Rejection letters and the word impress: a tale of an incorrectly used word

While searching for a job, at some point, you will receive a rejection letter. It is no big deal. It happens to all of us. The letter gets filed with the others and you move on. However today, after receiving yet another rejection letter for a position I was not even interviewed for, containing a familiar blurb about my "impressive qualifications", I decided to search my archive for the word impress.

Before continuing with what I found, first, let's take a step back and review some definitions of the word impress.

A Dictionary application cited a 1913 Webster definition:

To fix deeply in the mind; to present forcibly to the attention, etc.; to imprint; to inculcate.

A 1952 Funk & Wagnalls English Language Dictionary ^[1] contained a few additional relevant, yet similar examples:

To fix, as in the mind by forcible or continued presentation; as, to impress a fact or a scene on the memory.

To produce a marked effect upon, as the mind; influence, as to some conclusion; as, to impress the judgment; to impress one unfavorable.

Back to the archive of rejection letters, a sampling of all letters using some form of the word impress shows little variation in usage context. In nearly every example, multiple instances were found and no interview ever occurred.

If no interview occurred, how exactly did I impress anyone? Was it impressive how quickly you tossed my résumé into the trash can? Perhaps you wadded it up into a paper ball and tossed it into the trash can from thirty feet away. That would be impressive, but it would not be my accomplishment. If you were impressed with my résumé, then why not call or send an email to and engage in further dialog? A rejection letter closes the possibility to further dialog.

The most common instance shown below, probably originates from a default message available to users of the Workday Applicant Tracking System.

Although your background is impressive, we have decided to move forward with other candidates who more closely align with what is needed for the position.

With the list below, you might be able to pick out the strings of text from other Applicant Tracking Systems as well.

These are listed in no particular order.

I got the impression that you would be a very solid, contributing team player, who is willing to figure out what needs to be done, even if your experience isn’t exactly what we are looking for.
I greatly appreciated the opportunity to speak with you and were overall impressed with your background and experience.
While we were impressed with your qualifications, it is unfortunate that we won't be proceeding with your application at this time.
Although your background is impressive, we have decided to move forward with other candidates who more closely align with what is needed for the position.
While your skills are certainly impressive, we have decided to pursue other candidates for this position.
This decision was not easy, given the impressive qualifications of all our applicants.
While your background is impressive, we are pursuing other candidates whose skills and experience more closely aligns with our current business needs.
After careful review of the impressive resumes we received, a small group of individuals were selected for the interview process.
While the client was impressed with your skills and accomplishments, they have decided to move forward with other candidates who more closely match the needs of the position.
We were impressed with your skills and experience, however, we have decided to continue our search at this time.
While we were impressed with your skills and accomplishments, we have decided to move forward with other candidates who more closely match the needs of the position.

With only two exceptions, every example is from a rejection letter where no actual contact, whether by telephone, email, et cetera occurred.

Considering it has become normal to ignore applicants, I appreciate that a rejection letter was sent, but phoney flowery language will not lift spirits from yet another rejection. If no interview occurred and your rejection letter contains the word impress, you probably are not using the word properly and should consider different words.

Footnote

For those curious as to why I am citing an oddly specific version of a Dictionary, it is because this Dictionary was salvaged from a school trash bin during the late 90s.