Dear HR form letter,
Thank you for letting me know that you will not be pursuing
me for the posted position. I appreciate a form letter versus a black hole like
Target or Celarity. After being in the rejection business for a few months, I
have to draw your attention to one sentence that keeps popping up in letter
after letter. I believe you wrote it with all good intentions, but it is
ultimately aggravating beyond belief, and makes me wish bad things upon you.
That sentence is:
“After reviewing your resume and carefully considering your
qualifications, we have decided to pursue other candidates who more closely
match the skills and credentials required for the position.”
Here’s another example:
“However, we have filled the job with a candidate whose
qualifications more closely align with the requirements for this position.”
Why is this aggravating? I have to tell you, I don’t
spend much time applying to job openings that are not in my wheelhouse. Of the
30 jobs I applied to last week, two of them were a bit outside my range, but
only in some of the duties listed. So to say that there are candidates whose
qualifications more closely match the skills and credentials required is like
saying you found an ice cream that more closely matches the qualities and taste
of ice cream than ice cream. What I’m saying is that your attempt to
rationalize your decision doesn’t make logical sense, and becomes even more
insulting since it then appears you did not look at my credentials and
qualifications to see how well they match the position.
This would not be constructive criticism unless I offered
an alternative. Here is a rejection letter that made me perfectly happy.
“Thank you for your interest in our Marketing
Communications Specialist position in our Minneapolis office. We regret
to inform you that we have filled this position. We appreciate your interest in
opportunities with us, and will retain your information for consideration for
future openings. We wish you the best of success in your employment search.”
Rather than attempt to tell me why I didn’t get a call, the
company just politely thanks me, tells me that the position was filled, and
leaves with a nice (even if form-letter-level-sincere) wish for success. Quick
rejection sandwiched in between two slices of politeness. Thank you, company! I
will keep an eye on future opportunities with you!
Here’s another one:
“Thank you for your interest in working at The Loft Literary
Center. You were one of 130 qualified applicants for the posted job of
marketing coordinator. I wanted to let you know that we’ve narrowed the search
to five candidates that do not include your application. Thank you for giving
us a chance to review your qualifications and interest in the literary arts.”
This one was appreciated because it didn’t offer any
trite reasons for not choosing me, and it had the benefit of letting me know how
stiff the competition was. I feel better knowing I wasn’t in the top five out
of 130 people. I have interviewed in person for several jobs knowing I was in
the top 5-10 out of more than 100 applicants, so I know I’m up there, just not
for this particular position. Once I have a job, I’ll probably look into
volunteering at The Loft, or using their services.
Anyway, if you are in charge of writing these rejection
form letters, please keep in mind the implications of writing vague reasons for
not choosing an applicant. I’m sure the process is usually an individual choice
based on what you are looking for, and the reasons for rejecting people are as
varied as the number of applicants, so to reduce your reasons to something that
is simply not true for each applicant insults the applicants and reduces the
perceived value of the work you do for the company.
Sincerely,
One of the hundreds of applicants you rejected today
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