Companies generally send the same rejection letter to everyone. These letters often compliment the applicant on his or her credentials and offer regret that there are no appropriate openings at that time. It is important to realize that a rejection letter is truly a rejection only when it follows an interview.
Rejection Letters In Response To A Direct Mail Campaign
If you received a respectable response rate from your campaign, try another campaign of the remaining companies in a few months. Direct marketers say you should then expect approximately half the response you got with your first mailing. As an alternative, network into the companies that interest you, contact someone else in the same firm, or use a targeted mailing approach.
If your response rate from your mailing was poor, you picked the wrong market for what you have to offer, or the package you sent was lacking. Chances are, you were not as knowledgeable about this market as you thought. Research or network to learn more, or network to find out what was wrong with your package.
Rejection Letter In Response To An Ad
This is par for the course. The company probably received a thousand resumes. Or perhaps the ad was not for a legitimate opening.
If a company name was listed, network in, do a targeted mailing to someone who could be the hiring manager, or contact a search firm that handles the type of position mentioned. Your resume was probably rejected by someone other than the hiring manager, so it's worth further effort if you're interested in the position. Some companies have a policy of immediately sending out rejection letters to everyone. Then they call those people they're interested in even though the applicants have already been "rejected." For companies that always send rejection letters, this approach saves time.
Rejection Letter In Response To A Networking Contact You Tried To Make
The person did not understand that what you wanted was information. If many people respond to you this way, reassess your approach to networking.
Rejection Letter Following A Job Interview
This is a true rejection letter. It used to be that it took seven job interviews to get one offer. That figure may now be higher. If you are still interested in the company, don't give up.
Lessons To Learn
When you get a rejection note in response to an interview, think about it. How interested are you in that firm? Did you hit it off with the interviewer? If you think there was some mutual interest, see if there might be other jobs with the company later perhaps in another department. Or perhaps the person hired instead of you might not work out. Keep in touch. People rarely do, but we all like to hire people who truly want to work for us.
Case Study: Stan
Turning a Rejection into an Offer
Stan was told an offer was being made to another candidate. He was crushed, but he immediately dashed off a letter to the hiring manager and hand delivered it. A brief letter, it said, in part:
I was disappointed to hear that you have offered the position to someone else. I truly believe I am right for the position, and wish you would keep me in mind anyway. You never know something could happen to the new person, and you may need a replacement. Please consider me no matter when this may occur, because I believe I belong at your institution.
The next day, Stan received a call with an offer. Some people may think the offer to the other candidate fell through. However, I believe Stan's letter influenced the hiring manager. When he saw Stan's letter, he thought to himself, we're offering the position to the wrong person! And he allowed the negotiation with the other candidate to lapse
