Rejecting a candidate
Last updated: November 4, 2026
Every rejection is a chance to leave someone with a decent impression of your company, or a bad one. This article covers how to reject a candidate thoughtfully in Kula — picking the right reason, sending (or scheduling) a considerate email — and, just as importantly, how to make sure your automatic rejection paths aren't leaving candidates in the dark.
Who can do this: Recruiter, Hiring Manager, Admin, Super Admin.
Where to find it: Jobs → a job → Pipeline or Candidates → the Reject icon next to a candidate.
Reject a candidate
Click Reject on the candidate.
Choose a rejection reason. See Managing rejection reasons.
To let them know, tick Send email and choose a template. Without an email, the candidate never hears back.
To avoid bad timing, such as a Friday-night email, schedule it for a date, time and time zone instead of sending now.
Confirm.
To reject many candidates at once, see Bulk actions on candidates. Everyone selected gets the same reason and email.
When you reject a candidate manually, you pick a reason from your organisation's rejection reasons list, and you have the option to check Send email and choose a template. Sending an email isn't required — but skipping it means the candidate never hears back from you at all.
If you want to soften the timing (say, avoid a Friday-night rejection email), you can schedule it for a specific date, time, and time zone instead of sending immediately.
Make sure automatic rejections send an email
Kula can reject candidates automatically in three ways. Each has its own email setting, so turning one on doesn't turn on the others:
Rejected by | Where the email is set up |
|---|---|
Auto-rejection rules (knockout questions) | On each rule. Open the job's application form settings, go to Auto-rejection rules, and click Add rule (or edit an existing one). Under Rejection reason and email, turn on Add rejection email and pick a template. To delay it, turn on Schedule rejection email and set Send after (in weekdays). See Auto-rejection rules and knockout questions. |
AI score below the threshold | In the job's AI scoring settings. Open the job, go to Settings → Job Information → Set up AI scoring. Set Do you want to auto-reject based on AI score? to Yes and choose your threshold, then turn on the rejection email. See Setting up AI screening criteria. |
Fraud Detector | Rejects with the reason "Fraudulent candidate", on the first automatic check only. See Setting up and using the Fraud Detector. |
Good to know
Bulk-rejecting applies one reason (and one email, if you send one) to every candidate you select. Worth a second look before you bulk-reject a mixed group of candidates who don't share the same rejection reason.
A rejected candidate only shows under the Rejected status, never under All Stages — regardless of whether a person or an automatic rule rejected them. If you're trying to find them later, filter by Rejected directly.
FAQ
How do I set up auto reject with AI scoring and email notifications?
Turn on the AI-scoring auto-reject toggle in the job's Job Information section for the score threshold, then attach a rejection email template to it the same way you would for a knockout rule — the two are configured separately, so setting up the score threshold alone won't start emailing candidates until you also add the email. For more on scheduling that email,
How do I set up auto reject with AI scoring and email notifications?
Open the job and go to Settings → Job Information → Set up AI scoring.
Set Do you want to auto-reject based on AI score? to Yes.
Drag the slider to your threshold. Only new candidates who score below it are rejected automatically.
Turn on the rejection email and choose a template.
Save.
The AI score threshold and its email are set separately from knockout rules. Setting the threshold alone rejects candidates without emailing them, so don't skip step 4.
Need help?
If you have questions or need assistance, reach out to us at support@kula.ai or use the in-app chat.