How to Professionally Reject a Job Offer

You’ve been applying for jobs over and over, you’ve attended interview after interview and suddenly you’re in the amazing position of having more than one job offer to turn down.

Wow! You didn’t see this coming! This is great, right?

Well, it is, but you can’t accept more than one job so there’s the not-so-small matter of turning down the options you don’t want, which isn’t so great, or fun.

Regardless of whether you have multiple offers that you would never consider or a job that you would have loved, but another just fits better, there’s a professional way to do it. You can be gracious, firm, and classy with this kind of enviable task - here’s how:

Say thank you

One of the most important things you should do when you decline a job is to say thank you, probably more than once. This is good for you and the employer. Science tells us that 90% of Americans that are grateful in life have a more fulfilled life and more friends than those who don’t.

You had the chance to interview for a job, you took up the time of management, you used up time that other applicants couldn’t. You also got considered and selected ahead of other people. Whilst that means you did a great job; it also means time was spent enabling you to be selected and interviewed. That manager may well have also championed you above other applicants. You owe it to yourself and the company to be grateful for the interview.

If you can say a heartfelt thank you via email, you’ll start off your job offer rejection well. Here are some examples of how to say thank you:

• Thank you very much for offering me the job of call center supervisor at Fake Jobs Central. I am so thankful for the time you spent considering me and interviewing me for this position.
• Thank you for the interview you completed with me on the 19th of May. I really enjoyed meeting management, looking around the building and finding out more about the Fake Jobs Central supervisor role.
• I just wanted to say first and foremost, thanks ever so much for letting me come and interview for the role at Fake Jobs Central. I really loved meeting you, the team and having the chance to learn more about the company as a whole.

Try to include heartfelt details that ensure the thanks don’t look generic or robotic. Perhaps you genuinely did like the person who interviewed you, or you remember a detail about the office you liked, such as the decor or feel - include it so that the compliment feels real to the recipient.

Provide your reason

Next you need to provide a reason as to why you want to turn down the job offer.

You don’t need to go into tons of detail, but you do need to simply and politely explain that you won’t be accepting the job. It is so important not to include any negative feedback at this stage, even if you felt anything negative during the interview process. You may wish to suggest that you didn’t feel comfortable in the office environment, or that you felt the interviewer wasn’t super professional, but what will you gain? Unless there was something seriously wrong with the interview process that is causing you to turn the job down, providing negative feedback is not necessary. You should also avoid saying anything that sounds a little egotistical. The job market is hot right now, but you don’t need to explain how much more money you were offered elsewhere, or how many other jobs you were offered. This just makes you sound a little big-headed, which won’t reflect well on you.

Instead, keep it brief, polite, and to the point. It is always better to keep connections and opportunities in the background just in case you apply again there in the future, or at worst, if the job you are choosing instead falls through.

Here are some examples of how to provide a brief reason for turning the job:

• After lots of careful thought, I am going to accept a job offer from another business that I think is a better fit for me at this time.
• Whilst a job at the call center is a great opportunity, I am going to accept another position that I believe fits my career goals more at this time.
• Although your company offered me a wonderful position, I have chosen to stay with my current company for now as I think it makes the most sense for me at this time.

There is no need to mention any other companies at this time. You may also wish to provide more details if you went through a particularly lengthy interview process. If you have gotten to know the management well, you’ve been given the chance to work in the office and you’ve made a connection with the company, you do owe them a little more of an explanation.

Finish on a good note

Lastly, do finish your email on a good note. You can do this in any way you feel is appropriate, but ideally, it signs things off in a way that does not warrant any reply other than wishing you the best.

Here are some examples of how to finish your job offer rejection email on a good note:

• I really do wish you and the team all the best for the future, and I hope the business does great in the coming year.
• Thank you again for the opportunity of interviewing for the job, I really appreciate your time and wish you all the best in the future.
• It has been a real pleasure getting to know you, the team, and the call center. I hope to see you at the Call Centre convention in May that we both have tickets to.
• Thanks so much for everything, I really appreciate the chance to interview for your company. Best of luck in the future.

As with the first part of your email, keep it heartfelt and real. Just think about how you were applying for jobs over and over with no response - they would have appreciated any chance to interview. Make sure that the interviewer knows you really do value the opportunity.
Now you’re ready to embrace your new career

Hopefully, the tips above have you feeling ready and able to turn down that job like a pro.

Gracious, polite job rejection is a great way to close one chapter of your life, ready to move on to the next.