When to use this template
Use this when a candidate has completed a take-home exercise and the team has decided not to move forward based on the submission. A take-home is the largest ask in most hiring processes — multiple hours of unpaid work — so the rejection should reflect that investment.
Send within 5 business days of receiving their submission. Dragging a take-home rejection into week two or three is a common reason candidates vent publicly about companies' hiring practices.
This template assumes the decision is based on the submission itself, not on live conversations. If you did a live review after the take-home, pair this with the technical-phone-screen template language.
Considerations
- If you asked for 4+ hours of work, offering a written feedback summary is the right thing to do.
- Never re-use a take-home submission for your own work. Say so explicitly if it's a concern.
- Avoid the phrase 'didn't follow the instructions' unless you're willing to explain exactly how.
- Don't imply they'd pass next time if you're not genuinely open to a re-application.
- If the candidate was strong but didn't match this role, consider pointing them to other open positions.
The email template
Copy the version below and replace the {{placeholders}} with your specifics — or use the generator to fill everything in at once.
Feedback on your {{role}} take-home for {{company}}
Hi {{candidate_name}},
Thank you for putting the time into the take-home exercise for the {{role}} role at {{company}}. We know it's a real commitment, and the team took care to read your submission closely.
After reviewing, we've decided not to move forward with your application. The decision came down to specific choices in the submission that didn't quite match how our team tends to solve this kind of problem — it wasn't a matter of effort or polish.
If you'd like, I'm happy to share more detailed feedback by email. Thanks again for your work on this, and we wish you the best.
Best,
{{your_name}}How to personalize
Replace these placeholders before sending:
- {{candidate_name}}
- {{role}}
- {{company}}
- {{hiring_manager}}
- {{your_name}}
For any rejection that follows a live conversation, add one specific detail from that conversation — a project they mentioned, a question they asked, something they built. One concrete reference turns a form letter into a message the candidate will remember.