Woman shares the 'kind, encouraging and carefully worded' rejection letter an employer sent her

Rejections can be hard. Be it from a love interest or a potential employer. Delivering the bad news is an art in itself and unfortunately, not many handle it with tact and consideration for the feelings of the person on the receiving end. This was why Rubab Ajmal, a research assistant at the University of Florida, was pleasantly surprised when she read the email she received from Denise Ward, a recruiter at Wunderlich-Malec Engineering, informing her that they wouldn't be able to consider her for the position she'd applied for. It wasn't the rejection itself that took her aback—although that must've been disappointing—but rather, the way in which Ward broke the news that surprised Ajmal.

Ajmal recently took to LinkedIn to share the rejection letter she received, writing: "Today I received a really kind, encouraging and carefully worded rejection email. Thought I should share it here. Yes, it is possible to say no without breaking the spirits." Although the email begins like most rejection letters—by thanking the candidate for applying for the position—it quickly deviates from the usual soulless format. "Your background is impressive, however, at this time we are pursuing candidates with 5+ years of direct Controls Engineering experience. Unfortunately, we are unable to move forward with your candidacy," it states.

"We encourage you to keep trying, keep applying to positions that interest you; it only takes one 'yes' to change everything and the decline emails will be long forgotten," the email added. Ward then went on to list several celebrities who made it big in their respective fields despite facing many rejections at the beginning of their career. "Remember: Tom Brady wasn't selected until the 6th round of the NFL draft (199th pick) due to slow foot speed, too small, lack of arm strength, couldn't throw a tight spiral, and said he couldn't improvise if a play broke down. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Lady Gaga got dropped from her record label, Island Def Jams, after three months, James Dyson had 5,126 failed prototypes of his bagless vacuum cleaner before the next one worked," she wrote.

Ward concluded her email to Ajmal with these final words: "We hope this decline is but one tiny, forgotten step closer to your next big yes." Since being shared online, the email has been liked by more than 64,000 LinkedIn users. Many praised the recruiter for handling the rejection with such compassion and encouraged Ajmal to not give up hope. "Dang---that is a rejection letter wrapped in a hug," wrote Dennis Gillan. "This is not a rejection letter but a letter of inspiration. Don't know you but now I want to wish you the best and know that the best will come to you. Good luck, although I do not think you will need luck," commented Charlie Birri. "What a great and empathetic reply, hiring managers/HR who just send a generic rejection email should take note, most important Rubab Ajmal your reaction and positive spirit make me have no doubt that you definitely will make it to the big league," shared Huwaida A.