Tell a finalist what happened, share the feedback you can stand behind and leave the next conversation on terms they understand.
A candidate has made time for the final interview. The client has chosen someone else. Your next email needs to close that process clearly, even if you would happily represent the person again.
The temptation is to soften the decision with a promise: another role will come up, they will be your first call, this was incredibly close. Only write those things if you can substantiate them. Usually, you can offer something more useful: an accurate outcome, specific feedback and a clear choice about what happens next.
These silver medallist email templates are for an agency consultant writing to a capable finalist who was not selected. The label belongs in your internal discussion. In the email, address the person by name and refer to the role.
Choose the message from the confirmed outcome
Start with what the client has actually authorised you to say. An offer made to another candidate is different from an accepted offer. A paused vacancy is different from a rejection. If you do not yet have a decision, send an update about the outstanding decision rather than adapting a rejection template.
Before writing, pull together the role reference, confirmed outcome, feedback approved for sharing and the candidate's existing contact preferences. Check who owns the conversation so another consultant does not send a conflicting message. Keep confidential client comments and information about other candidates out of the email.
Use the templates as editable examples, not accounts of real candidates. Every bracket needs a verified replacement. Delete a sentence if you cannot support it; a flattering placeholder is still a claim once you fill it in.
| What is confirmed? | Use this message | What to leave out |
|---|---|---|
| Another candidate was selected and feedback is approved | Outcome with useful feedback | Claims about how close the decision was |
| Non-selection is confirmed but detailed feedback is unavailable | Outcome without invented feedback | Guessed reasons or promises of feedback |
| The client paused the role | Role paused | A rejection or an implied restart date |
| A different, approved vacancy may be relevant | A separate opportunity | Assumed interest or an unapproved submission |
For a finalist, consider a call before the written confirmation. Follow the candidate's stated channel preference and your agency's process. If you promise a call, make sure someone can take it.
Template 1: the outcome, with feedback you can explain
Use this when the client has confirmed non-selection and given you feedback that is appropriate to share. Attribute the feedback accurately. The point is to explain this decision, without turning a role-specific assessment into a verdict on the person's career.
Subject: Your [role title] interview outcome
Hi [first name],
Thank you for the time you put into the interviews for [role title / reference]. The client has confirmed that you have not been selected for this role.
Their feedback was positive about [specific, approved observation]. For this position, they needed stronger evidence of [job-related requirement], particularly [approved, concrete detail].
If you would like to talk through that feedback, I can speak at [time you can honour], or we can arrange another time that suits you.
Thank you again for the work you put into the process.
[consultant name]
[agency name and contact details]
The feedback sentence needs both evidence and permission to share it. “You did not give an example of managing a multi-site rollout” says something different from “You cannot manage a multi-site rollout”. Use the former only if it is what the assessment established. Do not infer the latter from a missing interview example.
If the client approved positive feedback but no development point, keep the positive observation and remove the requirement sentence. You do not need to manufacture a balanced appraisal.
Template 2: the outcome, when detailed feedback is unavailable
You can communicate a confirmed decision without pretending to know why it was made. This version keeps the missing information visible and gives the candidate an answer now. Only offer to obtain feedback if you intend to pursue it.
Subject: Update on [role title / reference]
Hi [first name],
Thank you for taking part in the final interview for [role title]. The client has confirmed that you have not been selected.
I do not have detailed feedback approved to share, so I cannot give you a reliable explanation of the decision today.
[If true: I have asked the client for feedback and will update you by [date], even if it has not arrived.]
Thank you for the time and preparation you gave this process. If you would like to speak with me about the outcome, you can reach me on [contact details].
[consultant name]
[agency name]
Remove the optional line if no request has been made. If you keep it, the date is your commitment to an update, not a promise that the client will supply feedback. Set a reminder you will act on.
Avoid substituting “another candidate was a better fit”. It sounds like an explanation but does not identify the requirement or evidence behind it. Where the reason is unknown, say so.
Template 3: the role has paused
A role being put on hold should not become a rejection in your message or a promise that recruitment will restart. Use the client's confirmed status and give only the next update you can personally commit to.
Subject: [Role title] has been put on hold
Hi [first name],
The client has put recruitment for [role title / reference] on hold. [Approved explanation, if one is available.]
There is no confirmed restart date. I do not want you to put other applications on hold while this is unresolved.
I will check the status and update you by [date you can honour], even if there is no change. You can reach me on [contact details] if you would like to discuss it before then.
[consultant name]
[agency name]
Use the “no confirmed restart date” sentence only when that is the actual position. If the client has announced a review date, describe it as a review date. It is not a reopening date unless the client has confirmed that too.
This template is included because a consultant may be tempted to use the same keep-in-touch wording for both outcomes. Preserve the distinction. The candidate needs to know whether they were assessed out or the vacancy stopped progressing.
Template 4: there is a real alternative to discuss
Keep the first role's outcome clear before introducing another vacancy. A different opportunity deserves its own facts and a fresh decision from the candidate. Their interest in the previous role does not establish interest in this one.
Confirm the current vacancy details and what you are authorised to disclose. Don't imply that a client has shortlisted the person or agreed to skip interview stages.
Subject: Would you like details of [new role title]?
Hi [first name],
Following our conversation about the outcome of [previous role], I wanted to ask about a separate vacancy I am working on: [new role title].
The confirmed brief includes [approved responsibility], [location / working arrangement] and [approved remuneration information, if shareable]. I thought it might be relevant because you told me [verified preference or experience].
Would you like me to send the brief so you can decide whether to discuss it? I will not put you forward for this vacancy without agreeing that with you first.
[consultant name]
[agency name and contact details]
[Required unsubscribe information for this message]
If you have not had the outcome conversation, change the opening to reflect the real history. If confidentiality prevents you from sharing the client name, explain what you can share and offer an appropriate confidential discussion. Do not compensate with vague claims about a prestigious employer or a perfect match.
The request to see a brief is deliberately separate from permission to submit a profile. Record what the person agrees to, then follow your agency's submission process.
Keep an outcome email separate from a marketing invitation
An application is not a blanket permission for ongoing campaigns. Before adding future-opportunity language to any template, check your agency's basis for the contact, the purpose for which the information was collected and any opt-out or channel preference already recorded.
For organisations covered by Australia's Privacy Act, the OAIC's APP 6 guidance explains purpose limits and exceptions for secondary uses. Direct marketing is addressed separately by APP 7. Do not assume that sending an outcome, retaining an application, inviting someone to a campaign and submitting their profile are one permission decision.
If a proposed email is a commercial electronic message covered by Australia's spam rules, ACMA guidance requires consent, accurate sender identification and contact details, and a working unsubscribe option. It also says you cannot send an electronic marketing message just to ask for consent. Adding “is it OK if we keep in touch?” does not repair a missing basis for sending that message.
For that reason, these templates do not contain a universal consent request to paste into every rejection. Where your agency has an appropriate basis and process for inviting future contact, make the proposed scope clear. Relevant vacancy updates are a different proposition from a general newsletter. Let the candidate choose within that process, and record the answer rather than treating silence as agreement.
Keep retention separate too. OAIC's APP 11 guidance requires covered entities to take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify information no longer needed for a permitted purpose, subject to its stated exceptions. A request to stop marketing is not automatically an instruction to delete every record, and an opt-out must not disappear when a contact list changes. Follow the agency's retention and privacy-request process.
Confirm which Australian requirements apply to your organisation and message before using a template.
Finish the handoff before starting a sequence
Once you have sent the outcome, record what you actually told the candidate, any feedback still outstanding and the next action you committed to. Include their response and relevant contact preferences. That gives the next consultant a usable history without copying confidential assessment notes into an outreach list.
Recheck old facts when you later use them. The OAIC's APP 10 guidance addresses reasonable steps to keep personal information accurate, current, complete and relevant when used or disclosed. A candidate's availability or preferred working arrangement may need confirmation before a later approach.
If the person wants appropriate ongoing contact, the next task is candidate nurture. If you are looking through older records for a genuinely relevant vacancy, use the candidate rediscovery guide. Neither task replaces closing the original process properly.
This is also the point where a sequence tool becomes relevant. FluxHire's AI drafts recruitment drip campaigns; a person reviews the sequence and types the campaign name to launch it. You can also build it yourself in the visual builder. The practical opportunity is to prepare appropriate follow-up as a sequence you can inspect, with the audience and message boundaries settled before launch.
FluxHire checks opt-outs and frequency limits before sending. If those checks fail, the send is blocked. Your agency still needs to establish the basis for contact, and the consultant decides when a personal call is appropriate. During early access, supported records, integrations and review steps are confirmed with each team.
If your desk needs to organise what happens after the outcome conversation, Request early access and bring that follow-up workflow. Start with who may be contacted, what they should receive and who takes responsibility for launching it.