paths in the future. I wish you all the best for moving forward in your career.
Thanks and regards
[your name]
You can also try to include specific details that can make your response much more professional and help you to connect with the recruiter. Always send a professional or a polite email that should also reflect your behavior and interest in working in the company in the future.
Conclusion
Regardless of how skilled you are, rejection is a sad aspect of every job hunt. Companies can’t employ everyone who gets a job, so they frequently turn down the efficient candidates due to a lack of positions. It’s unpleasant to be rejected for a job, especially if you’ve gone through numerous interviews and thought you were the best guy for the job.
Sending a follow-up email is essential if you genuinely want to make a good impression in front of a recruiter. It’s possible that their rejection had nothing to do with your capabilities but a restriction of opened vacancies. Always replying to a recruiter is a better option for the profession in the long term.
Even if you don’t receive any future opportunities, you’ll always be satisfied knowing you took the terrible news properly and tried your best to keep the communication open.
