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6 good reasons to withdraw your application

Christian Erxleben
Last updated: May 20, 2025 1:30 pm
By Christian Erxleben
Pixabay.com / loufre
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We seriously apply for a job. Nevertheless, we are sometimes forced to withdraw our application – perhaps despite having been accepted. But instead of a guilty conscience you should know In these six reasons it is absolutely okay.

Why do we apply for a new job? Usually we do this because we have a serious and intrinsic interest in getting the new job on the one hand and accepting it on the other.

Reasons for rejection: When you can withdraw your application

However, it probably happens to every employee sooner or later that he has to withdraw his application. At first glance, this is a luxury problem.

After all, what reasons can there be for withdrawing a promising application or even a promise? In the following we would like to present six reasons. Not all of them are positive.

1. job offer

Most employees and employers probably think of this option at first. And a different or better job offer is also a legitimate reason to withdraw an application.

It is very important – and this applies to all the reasons listed – that you communicate your decision openly to the company. After all, the person in charge of human resources also relies on your acceptance or interest, which you express with your application.

2. job interview

For many employees it is the first stage goal: the invitation to a job interview. But a job interview is not only for the employer to get to know the employee personally. This also applies vice versa.

So if, for example, you find out during the interview that you do not agree with the direction of the company or the goals and expectations, you can easily withdraw your application.

3. trial work

In many companies, it is now normal for applicants to spend one or even several days working in the company before signing the contract. The purpose behind this is, of course, to check whether “the newcomer” also fits well into the team.

However, the same applies to you as to the job interview: For you, too, the trial work is a chance to question everything. If you get a bad impression, you are not forced to keep up your application.

4. salary

And even if the trial work is successful, there is one last hurdle where your application can fail: the future salary. If your counterpart has no room for negotiation or does not meet your expectations, you can withdraw your application.

5. further education

Especially career starters are often faced with the question: Would it be better to start immediately with an apprenticeship or a permanent job or to complete a course of study?

If you find out during or even after the application process that you still prefer an academic career, this is also a good reason to withdraw your application.

6. private reasons such as illness, pregnancy and moving

At the beginning of the text we already emphasized that there are by no means always only positive or self-chosen reasons to reject an employer. This includes, for example, all reasons that fall within the private sector.

These include an unexpected diagnosis or serious illness, pregnancy and also moving to a new city for family reasons. So if you want to concentrate on your offspring, it is understandable if you withdraw your original application.

Inform us of your decision immediately and personally

As you can see, there are many good reasons not to stick to your original plan. However, it is important that you behave fairly and respectfully towards your counterpart – the person responsible for human resources or the company in general.

This means: You should definitely and above all communicate your decision immediately. After all, if the company has already decided in your favor, for example, it must also look for another person.

It is equally important that you thank them on the phone or in an e-mail for the trust they have placed in you. After all, it often happens, especially in small professional fields, that you might apply again in three, five or ten years for a position in this company.

Then it is crucial that you have behaved respectfully the first time. But that’s not the only reason why you should be decent: After all, many HR managers are closely linked.

Last but not least, you are of course not obliged to tell the real reason for your refusal. However, it can be quite useful to name it.

For example, if you mention the salary or working conditions, the company knows that it may have to change these factors. This is especially true if you are not the only applicant who is withdrawing your application for this reason.

If you have to withdraw your application for personal reasons, you do not need to go into detail. Even personnel managers know what private reasons there are and that we sometimes cannot or do not want to talk about them.

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ByChristian Erxleben
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Christian Erxleben is a journalist from Nuremberg, Germany. He was the editor in chief of the famous German online magazine BASIC thinking. His interests include social media, marketing, software and tech.

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