What a good rejection email looks like — and why the bad ones are bad

I've received approximately 40 rejections this year. Most were bad. Two were genuinely good. Here's what made the difference.

A bad rejection email:
"We regret to inform you that we have decided to proceed with other candidates. We will keep your CV on file for future opportunities. We wish you all the best."

This says nothing, helps nothing, and the "keep on file" is almost never true.

A good rejection email I actually received:
"Thank you for taking the time to go through our process. After careful consideration, we've decided to proceed with a candidate whose [specific area] experience more closely matches what we need right now. Your [specific strength] came through clearly in the interviews. We genuinely wish you success, this was a competitive process."

Why the good one is better:
- It's specific, I know why I wasn't chosen
- It acknowledges what I did well
- It treats me like a person, not an application number

A good rejection takes 2 more minutes to write. It leaves a lasting positive impression of the company.