Please be aware of the template rejection letters. They all say the same thing. Due to the high volume of spam CVs from overseas, employers usually respond with templates to all foreigners who don’t make the shortlist.

These templates are sent out hundreds or even thousands of times a month, depending on the size of the company and its volume of foreign applicants. There is usually only one version, suggesting things like “must have work rights” or “must have local Kiwi experience”.

Most job seekers have received template rejection letters. They usually in your inbox after you apply for a job with nice words and a promise to “keep your CV on file in case a suitable position becomes available”. I doubt they even read your CV.

This is how employers manage the problem of too many spam CVs. To avoid this dead end, job seekers need to get personal responses typed out from employers if they want to get job interviews.

A personal response from an employer will not be a long letter. They have no time for that. They usually give you a few short sentences and a question or two. Without this, you have not really received feedback from your application. You can usually ignore standard rejection letters and assume that there has been no response.

Over many years I have been studying how often foreigners receive personalise responses from hiring managers. I estimate this rate is about 2%. In contrast, my clients get 80% personalised responses from their recruitment efforts because we do things differently. I have to verify the profile first and then I can get started.

Do you have any rejection letter experiences to share?