Everyone has applied for at least one job; most (especially these days) hundreds. For the vast majority, these attempts at find employment fail.
But how can you tell? Two basic ways are silence and the proverbial rejection letter. But which is better?
Silence:
While you may have met the job specifications 110%, for some unknown and unfathomable reason, you were not selected. No reason, no rhyme; a little to a lot of disappointment, but its benign.
The Rejection letter:
Whether you matched the job specification or not, rejection letters can be a tricky slope for the hiring manager to write. Do they try to soften the blow? Or give you vague reasons. Some may give you concrete reasons or do they insult your intelligence by writing fluff or even worse, rubbing your face in the rejection.
Here are some rejections I’ve received over time that were really awful.
1. “Our mutual objectives differed…” The VP who wrote me that letter obviously did not understand the definition of the word mutual. I’ve been laughing about this letter for over 20 years.
2. “Your qualifications and experience are quite impressive and you have a lot to offer, but other candidates were closer to our requirements…” Thank you for the stroke and slap in the same sentence. I feel much better now.
3. “We’re sorry that you were not selected for the position, but Jane Doe, who I’m sure you know, was selected. Jane, who recently worked at….” You have to be kidding! Talk about being insensitive.
Rejections that you should send:
“Thank you for applying for the position of [employee]. We appreciate the time you took to apply and wish you best of luck in your search.” Simple, both indirect and direct.
Now others will agree and disagree so why not list what you think the ideal rejection letter should be and for giggles, what’s the worse rejection letter you ever received.
