Reapply After Rejection Email Template (UK 2026)

Why this matters

UK candidates often assume rejection is permanent. It isn't — about 10-15% of my placements involve candidates who were rejected by the same company before, sometimes years earlier. The candidates who successfully reapply have always changed something concrete: gained a specific skill, completed a relevant project, moved to a more relevant role, or developed credentials they were missing.

Email template

Subject: Reapplying — [Role title] or similar — [Your name]

Dear [Hiring manager / recruiter name],

I applied for the [previous role title] role at [Company name] in [previous date / month]. The decision then was that I wasn't quite the right fit, and I appreciated the feedback at the time.

I'm reaching out because something specific has changed: [specific concrete development — completed certification, gained X experience, led specific project, moved to relevant role]. I'd like to be considered again, either for [original role if open] or for similar roles you may be hiring for.

A summary of what's different now:
- [Concrete change 1]
- [Concrete change 2]
- [Optional: Concrete change 3]

If you have time for a brief conversation about whether anything in your current pipeline might fit, I'd value it. CV is attached for reference.

Best regards,
[Your name]
[Phone number]
[LinkedIn URL]

Replace bracketed text [like this] with your details. Specificity is what gets responses.

Step-by-step

1. 1 Wait at least 6 months from the previous rejection before reapplying
2. 2 Reference the previous application factually — date, role, decision
3. 3 Lead with what's changed concretely since the previous application
4. 4 Don't relitigate the previous decision — the past is past
5. 5 Be specific about what's different now
6. 6 Address to the same person as before if possible — continuity helps
7. 7 Attach your updated CV

Common mistakes

• ✗Reapplying within weeks of rejection — perceived as desperate
• ✗Reapplying to the exact same role with no concrete changes
• ✗Pretending the previous rejection didn't happen — recruiters remember
• ✗Using the email to argue against the previous decision
• ✗Not addressing what's actually different — vague 'I've grown a lot' doesn't move the needle