Yes, words do matter.
Picture this: you’ve just hit “send” on your application for your dream job. You’re on top of the world, feeling like this could be the one.
Or maybe you’re stuck in a different scenario – you’ve sent out your 100th application with no luck. In this tough job market, your confidence is starting to wane and hope feels like it’s slipping away.
And then it happens: the dreaded rejection email. Even if you know it’s a generic template, those words hit hard. You read them, replay them in your mind, and start second-guessing yourself. The sting of rejection feels personal, even if it’s not meant to be.
As an employer, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the “process” and overlook the human side of things. You might think that just sending a status update is enough, but what those updates say actually matters a lot.
I saw a LinkedIn post recently where a candidate shared how thrilled they were to receive a particular rejection letter. Huh?
It was a form letter – but injected with thoughtfulness and humanity. The candidate was so impressed that they mentioned the company by name, giving them a huge boost in their employer brand. You shoulda seen the comment section!
Take a fresh look at YOUR candidate communication strategy. Make your templates warmer, more personal. It’s a simple, no-cost tweak that can have an immediate, positive impact on your employer brand and how candidates feel about your company.
Bonus tip: offer training to your recruiters and hiring managers on how to effectively communicate with candidates. As a brand candidates won’t remember what you said as much as - how you made them feel.
So the moral of the story? Words DO matter.
Here’s the letter that was posted (with names changed for privacy).
𝘏𝘪 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘺𝘯:
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘟𝘠𝘡’𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘙 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦!
𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴! 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨.
𝘐𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴.
𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩!
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥.
𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺,