Reference Request Rejection Letter Samples

Have you recently been asked to write a reference letter for a colleague or acquaintance? For various reasons, you might need to decline. The challenge then is to do so with thought and tact.

The first thing to understand is that there are all sorts of very good reasons for declining to write a reference.

It’s possible that you don’t know the person well enough to write a detailed letter. You may have had experiences with the person that leads you to believe that the position they are seeking would not be a good fit. You might not know enough about the position to be able to offer a strong endorsement for the candidate. It may be that you just don’t have the time to spend writing a well-thought-out reference.

Whatever your reason, if you can’t write a positive reference that will help your contact make a good impression on the hiring manager, it’s best if you say no.

Some Tips for Declining a Reference Request

• Don’t wait. When you need to decline a request for a recommendation, try to do so as promptly as possible. It might be tempting to put it off – no one likes having to let someone down. But delaying is crueler than responding promptly, even if they don’t like what you have to say. You should give the person as much time as possible to line up alternative references if you can’t provide one.
• Be gracious. It’s better to decline the request than to write a lukewarm endorsement, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be rude or overly critical in your response. It’s perfectly reasonable for them to ask you to write a reference; it’s perfectly reasonable for you to refuse. There’s no need to make the interaction more negative than it needs to be. Besides, most industries are a small world. You never know when you might run into them again someday at a future job.
• Be positive. If you can, include some positive feedback. Offer to help in another way; perhaps you can offer some job search advice for their target industry, or recommend a mutual acquaintance who would be a more appropriate person to endorse them.
• Keep it short. The message you need to convey is short – for a given reason, you’ll be unable to give a reference – and the letter should be, as well. A few paragraphs are more than enough to convey what you need to say.
• Review sample letters for declining a reference request, but be sure to customize your letter for the situation.

Letter Samples for a Reference Request Rejection