Send candidates a rejection email

Keeping candidates informed is an important part of delivering a professional hiring experience. In Willo, rejection emails can be sent in two ways:

Manually via Zapier automation, when a candidate is marked as rejected in Willo
Automatically via Benchmark, when a candidate scores below your required pass percentage in an assessment

This article explains both options so you can choose the approach that best fits your workflow.

Option 1: Send rejection emails with Zapier

Zapier lets you automatically send an email when a candidate is moved to Rejected in Willo. This is useful if you want to manage email sending through Gmail, Outlook, or Zoho.

Requirements

Before getting started, you’ll need:

A Zapier account
A paid Willo account with the right permissions
Access to your business email provider, such as Gmail, Outlook, or Zoho

Step 1: Create a new Zap

Choose your preferred email provider from one of the available templates:

Step 2: Confirm the trigger

Review the trigger steps in Zapier and make sure the Zap is set to run when a candidate is marked as Rejected in Willo.

Step 3: Set up the action

Review the email content and update it to match your employer brand and tone of voice. You can personalise the message using dynamic fields such as the candidate’s name or role title.

Step 4: Test your Zap

Run a test in Zapier to confirm the rejection email sends as expected.

Step 5: Activate your Zap

If the test is successful, name your Zap and switch it on.

Once active, any candidate you reject in Willo will automatically receive an email, typically within 15 minutes.

Optional improvements

You can extend this workflow by:

adding a delay before the email is sent
sending an SMS notification
logging the outcome in a spreadsheet or another system

Option 2: Send rejection emails automatically with Benchmark

Benchmark is a Willo Intelligence feature that helps you automatically filter out candidates who do not meet your minimum assessment requirements. You set a Pass Percentage, and any candidate scoring below that threshold is automatically rejected. They will then receive your chosen rejection email.

How Benchmark works

Benchmark is configured at the assessment level
You choose the minimum percentage score required to pass
Candidates who score below that percentage are automatically rejected
Those candidates receive your selected rejection email automatically

Setting up Benchmark

Create or edit an assessment
On the final step, find the Benchmark slider
Set your desired Pass Percentage
Save your assessment settings

Important details

Benchmark only scores Multiple Choice and Checkbox questions
You must set the correct answers for any question you want Benchmark to score
Open-ended and video response questions are not included in Benchmark calculations

Example

If your pass percentage is set to 80%:

a candidate scoring 8 out of 10 moves forward
a candidate scoring 7 out of 10 is automatically rejected and can receive your rejection email

Before turning this on

Benchmark can save a lot of time, but it only works well if your assessment is structured carefully. Make sure:

your scored questions have correct answers assigned
your pass percentage reflects your actual screening standard
your rejection email template is ready before candidates begin submitting responses

Reviewing auto-rejected candidates

You can still review candidates who were automatically rejected. Willo notes that these can be filtered or exported for review before automated emails go out, within 24 hours.

Which option should you use?

Use Zapier when you want to send rejection emails based on manual actions in Willo or when you want tighter control over your email workflow through your mail provider. Use Benchmark when you want to automatically reject and notify candidates who do not meet a required assessment score.

Some teams may use both:

Benchmark for automatic early-stage filtering
Zapier for manual rejection workflows later in the process

Additional tips

Personalise your rejection emails where possible
Add a delay if you do not want messages sent immediately
Regularly review your automation history
Make sure your process aligns with privacy and data protection requirements

Need help?

If you run into issues:

Check Zapier’s help documentation for email workflow setup
Contact your success manager for product-specific questions
Review your Benchmark settings if candidates are being rejected unexpectedly