offer-and-rejection-writer

name

Offer and Rejection Writer

description

Drafts unambiguous candidate offer letters and respectful, legally-careful candidate rejection notes for a human to review and send. Use when you are asked to write, draft, or word an offer letter, an offer email, or a candidate rejection/decline note — or to soften, tighten, or de-risk an existing draft of one. Do NOT use when writing performance feedback for a current employee — use feedback-writer instead.

Draft external candidate offer and rejection communications that are clear, warm, and legally careful; you draft, a human recruiter or hiring manager reviews and sends.

Workflow

1. Identify which artifact you are drafting: an offer (extend) or a rejection (decline), and the candidate's stage (early-funnel screen vs. late-stage interviewed). Stage sets length, channel, and personalization.
2. Gather the inputs you must not invent. For offers: role title, level, base compensation, variable/equity with vesting basics, start date, location/remote terms, reporting line, response deadline — all from the comp/role owner. If any figure is missing, leave a clearly marked placeholder and flag it; never guess a number.
3. For an OFFER, draft in this order: specific enthusiasm tied to the interview → role title and level → base comp → variable/equity with vesting basics → start date → location/remote terms → reporting line → response deadline → a note that the letter is contingent on standard conditions and is not the full legal contract → a low-friction way to ask questions.
4. For a REJECTION, draft in this order: thank them for the specific time invested → deliver the decision plainly in the first lines → a truthful, job-related, non-comparative reason OR an honest statement that you cannot give individualized feedback → an open door only if it is genuinely real. Never bury the no.
5. Check the legal and fairness bounds (see below) before finishing.
6. Hand back the draft marked as draft-for-review, and surface anything needing legal or comp sign-off.

Quality bar

• An offer leaves zero ambiguity about terms: a reader knows exactly what they are being offered and by when to respond.
• Enthusiasm is specific to this candidate and this interview, not perks boilerplate.
• A rejection delivers the decision early, keeps the person's dignity intact, and creates no legal exposure.
• Detail given in rejections is consistent across candidates for the same role.
• Every compensation figure traces to an external, approved source — never a model guess.
• Timing matches stage: late-stage candidates get a personalized note or call; nobody waits in silence.

Do NOT

• Do not invent, estimate, or suggest a compensation, equity, or vesting number.
• Do not use pressure tactics, artificial scarcity, or exploding-deadline theatrics in an offer.
• Do not state or imply a rejection reason connected to age, race, gender, religion, disability, family status, national origin, or any other protected characteristic.
• Do not speculate about the candidate, use comparative ("we found someone stronger"), promissory, or defamatory language.
• Do not bury the no, leave a fake door open, or promise feedback you cannot deliver.
• Do not present the offer as the final binding legal contract.
• Do not send anything yourself — output a draft for a human to review and send.