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Offer declined survey template

Learn why candidates say no, and what would have changed their mind

Three questions for candidates who declined: the main reason, how your offer compared on pay, growth, flexibility and the team, and what would have changed their mind. Use it as it is or change any question, and Usertick reads every written answer for you.

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What this offer declined survey tells you

An offer declined survey asks candidates who said no why they did, while the decision is recent. This template asks three questions in about a minute: the main reason, a comparison of your offer with the one they accepted on pay, growth, flexibility and the team, and what would have changed their mind.

It is written for an email Usertick sends within a week of the decline, with the reason question inside the email so one tap starts the survey. You can also paste the link into your own reply to the candidate, or let them answer as a conversation, one question at a time. Keep it to one polite request, because the candidate owes you nothing.

Every written answer is read as it arrives and filed under a category from your list, such as pay and benefits or team and culture, with a type and an urgency. Results shows the share of each reason and a heat map of how your offer compared, so a pattern across several declines becomes visible.

In an emailAs a linkOn your websiteAs a conversation
Questions
3
Time to answer
About a minute
Written for
An email to the candidate within a week of the decline
Plans
Every plan, the free plan included

See it on every channel

The same template on your website, behind a link, in an email and as a conversation.

In an email

Send it from Usertick to a contact list, with the first question inside the email. A tap on an answer opens the rest of the survey with that answer already kept. Usertick sends 50 emails a month on the free plan, or connect your own sender.

The 3 questions, one by one

What each question asks, why it is there, what it shows you and what to change.

Question 1 of 3 · Multiple choice

What was the main reason you declined our offer?

Why ask it
A single main reason gives you a count you can follow across roles and quarters, and Other lets candidates name what the list missed.
What you learn
A donut with the share and count of each reason, with typed Other answers listed. Select Pay to read how those candidates compared the rest of the offer.
Make it yours
Add a reason specific to your hiring, such as the start date or a relocation package.
Question 2 of 3 · Matrix · Optional

Compared with the offer you accepted, ours was

Why ask it
Candidates who accepted another offer can tell you exactly where yours fell short, point by point, from Worse to Better.
What you learn
A heat map per row with its average, so you see whether pay, growth, flexibility or the team lost the candidate.
Make it yours
Read it with the reason question: a candidate who chose Timing but rated your pay Worse still points at pay.
Question 3 of 3 · Text · Optional

What would have changed your mind?

Why ask it
The open question asks for the one thing that would have changed the outcome, which is usually more specific than the reason.
What you learn
Usertick reads each answer, files it under a category and a theme such as pay and benefits or team and culture, and marks it as an idea, a complaint or a question.
Make it yours
Collect the answers per role and bring them to the next review of pay bands or your remote work policy. A single answer such as a faster offer or a clearer title can be fixed before the next hire.

What the answers show

Results turns each question into numbers you can follow week by week.

What was the main reason you declined our offer?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

Compared with the offer you accepted, ours was

Each row's answers side by side, so the part that needs work stands out.

Every written answer, read for you

Each answer arrives with its category, theme, type and urgency, so the urgent ones reach your team first.

Use this template in four steps

From the template to the first answers.

  1. 1

    Open the template

    Sign up free and pick Offer declined in the template gallery. It opens in a matching style, ready to change.

  2. 2

    Make the questions yours

    Reword any question, change the options, and add logic or more questions.

  3. 3

    Choose where it runs

    Show it on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.

  4. 4

    Publish and read the answers

    Answers arrive in Results and the inbox as people send them, each written one read and filed by Usertick.

Tips for this survey

Small choices that keep people answering and the answers useful.

  1. 01

    Send it once, politely

    Usertick sends no reminders, and a candidate who declined owes you nothing, so one short email with a thank you is enough.

  2. 02

    Keep it about the offer

    Ask about the decision and leave the interviews to the candidate experience survey, so this one stays at three questions.

  3. 03

    Compare by role

    Results doesn't split answers by contact list, so add a question that names the role, or duplicate the survey per team, to see patterns by role.

  4. 04

    Bring the numbers to pay reviews

    When Pay or I accepted another offer leads the reasons for a quarter, show the comparison grid to the people who set pay bands and benefits.

Churn surveysEmail surveysTeam pulse questions

More churn templates and questions

Templates like this one, and single questions from the library to add to it.

Templates

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ChurnExit surveyUnderstand why people leave and what would have kept them, while they're still happy to tell you. Send it during the notice period, before the last week.
RetentionTeam pulseA short, anonymous check on workload, support and whether people feel heard. Send it every week or two to the whole team.
OnboardingNew hire, day 30Check in with new hires after their first month: what's in place, what slowed them down and what the next person should know. Send it on day 30.
CSATTraining feedbackFind out whether a training was relevant, whether people can apply it and what to train on next. Send it at the end of the session or the next morning.

Frequently asked questions

Within a week of the decline, while the comparison with the other offer is fresh in their mind. After a few weeks the candidate has started the new job and remembers the details less well.

Every candidate who received an offer and turned it down. For candidates who left earlier in the process, use a candidate experience survey.

Three is enough. The candidate owes you nothing, and three questions take about a minute. Only the reason is required, so a candidate who answers one question still gives you the main thing.

Yes. Paste the survey's link into your reply, or send it from Usertick to the candidate's address, now or scheduled up to 30 days ahead.

Look at the reasons each quarter, read the written answers for the reason that leads, and raise it with whoever owns pay, flexibility or the hiring timeline. One decline is a story; several with the same reason are a pattern.

Yes. Every template comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.

Yes. The template becomes your own survey, so reword any question, add or remove questions, and change the options and the logic. The gallery stays as it is.

Yes, from Starter. The template is written in US English. Add languages by hand or with AI translation, and each person sees the survey in their browser's language.

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