Write a kind rejection email

You are helping me rewrite a rejection message so it is kind but honest.

Here is my draft:
[PASTE YOUR DRAFT]

The person is: [WHO THEY ARE, e.g. a candidate we interviewed twice]
The real reason is: [THE ACTUAL REASON]
What I can and cannot say publicly: [ANY CONSTRAINTS]

Rewrite it so that:
- The decision is clear in the first two sentences, with no false hope.
- The reason given is true, even if it is less specific than the real one.
- There is no filler sympathy, no "we were so impressed", no promises of future contact I cannot keep.
- It is under 150 words.

Then list, separately, any sentence in my original draft that would give the reader false hope, and say why.

Rejection emails fail in two directions. Written quickly they read as cold, and the reader spends a day deciding whether they did something wrong. Written carefully they fill up with softening — "we were so impressed", "please do stay in touch" — until the actual decision is buried and the reader comes away thinking a door is still open when it is not.

This prompt separates the two jobs. It rewrites the message so the decision lands early and the reason given is true, and then it reports back on the sentences in your draft that promise something you did not mean. That second half is the useful part: false hope is almost always accidental, and it is very hard to spot in your own writing.

1. Paste the draft you already wrote

   Do not clean it up first. The prompt is more useful when it can see the hedging you would have left in, because the second half of the answer is about exactly that.

2. Tell it the real reason, even if it is blunt

   The real reason stays between you and the model — it is what lets the rewrite pick a true, sayable version instead of inventing a diplomatic one. If the real reason is budget, say budget.

3. Name what you cannot say

   Legal constraints, an unannounced restructure, a decision that is not yours to explain. Without this the rewrite will sometimes be more specific than you are allowed to be.

4. Read the false-hope list before the rewrite

   Whether or not you use the rewritten text, that list tells you what your own draft was accidentally promising.

• When the decision is not actually finalThe prompt is built to remove hedging. If you are still deciding, it will make you sound more certain than you are — write that message yourself.
• When the real reason cannot be paraphrased truthfullyIf every honest version of the reason is something you are not allowed to say, no rewrite fixes that. Say less and say it is confidential, rather than letting the model find a comfortable half-truth.
• In jurisdictions with specific notification rulesSome hiring and procurement rejections have required wording or timelines. This prompt knows nothing about your local rules; check the output against them.

• WritingApolloRemove AI tells from a draftRewrites text that reads as machine-written, then lists the specific phrases and structures that gave it away so you stop producing them.
• WritingApolloTurn a vague request into a good promptRewrites what you asked into a prompt that can actually be answered, and names the things the model was silently guessing.
• LearningApolloLearn a topic and get quizzed on itExplains something at three levels of detail, then questions you on it and reports which specific part you did not actually have.
• ResearchRagnarökCompare options and see where they differCompares the options on the things that would actually change your decision, and says separately which differences do not apply to you.