Toto-Rex's story
Toto-Rex applies for a dream job.
Two days later, an email arrives.
'Dear [Name], thank you for your interest. We have decided to move forward with another candidate.'
[Name]. Not even 'Toto-Rex'.
Was it a person, a template, or a machine? And is something wrong with Toto-Rex?
Toto-Rex's story is made up. The data and rules in this video are real.
The short answer
Not necessarily. Many applications compete for relatively few places.
The details
In the 2026 survey of large UK graduate employers by the Institute of Student Employers (ISE), the average was 141 applications per graduate job.
In London, the average was 172.
In 2002 to 2003, it was 38.
The average does not tell you your personal chance of getting hired.
A rejection can reflect competition, not just your application.
In Great Britain, employers generally do not have to give individual feedback.
Separate data protection rights may still apply. Q&A 010 explains them.
Employers must not discriminate. The Equality Act 2010 protects job applicants.
Useful to know: you can ask for feedback, but in Great Britain employers generally do not have to give it.
Real-life examples
Real life: the numbers behind 'another candidate'.
ISE's 2026 report also counted 96 applications per apprenticeship.
By sector, competition was highest in financial and professional services, at 158 applications per graduate vacancy.
62% of employers saw more graduates applying for roles aimed at school and college leavers.
To manage volume, some employers use automated eligibility screening or close campaigns early.
ISE's head of insights, Claire Tyler, said employers don't expect candidates to be perfectly polished, or to have every skill they are looking for.
Real life: how a template email gets sent.
In Greenhouse, a hiring platform, a recruiter who rejects a candidate can pick a rejection email template and choose a delay before it sends.
The recruiter can also reject a candidate without sending any email at all.
Greenhouse's own help page encourages sending one, saying it improves the candidate's experience.
The system also lets the recruiter record a rejection reason. A recorded reason may be personal data that you can ask for.
Real life: screening by exact criteria.
In a 2021 Harvard Business School and Accenture study, 63% of employers surveyed used a recruitment management system.
Of those, more than 90% used it to make a first cut or to rank middle- or high-skilled applicants.
Among the employers asked this question, 88% agreed that qualified high-skilled candidates are screened out because they do not match the exact criteria in the job description.
For middle-skilled candidates, the figure was 94%.
The study surveyed 2,275 executives in the US, the UK, and Germany.
Real life: silence instead of a rejection.
In a 2025 survey by Yugo, a student housing company, 35% of UK respondents said they had heard nothing back from more than half of their unsuccessful applications.
37% named not hearing back from employers as a top concern.
One in 12 said they had heard nothing back from up to 80% of employers.
Back to Toto-Rex
So, back to Toto-Rex's email.
Toto-Rex replies: 'Thank you for letting me know. Could you share any feedback on my application?'
A week later, a reply arrives: 'Due to the high volume of applications, we are unable to provide individual feedback.'
The employer is allowed to say that. In Great Britain, there is no general duty to give feedback.
An unfilled name placeholder suggests templated wording. It does not show whether a person, a fixed rule, or AI made the decision.
A rejection based on exact criteria, such as a missing qualification or keyword, can say more about the filter than about Toto-Rex.
If Toto-Rex thinks the rejection was discriminatory, the Equality Act 2010 protects job applicants.
It covers how an employer decides who to offer a job to, not only the final offer.
A rule applied to everyone can still be unlawful if it particularly disadvantages people sharing a protected characteristic, disadvantages the applicant, and cannot be objectively justified.
If Toto-Rex considers an employment tribunal claim, the time limits are strict.
In Great Britain, the law changed on 1 October 2026. For most claims about something that happened on or after that date, the limit is 6 months minus 1 day.
For something that happened before 1 October 2026, it is usually 3 months minus 1 day.
For discrimination, the clock usually starts from the most recent act included in the claim. Repeated or continuing problems can make the calculation complex.
Before making most tribunal claims, Toto-Rex must first contact Acas for early conciliation, which is free.
Contacting Acas within the time limit pauses the clock while conciliation takes place.
Internal complaints and appeals do not change the deadline.
And Toto-Rex can ask for a copy of personal data.
Summary
In short: a rejection often reflects competition, not a flaw in you.
Large UK graduate employers averaged 141 applications per job.
In Great Britain, employers generally need not give feedback, but they must not discriminate.
Three key terms
Applications per vacancy
The number of applications divided by the number of jobs on offer.
The ISE figure is an average for the large employers it surveyed. Other employers may differ.
Feedback
An explanation of why you were not chosen, or how you could do better.
In Great Britain, employers generally do not have to give it.
Protected characteristic
A trait the Equality Act 2010 protects from discrimination.
There are nine: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
For example: rejecting an applicant because of their age is unlawful, unless the law allows it in a narrow case.
Further reading
Start with the Acas page on being rejected for a job.
Then sections 4 and 39 of the Equality Act 2010.
For the numbers, see the Institute of Student Employers' survey summaries.
For tribunal time limits, see Acas guidance.
Sources
Institute of Student Employers, Student Recruitment Survey 2025 and Student Recruitment Report 2026.
Acas, 'Being rejected or told not to apply'. Equality Act 2010, sections 4 and 39.
Acas, 'Employment tribunal time limits', updated 1 October 2026. Equality Act 2010, section 19. Greenhouse Support, 'Reject a candidate'.
Fuller, Raman, Sage-Gavin, and Hines, 'Hidden Workers: Untapped Talent', Harvard Business School and Accenture, September 2021. Fuller, 'How to Tap the Talent Automated HR Platforms Miss', HBS Working Knowledge, 5 November 2021. Yugo, Global Student Insights survey, reported October 2025.