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Reject applicants and track candidate responses

Rejecting an application and completing the candidate response are related but separate outcomes. RoleSage keeps scheduled, failed, cancelled, and uncertain responses visible until the hiring team resolves them.

Reject one applicant​

You can start the shared rejection flow from an applicant profile or the application area of an interview page when you have permission.

  1. Select Reject candidate or Reject application.
  2. Read the consequence warning. Rejecting closes the application, cancels future scheduled interviews, and may withdraw an active offer.
  3. Choose the required internal rejection reason. It is kept for hiring records and is not automatically shown to the candidate.
  4. Review the source badge and edit the candidate email subject and message if needed.
  5. Choose the delivery method:
    • Send through RoleSage and show in-app to send now or schedule a time;
    • Already contacted manually when company policy allows it and you can confirm the contact method.
  6. If Suggest wording is available, review the proposal before choosing Use suggestion. The AI proposal never sends by itself.
  7. Confirm the rejection.

A scheduled response can be cancelled before dispatch begins. The approved message is not shown in the candidate's application until dispatch starts.

Bulk reject from an opening​

Bulk rejection is limited to one opening and is intended for reviewed, non-interviewed applicants.

  1. Open the Applicant Dashboard for the opening.
  2. Apply filters so the visible applicant list is the group you intend to review.
  3. Select Bulk reject filtered applicants.
  4. Review the selected names. You may use Select early stages, clear the selection, or change individual checkboxes.
  5. Choose the internal reason and review the shared candidate subject and message.
  6. Select Review selection.
  7. Check every preview bucket:
    • Eligible applicants can receive the reviewed bulk message;
    • Individual review applicants, including interviewed candidates, must be handled separately;
    • Blocked applicants have a conflicting or completed outcome that prevents bulk rejection.
  8. Choose a send time if needed. RoleSage moves it to the next company-approved send window when required.
  9. If more than 30 applicants are eligible, accept the stronger count confirmation.
  10. Select Reject eligible applicants.

A single bulk batch is capped at 500 applicants. Split a larger reviewed group into deliberate batches. Never use match bands or other filters as an automatic rejection decision; filters only narrow the people you review.

Review candidate response coverage​

The opening's Candidate response coverage panel shows which rejection responses are complete and which still need attention.

These outcomes clear response debt:

  • Sent
  • Manual contact confirmed
  • Exception recorded when an authorized exception is valid

These outcomes remain incomplete:

  • scheduled, ready, sending, or queued;
  • manual confirmation needed;
  • failed or cancelled;
  • needs attention because the delivery result is uncertain.

Use the action shown for the current state:

  • Confirm contact after you verify that manual contact actually occurred;
  • Retry safely after a known delivery failure when the action is available;
  • Cancel before an eligible response begins dispatch.

If the detail says the delivery result is uncertain, check the candidate communication timeline before attempting any new response. This avoids sending the same rejection twice.

Closing a filled opening​

The filled-opening closure uses the same candidate-response workflow. Interviewed applicants stay in individual review, while eligible non-interviewed applicants can use a reviewed shared response. The opening cannot treat a missing, blocked, failed, or uncertain response as complete.

See Configure candidate rejection responses for company defaults and role or opening overrides.

If an action is missing​

  • Confirm that you are viewing a single opening and have access to reject its applications.
  • Clear or adjust applicant filters if the expected people are not in the visible selection.
  • Ask an employer admin to check your team and rejection permissions.
  • If a response changed while you were reviewing it, refresh the page and use its current available action.