Quick answer: You need about eight recruiting emails to cover a full hiring process: application received, screening invite, interview invite, reminder, delay update, rejection before interview, rejection after interview, and offer follow-up. Keep each one under 150 words, say what happens next with a date, and make sure every candidate gets a final answer. The templates are below.
Why do recruiting emails matter this much?
Because silence is the most common complaint candidates have.
In the Greenhouse Candidate Experience Report from May 2024, 52% of job seekers said they had been ghosted during an interview process. Greenhouse’s own platform data for Q2 2024, reported by Axios, found that only 4% of roughly 6,500 companies using Greenhouse contacted all of their rejected applicants.
Those numbers are about process, not attitude. Most teams mean to reply. Sending 40 individual emails just never feels urgent. Templates fix the mechanical part so the reply actually goes out.
How to use these templates
The placeholders below use Canvider’s merge variables: {candidate_firstname}, {candidate_lastname}, {applied_position} and {company_name}. If you use another tool or plain email, swap them for your own.
A few rules that apply to all of them:
- Subject lines say what the email is. “Your application for {applied_position}” beats “Update”.
- Every email has one next step and one date.
- Sign with a real name. Not “The Hiring Team”.
- Send yourself a test first. A broken merge field goes to every recipient.
1. Application received
Send this automatically, immediately. In Canvider the application confirmation goes out on its own when someone applies through your careers page or a board link.
Subject: We got your application for {applied_position}
Hi {candidate_firstname},
Thanks for applying to {applied_position} at {company_name}. Your application is in and a real person will read it.
We aim to reply to everyone within two weeks. If you move forward, we’ll invite you to a short call. If not, we’ll still tell you.
[Name], [Title]
2. Invitation to a screening call
Subject: Next step for {applied_position}: a 20 minute call
Hi {candidate_firstname},
We’d like to talk about the {applied_position} role. It’s a 20 minute video call with me, mostly to answer your questions and check the basics like start date and location.
Pick a time that works here: [link]. If none fit, reply with two options and I’ll make one work.
[Name]
For what to ask on that call, see phone screen questions that actually filter.
3. Interview invitation
Keep it concrete: who, when, how long, which time zone, what to prepare, how to reschedule. The full breakdown is in interview invitation emails that cut no shows.
Subject: Interview for {applied_position} on [day, date]
Hi {candidate_firstname},
You’re invited to a [45] minute interview with [names and roles] on [day, date] at [time, time zone].
Link: [meeting link] What we’ll cover: [one line] What to prepare: [nothing / a short example of X]
If the time doesn’t work, reply and we’ll move it. No need to explain.
[Name]
4. Reminder the day before
Subject: Reminder: your interview tomorrow at [time]
Hi {candidate_firstname},
Quick reminder that we’re meeting tomorrow, [date], at [time, time zone]. Same link as before: [link].
See you then. [Name]
5. Decision delayed
This is the one most teams skip. It’s also the cheapest way to keep good candidates warm.
Subject: Update on {applied_position}
Hi {candidate_firstname},
I said we’d have a decision by [date]. We need a bit longer because [we’re finishing interviews / a decision maker is out this week].
New date: [date]. You’re still in the process and we’ll be in touch by then either way.
[Name]
6. Rejection before interview
Short, kind, no fake promises.
Subject: Your application for {applied_position}
Hi {candidate_firstname},
Thanks for applying to {applied_position} at {company_name}. We’ve decided not to move forward with your application this time.
We had more applications than we could interview, and we picked the ones closest to what this specific role needs right now. That isn’t a judgment of your overall ability.
Thanks again for your interest, and good luck with your search. [Name]
7. Rejection after interview
Candidates who met your team deserve more effort and a faster answer. The full guide, with timing, is in rejection emails after interview.
Subject: {applied_position} at {company_name}
Hi {candidate_firstname},
Thank you for the time you spent with us on [date]. We’ve decided to offer the role to another candidate whose experience was closer to [specific need].
[One genuine, specific positive from the interview.]
If you’d like a few lines of feedback, reply to this email and I’ll send them. [Name]
8. Offer follow-up
Send this after a verbal offer, alongside the written offer letter. The offer letter itself is covered in our job offer letter template.
Subject: Your offer for {applied_position}
Hi {candidate_firstname},
Great talking today. The written offer is attached. It covers [salary, start date, location, key terms].
Take until [date] to decide. If anything is unclear or you want to talk numbers, call me at [phone].
[Name]
How do you send these without doing it one by one?
Three things help, in any tool:
- Save each template once. In Canvider that’s Settings, then Custom Emails, then New Template. Templates are company-wide, so the whole team uses the same wording.
- Send to a stage, not a person. When a role closes, select everyone in “Rejected” or “Not selected” for that job and send one message. In Canvider that’s Bulk Communication on the job page. Nothing sends until you tick the confirmation box, and you see a preview first.
- Tie emails to status changes. When you move someone to a new stage, send the matching email in the same step. That’s how the delayed and rejected emails stop getting forgotten.
If writing from scratch is the slow part, Canvider’s AI email drafting writes a draft based on the candidate’s status and your notes, and you edit before sending.
What should you never put in a recruiting email?
- A promise to “keep your CV on file” unless you actually have consent and a process to use it
- Feedback that touches age, family, health, nationality or anything protected
- A deadline you won’t keep
- “We’ll be in touch” with no date
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Frequently asked questions
What emails should a recruiter send during the hiring process?
At minimum: an application confirmation, an invitation to the next step, a reminder before interviews, a status update if a decision is delayed, a rejection at whatever stage the candidate stops, and an offer follow-up. Every candidate should get a final answer, not silence.
How fast should you reply to job applicants?
Send an automatic confirmation the moment someone applies, then a real status update within about two weeks. If you need longer, tell candidates the new date. A delay with a date is far better than silence.
Should recruiting emails be personalized?
Personalize the name, the role and anything specific you discussed. The structure can be a template. Candidates notice a generic body far less than they notice the wrong name or wrong job title, so check merge fields before sending in bulk.