Most of us have gotten the standard rejection email at some point in our careers. It’s usually a polite, generic note thanking us for our time and wishing us luck. We accept it as part of the job-hunting process. But in the example below, a candidate got a rejection that exposed an uncomfortable truth about how companies really operate.
A screenshot shared in a recruitment group on social media showed a rejection letter that accidentally included the AI prompt used to write it.
The instruction?
“Make the candidate feel like they were strongly considered even if they weren’t.“
It’s an embarrassing mistake, but it highlights a bigger problem than just a copy-paste error. It shows how fake compassion can creep into what should be a human process. This incident is a clear warning about the risks of letting algorithms handle sincerity.
The rise of automated indifference
Why do prompts like this even exist?
Recruitment teams are overwhelmed these days.
With one-click applications, hiring managers get flooded with CVs. It makes sense that companies use technology to manage their workloads.
But there’s a big difference between using automation to save time and using it to fake emotion. Problems start when companies confuse automated messages with real communication. Telling an AI to pretend someone was carefully considered, when they weren’t, turns a simple courtesy into a deliberate lie.
Efficiency matters, but if it comes at the cost of honesty, the whole recruitment process loses its integrity.
The risks of outsourcing humanity
Letting AI handle sensitive messages is risky if no one checks the results. When we hand over the human side of our work, we put three important things at risk:
- Professional reputation: Mistakes like this can go viral fast. They make the recruiter and hiring team look careless or dishonest.
- Employer branding: Word gets around. If people know a company uses bots to fake empathy, the best candidates will probably avoid applying.
- Candidate dignity: This is the most harmful part. The candidate now knows for sure they weren’t actually “strongly considered.” They were just another number in the system, rejected by a machine told to lie.
This incident took away the dignity the candidate deserved. A straightforward, honest rejection is much more respectful than a fancy, AI-written message.
The critical role of human review
This situation shows why the human touch is essential. Technology is just a tool and can’t replace real judgement.
Recruiters and HR teams can use AI to draft emails, summarise notes, or schedule interviews. These are great ways to save time. But a person still needs to be in charge and check the message before sending it.
Checking messages isn’t just about finding typos or missed prompts. It’s about making sure the tone matches the truth. If you didn’t really consider the candidate, don’t have AI pretend you did. Being honest is always better than fake warmth.
Technology should enhance, not replace
We should rethink how we use these tools in our daily work. The main rule for AI in recruitment is simple: technology should help us be more human, not take our place.
AI can take care of admin tasks, giving recruiters more time to talk with candidates. It should make space for real human connection, not reduce it. No matter how advanced AI gets, recruitment is still about people connecting with people.
Bringing authenticity back to business
The “strongly considered” prompt is a wake-up call for companies. It reminds us that while we can automate tasks, we can’t automate sincerity.
If you use AI to talk to applicants or clients, take a minute to read what it wrote. Does it sound like you? Is it honest? If not, delete it and write your own message. As automation grows, real human connection is becoming rare and valuable. Let’s not cheapen it with fake empathy.
