Guidelines : Otherwise Unsuitable

Nonselection of Applicants: Otherwise Unsuitable

Guidelines and Alternate Phrases

• Open with a neutral or positive statement, thanking the applicant for his or her interest in your company.
• Thank you for the opportunity to review your résumé.
• Your application with Wellesey has been routed through various technical departments for consideration by members of our staff. We appreciate your giving us the time to review your experience with our requirements in mind.
• Thank you for completing our job application forms.
• We appreciate your forwarding your résumé to us for consideration.
• We are always pleased to hear from those who have heard favorable reports about our company and seek employment here.
• Thank you for your interest in working for Bellview Clinic.
• We are always flattered to receive résumés.
• Focus on the hiring decision you’ve made, avoiding statements about why the reader was not selected. If you have not selected another candidate, simply state the requirements that you have for the position.
• For this position, we have selected a candidate who has the prerequisite six years’ experience with our Model 388T computers.
• After careful review of all the résumés we received, we have chosen a candidate who brings exactly the kind of experience and academic credentials we feel this job demands.
• We have completed our review of the résumés and have chosen to interview several candidates who have firsthand design experience in their work history.
• The candidate we selected has had the management experience we deem to be essential in this demanding position.
• With the opportunity to review so many résumés, our choice has been difficult. Nevertheless, we are pleased to say we have hired a candidate with the in-depth academic background we were hoping to find.
• With such an overwhelming response to our ad, we have taken far too long to review the résumés of the qualified people interested in this position. After much work, we are pleased to say we have selected an individual whose career achievements in the sales industry have been outstanding.
• After a lengthy process of reviewing résumés and interviewing applicants, we have narrowed our consideration to two and will be making a final decision about them within the next few days.
• We have now filled the position you referred to in your letter. The individual who accepted the position has the difficult-to-find experience on the equipment we have here at Fairview.
• We’ve now made our selection for the position. The candidate we chose has the in-depth experience, the travel flexibility, and the disposition we think this job entails.
• We will be reviewing the résumés we received within the next two weeks and plan to schedule interviews with those applicants who have a master’s degree and the prerequisite experience for this position. Should we want to talk with you further, you will receive a call within the next few weeks.
• We are continually re-assessing our needs for mailing-list brokers and will certainly keep your past relationship with our company in mind as we hire additional help.
• At this time, we have selected candidates for the positions that were advertised and offers are being made to those candidates. Unfortunately, we had many more qualified candidates than positions.
• It’s always so difficult to choose from a field of highly motivated applicants who can contribute to the growth of our organization. However, we have finally narrowed our choice among several individuals, to whom we will be making offers shortly.
• Wish the applicant well in his or her job search.
• Please accept our wish for your success in the industry.
• Good luck in your future endeavors.
• We wish you success in finding an interesting and challenging position in your field.
• We hope you have no difficulty at all in finding a position that interests you.
• We want you to know you have our best wishes for success with your career plans.
• (Note: See phrasing in previous categories.)

Example 1: Sample applicant rejection letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Willis:

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to consider you for our training position. The résumé and curriculum samples you left with us were especially helpful in our interviewing process.

We have been very deliberate in our selection and have taken longer to fill the vacancy than we originally anticipated. After careful thought, however, we have chosen someone who had the specific combination of background, experience, and disposition we thought essential for the position. Such decisions are always difficult but rewarding, both to the individual and to us.

With your permission, we would like to keep your résumé on file for one year. Occasionally, unanticipated vacancies occur, and we want to consider you for any such openings.

Your experience is certainly valuable, and we wish you success in finding a position that suits your needs and expectations. Thank you again for your interest in Baker Consolidated.

Sincerely,

Example 2: Applicant rejection letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Skip:

I want to thank you for coming by our offices and interviewing with us last week. I enjoyed visiting with you and discussing job opportunities that might be available.

While you certainly have accumulated fine qualifications, we have decided we do not currently have a position appropriate to your interests.

Please stay in touch and let us know what you decide to pursue.

Regards,

Example 3: Candidate rejection letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Melinda:

I want to thank you for taking time to interview for the plant manager position.

We have interviewed all candidates, and have chosen someone who does have six years of experience in the financial areas we discussed. These financial responsibilities are of utmost importance in this critical branch office, and we simply had to let that part of the job overshadow the rest for a time.

We appreciate your interest in our company and wish you every success for a rewarding future.

Sincerely,

Example 4: Rejection letters to applicants

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Mr. Brigham:

Thank you for your recent application. You were one of several exceptionally qualified candidates. The caliber of each of the applicants, yourself included, made our decision difficult.

We regret to inform you we did not select you for the position. We chose a candidate who has several years experience in corporate law, an area we hope to branch into in the near future.

We feel confident that you will soon be employed.

Sincerely,

Example 5: Example of regret letter

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Marina:

I want to thank you for the time you have spent interviewing with various members of management, touring our facilities, and going through our testing procedures. You have come through this process with the highest of marks—we were especially impressed with your professionalism. At this time, however, we have decided upon a candidate who has had experience with shipping and receiving logistics.

We are currently looking for candidates to fill several positions similar to the one you had applied for, and have enclosed a listing of them. We would welcome the opportunity to consider you for one of these openings.

Yours Truly,

Guidelines : Salary Requirements

Nonselection of Applicants: Salary Requirements

Guidelines and Alternate Phrases

• Thank the applicant for his or her interest in working for your company, being specific about the time and effort spent in interviewing, travel to your site, and references or other information furnished for your evaluation.
• Thank you for giving us an opportunity to consider your experience in filling the plant manager position. We especially appreciate your time in making the special trip to Dallas for the interview.
• Thank you for forwarding your résumé to us; we appreciate the opportunity to look at so qualified a candidate for our clinic.
• We want you to know first of all how grateful we are for your willingness to interview with us when such a great distance was involved. Your travel here made it so much easier on all our staff to talk with you firsthand about their expectations for this position.
• Thank you, Marilyn, for visiting with us about the job we have available in Clinton. We also very much appreciate the time you took in supplying us with such a complete portfolio.
• Now that the dust has settled, we as a team have been able to talk more seriously about the position for which you interviewed. We thank you for your patience and interest in coming to work for us.
• Frank, we so much appreciate the time you’ve spent with us during this past month while we have been outlining plans for the European expansion.
• I wanted to update you on the status of your résumé with our Facilities Management division, and to thank you for bearing with us. As you probably realize, when we fill a position as important as the one we discussed with you, we are very deliberate in our evaluation process.
• Thank you for taking the time to interview with us. We realize time is one commodity graduate students have in short supply, and we appreciate the interest you’ve shown in Wellesey.
• Thank you for talking with us about the management position in Saudi Arabia. Your experience and achievements have such a direct bearing on the position we have been most anxious to work out all the details.
• Thank you so much for spending the time to go through the lengthy interviewing process with us. In addition to the time here on site, I know you also spent hours on the phone with other of our managers.
• Thank you for the two trips you made to Dallas to talk with us about the sales position. They were time-consuming, and we appreciate the effort.
• Comment on the applicant’s experience, achievements, or attributes appropriate to the job, and then give the salary issue as your reason for the turndown. State under what conditions, if any, you might reconsider the decision.
• With your telecommunication expertise and your management experience, we certainly wanted to be able to bring you aboard in this position. However, as we discussed among ourselves in evaluating your résumé, budget has always been a thorn in our side here. We find we just can’t come up with the money to meet your salary expectations.
• We were very impressed with your achievements at Belview–the two service awards this past year particularly. But after re-evaluating our needs here, we just do not feel we can justify the salary requirements you outlined for us.
• Although we wish we could hire someone with your pleasant disposition and willingness–even eagerness–to travel, we find your salary expectations exceed what the job pays.
• Frankly, Belinda, we thought you were perfect for the position, but we can’t meet your salary needs.
• Your experience at Barington and your academic ties seemed just the thing to sway our management team here. The problem is the salary range you mentioned.
• Although there is no doubt you are qualified for this job–even over-qualified–we simply can’t justify the salary you asked for the skills this job requires.
• Quite honestly, Bob, you were the best-qualified candidate. We just can’t pay the $80,000 salary you requested. Perhaps, if we ever reorganized so this position encompassed both divisions, that salary might be feasible. But we have no such plans at the present.
• We have no doubt you could handle the job we discussed. Our problem is with the salary–we simply can’t meet your requirements.
• Wish the applicant well in the job search. If you wish, express regret in not having been able to agree on salary.
• Thank you again for talking with us about your career plans; we regret we were unable to agree on salary. In any case, best wishes to you.
• We appreciate so much the opportunity to get to know you and regret only that we were unable to make you an offer. Our best as you look elsewhere.
• It was so nice to learn more about your work and plans for the future, and it is with regret we have to forego the opportunity of a suitable working arrangement. We hope you find exactly what you’re looking for.
• Thank you for making the effort to interview with us. I wish we could have found a position for you here. Good luck elsewhere.
• We wish you the best in finding the job you want and deserve.
• We want you to know we think your qualifications justify the salary requirements you have, and we wish you the best in locating a suitable position immediately.

Example 1: Applicant reject letters due to salary

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Terciametz:

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us about the engineering position in our Montana location. After visiting with you last week, we were impressed with your investment results in the last few years and particularly intrigued with the new investment strategy you outlined for us.

As we discussed, however, in a new fund such as ours, budget decisions aren’t changed lightly. We have established what we feel is a reasonable salary for the position and have determined to stay within that range. Although you no doubt could contribute greatly to our efforts here, we regret we can’t meet your salary expectations.

You have our best wishes in your job search as you seek a position with a more seasoned organization than ours. We’ll be hoping to hear good things from you in the future.

Sincerely,

Example 2: Example of non selection letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear John:

Thank you for discussing employment possibilities with EZEE-Grow. I sincerely appreciate the time you spent with me in the interview and regret to tell you we were unable to find the funds to meet your salary requirements.

We will keep the information you provided us in our active file for six months. In the event we have an opening at the level for which you want to be considered, we will contact you again to determine your interest.

I wish you the best in finding a rewarding position where your talents can be fully used.

Cordially,

Example 3: Sample applicant rejection letter

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Roger:

I want you to know how much I enjoyed our recent interview together. I truly feel that you would be an outstanding addition to our team. Your financial abilities are well documented, and your theories concerning innovations in finance management were intriguing.

Unfortunately, your salary requirements exceed the amount we were authorized for this position’s salary. Given your exceptional credentials and talents I think that I could convince the committee to authorize an additional $10,000 a year, but I know that would be as high as we could go. If you are interested in the position at that price, please contact me.

I’m sorry we could not meet your salary requirements. If you do not wish to re-negotiate, please accept my sincere good wishes on your job search.

Regards,

Example 4: Letter of rejection after interview

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Ms. McBride:

I was impressed with your technical writing qualifications, and the portfolio samples you submitted during our interview. The flight from Maine to Alaska must have been quite exhausting, and we appreciate the time you took from your current job to fly to our Fairbanks office.

Unfortunately, we are unable to meet the salary requirements you requested. We are extremely sorry about this—we feel you would have been a valuable addition to our team.

We wish you luck in securing employment.

Sincerely,

Example 5: Regret letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Max:

I would like to thank you for the time you committed to going through three rounds of interviews with our company for the position of General Manager. I realize that these interviews were quite intense, and I was impressed with the sense of ease and professionalism you exhibited—two qualities that we prize in our managers. Unfortunately, the salary you are requesting exceeds the amount that we are able to offer at this time.

I wish you success in finding a company that can offer you a salary equal to your abilities.

Regards,

Guidelines : Restructuring

Restructuring

Guidelines

• State how much you appreciate the employees and their hard work.
• Explain clearly and honestly why new applicants are not being added. Outline the details of the restructuring. Explain how this will affect them and their job descriptions.
• List the advantages, both for them and the company, that will be realized because of the restructuring. List any benefits that they may gain because of the restructuring.
• Welcome their concerns and give them an opportunity to air them.
• Thank them for their understanding and cooperation.

Example 1: Sample applicant rejection letter

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Rochelle:

Thank you for the time you have spent in our interviewing process. Unfortunately, we are now unable to hire another paralegal at this time due restructuring.

Your work experience is impressive, and your professionalism was evident when we met. With your permission, I would be happy to fax your resume to Marcus Harp at Harp, Pilcher & Jasper.

Best wishes in your continued search.

Cordially,

Example 2: Applicant rejection letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Mr. Silverman:

Thank you for submitting your resume for the posted Accountant III job. Unfortunately, this position was eliminated in a recent restructuring of the accounting department.

We appreciate your interest.

Sincerely,

Example 3: Example of regret letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Mr. Rioux:

Thank you for your interest in the summer science teacher position. However, we are reducing the number of classes offered. We invite you to resubmit your application for the fall semester.

Thank you for your interest in Dorothea Dix High School.

Yours truly,

Example 4: Rejection letter to applicant

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Ms. Leontine:

Thank you for your interest in the Engineer, Level IV position. Your credentials are impressive. However, the projects connected to this position have been divided among the current employees.

Best of luck.

Cordially,

Example 5: Interview rejection letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Mr. Kellogg:

We appreciate your recent application for the position of Financial Strategist. We were impressed with your educational honors and work experience.

It has been decided, though, that the duties of this position will be combined with that of a similar position.

However, given your expertise in maritime law, I would suggest that you contact local accounting firms that specialize in international commerce: Tremain Corporation, Gautreaux & Gautreaux, and P.T. Boyle & Sons, for possible job openings.

Thank you for your time, and best wishes in your job search.

Sincerely,

Guidelines : No Opening

Nonselection of Applicants: No Opening

Guidelines and Alternate Phrases

• Thank the applicant for his or her interest in the position. If you have reviewed the résumé, you may want to comment on the applicant’s experience, skills, or achievements.
• Thank you for allowing us to review your résumé. We were most impressed with your academic achievements–you must be very pleased.
• Thank you for taking the time to send us your résumé.
• We appreciate your interest in investigating job possibilities at Revmore.
• We read your résumé with interest; your experience is impressive.
• We are always pleased to receive résumés such as yours that show so much rich experience in the oil industry.
• Thank you for the opportunity to read your résumé and evaluate your credentials. Your work history seems impressive and widespread in the industry.
• From reviewing your résumé, we see you have had an excellent employment history. Thank you for letting us know of your interest in working for Babcox.
• Thank you for your letter and your résumé detailing your work history and credentials.
• We appreciate your letting us know of your availability for employment at Wilmax Associates.
• We appreciate your time in preparing such a comprehensive résumé for our review at Futuro Services.
• State you have no job opening at the present time. If you plan to keep the résumé on file or refer the applicant to someone else, say so. You will also build goodwill by suggesting another company or contact as a possible employer or source of leads.
• We have no positions that match your qualifications. We will keep your application on file for six months should another position we think will be more appropriate for your experience come open.
• We, unfortunately, have no openings. With your permission, however, I’d like to pass along your letter and résumé to our headquarters office just in case they have an opening of which I’m unaware. If so, they’ll contact you directly.
• We regret we have no openings at the present time. May we keep your résumé on file for the future?
• Occasionally we have unanticipated openings that might be appropriate for your skills. Should that be the case, we will pass your résumé along to others in the organization who might want to talk with you further.
• We will keep your résumé in our active file for one year. If we have openings within that time frame, you can be assured we will again review the information you sent.
• Although we have no openings in the sales area, we suggest you contact our Minneapolis office to see what their needs are there.
• Unfortunately, we have nothing available at the moment. In case an opening does materialize, I’ll have my office contact you immediately to talk further.
• We have no vacancies in line with your qualifications and expectations; however, we suggest you may want to consider nonprofit organizations in the area.
• Although we have no needs in the areas you mention, please feel free to write each of our district offices about their employment plans.
• Although we don’t foresee any vacancies for which your skills would be appropriate, we do encourage you to keep looking in this industry. The needs of some of our fellow service organizations are quite different from ours.
• Wish the applicant well in his or her job search.
• We wish you success in your job search.
• Thank you again for writing. Best wishes.
• We hope you find an opening that matches your expectations completely.
• Thank you for letting us know of your interest. We wish you success in your search process.
• Good luck in finding an organization that can give you the career success you deserve.
• We hope you are able to find more suitable employment opportunities elsewhere. Best wishes.
• Thank you for thinking of us in light of your career-change plans. Your résumé indicates you have much to offer.
• With your achievements and academic record, you should have no trouble in finding employment.
• Best wishes in finding the right job.
• We know you will be successful in finding the job that you want in this region.
• We value the opportunity to review the credentials of such a qualified individual. Best wishes.
• Thank you again for sending us information on yourself. We hope you find a job that offers the opportunities you want for the future.

Example 1: Regret letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Toombs:

Thank you for forwarding your résumé to our offices and letting us know of your interest in the accounting area. Although your experience and academic credentials are appropriate for such a position, we have no openings at the current time.

We will keep your name in our active file for the next few months, and should we learn of a vacancy in the accounting area, we will again review your information and talk with you further.

Thank you for writing. Your work history is a gold mine–we know you will make an excellent employee with such a breadth of experience.

Sincerely,

Example 2: Example of regret letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Ms. Desmond:

Thank you for submitting your resume. While we were impressed with the amount of experience you’ve had as an accounts manager, we regret that we have no available openings.

We keep all applications in an open file for six months, should an opening arrive. I must admit that we do not anticipate any openings, but would like to suggest that you contact Brewster & Ulster. Ask to speak to LaDawn Trudeau. Feel free to mention my name to her.

Good luck in your job search. With your qualifications, we are sure you will soon be employed.

Yours Truly,

Example 3: No job vacancy letter to applicant

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Mr. Norman:

Thank you for your interest in Somerset Industries. Your management credentials are excellent. Unfortunately, we have no openings at this time.

I would suggest that you call Chip Chavez at Collier’s. He is looking for a mid-level manager. While this is slightly below your level of expertise, Collier’s is known for their rapid advancement.

We wish you well in your continued search.

Cordially,

Example 4: Example of non selection letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Ms. Kulper:

Thank you for your interest in our company. We regret that we have no openings at the present time. We keep all resumes in an active file for six weeks.

Good luck in your search.

Sincerely,

Example 5: Sample letters for applicant

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Thank you for your interest in Farber’s advertising department. We have no openings at the present time.

You may check job listings online by accessing our Web site at:

www.farbers.jobline.com

Please feel free to resubmit your resume for any appropriate positions. Meanwhile, best of luck in your search for employment.

Sincerely,