Rejection emails are masterpieces of corporate euphemism. They're designed to be polite, legally safe, and completely uninformative. But after sending/receiving a few thousand of these, you start to understand the secret language.

Let's translate.

The Standard Templates

"We've decided to move forward with other candidates" Translation options:

• Someone internal got the job (it was never really open)
• You were fine but someone else was slightly better
• The hiring manager's nephew applied
• We're lying and the role was already filled before we interviewed you (sorry)
• You were actually great but we can't afford you and don't want to admit our budget is too low

"After careful consideration..." Real translation: We barely looked at your application. This is an automated email. "Careful consideration" is doing a LOT of work in that sentence.

Actual timeline: 14 seconds of ATS screening, 3 seconds of human eyeballs, instant rejection.

"We received an overwhelming number of qualified applicants" Translation: Two things could be true here:

1. We actually did get 500 applications (possible for some roles)
2. We got 20 applications and are using "overwhelming number" to make you feel less bad about being rejected (more common)

Either way, it's a polite way of saying "you're qualified but so are other people, and we can't hire everyone."

"Your qualifications don't match our current needs" Translation options:

• You're actually overqualified and we think you'll leave
• You're underqualified but we don't want to say that directly
• You're qualified but we don't like something else (age, job-hopping pattern, etc.) and can't legally say that
• The job description was written by someone who has no idea what the role actually requires

"We'll keep your resume on file for future opportunities" Translation: We will not keep your resume on file. This is what we say to avoid being mean. Your application is in a digital graveyard with 10,000 other applications that nobody will ever look at again.

"Thank you for your interest in [Company]" Translation: This is a template. We copy-pasted this 47 times today. We don't know who you are. We probably didn't even see your name.

"We wish you luck in your job search" Translation: We feel mildly guilty about rejecting you, so we're including this filler phrase that sounds nice. But we're not going to help you with your job search in any concrete way.

The Brutal Honest Versions (That We'll Never Send)

What we write: "After reviewing your application, we've decided to pursue candidates whose experience more closely aligns with our needs."

What we mean: Your resume was a mess. Five typos in two pages. Explained your entire work history using only buzzwords. Listed "Microsoft Word" as a special skill. Hard pass.

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What we write: "We're moving forward with candidates who more closely match the technical requirements."

What we mean: You said you were "proficient" in Python. We asked you one basic Python question and you had no idea what a variable is. Stop lying on your resume.

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What we write: "We've decided to move in a different direction."

What we mean: You showed up 15 minutes late to the Zoom interview, your background was your unmade bed, and you answered a phone call mid-interview. We're moving in the direction of literally anyone else.

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What we write: "Thank you for your time. Unfortunately, we won't be moving forward."

What we mean: You spent 20 minutes of the interview explaining why your last three employers were all "crazy" and "didn't appreciate" you. The common denominator in all those stories is you, buddy.

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What we write: "While your background is impressive, we've decided to pursue other candidates."

What we mean: You were incredibly condescending to our HR coordinator, made weird comments to the female interviewer, and generally gave off "this person will be a nightmare to work with" vibes. Your LinkedIn said you're a "thought leader." We thought you were insufferable.

The Ghost Rejection

What we send: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Radio silence.

What it means:

• We forgot about you
• You're in application purgatory while we figure out if we're actually hiring for this role
• The hiring manager hasn't responded to us either
• We're bad at our jobs
• All of the above

Why We Can't Be Honest

Here's the thing: we'd love to give you actual feedback. "Your resume is too generic," "You seemed unprepared for basic questions," "Your salary expectations are 40% above our budget."

But legal won't let us because every piece of feedback is potential liability. If we say "you weren't technical enough" and you sue claiming age discrimination, suddenly that feedback is evidence.

So instead we send bland, meaningless templates that tell you nothing and help no one. It's a terrible system that makes everyone frustrated.

##The One Exception

Occasionally—very occasionally—you'll get a rejection that includes actual, specific, helpful feedback. When this happens, it's usually from a recruiter who:

1. Genuinely thought you were good but not quite right
2. Has decided they don't care about legal's warnings
3. Wants to help you improve for future opportunities
4. Is personally exhausted by the corporate BS and has chosen chaos

Treasure these emails. The recruiter who sends them is either very brave or very close to quitting.

The Bottom Line

Rejection emails are corporate Mad Libs designed to be inoffensive and legally safe. They rarely tell you the real reason you were rejected.

The real reason could be anything from "you were great but someone else was slightly better" to "you showed up to the interview in pajamas." You'll usually never know.

Don't take it personally. We're all just trying to get through this broken hiring system with our sanity intact.

Except for the hiring manager's nephew. He's doing great.