“You have been unsuccessful in this instance.”
Dreaded words, but it does not need to be the end.
When you have received a rejection letter after an interview, you could ask for feedback in order to learn from the experience.
Feedback Letter Template
Get valuable feedback from an unsuccessful interview. Sending a feedback letter/email also encourages the recruitment manager to take another look at your CV and/or other submitted documents, and perhaps consider you for another position. Customise with date, name and address of interviewer, job title, and in the first paragraph, put the name of the company.
<Date>
<Name of interviewer
Company Name
Address
Post Code>
Re: Feedback on Interview for <name of position>
Dear <name of interviewer>,
Thank you for taking the time to interview me on <date>. I enjoyed meeting you and your team, and I am still very interested in working for <Company Name> in the future should an appropriate position become available.
Would it be possible for you to provide me with some feedback on why my application was not successful? At your convenience, please contact me by phone (0555.555.555) or email (me@mail.com).
Thank you again and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
Your name
Notes:
If you developed a friendly rapport with the interviewer (the recipient of this letter) and you were invited to use their first name during the interview, start your letter with “Dear First Name.” If the interview was formal, use their title and surname or their First and Surname as in “Dear Mr. Surname” or “Dear First Name Surname.”
When requesting feedback, using snail mail is more personal. However, be clear about your email address in the body of the letter because the recipient will want to reply the easiest/fastest way possible – that is, via email.
Use 100g bond paper – either cream or white with little or no texture. Send it in a matching envelope. Hand-writing your return address on the envelope should be your last resort and only if you have no way to print a label. Use your best penmanship for printing, do not use long-hand. Check your country’s postal system’s guidelines for advice.
This letter template and others are included with your Pro-CV CV.
Addressing Guidelines:
UK (Royal Mail)
Canada (Canada Post)
Australia (Australia Post)
United States (US Postal Service)
Thanks for the information – I’ve added a link to this information to my page about interview letters.
Websites you should visit… I really liked your blog, appreciate the great information….
Thanks. A feedback letter template was just what I was looking for!
When you get a rejection letter, you feel like you want to say something to someone because you feel so rejected! After muttering that you didn’t want to work there anyway, writing this letter even if you don’t send it, will make you feel like you’ve done something and you can move to the next application.
The first time I asked for feedback but they just gave me a form letter back but the next time I got a bit better answer and I changed my CV. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.