Candidate rejection etiquette, part II

Today I received--gasp!--a rejection letter that didn't suck (unlike some I have sort of received). In fact, it was quite personable without being personalized. I'm going to share it in the hope that those of you on hiring committees might adapt it to your own needs.

Dear Dr. Trillwing,

By now you have no doubt deduced that you were not a finalist for our position for [xxxxx].

While it is a cliché, in this case it is a true one, that we had a very strong pool with far more fine applicants than we could possibly consider. It is also a cliché, but also true, that matching a job to a candidate is as much a matter of the needs of the program and institution as it is a matter of any absolute standard of excellence.

I sincerely hope that you remain enthusiastic about your scholarly career, and wish you every success in the future.

Yours truly,

[Scholar trillwing admired tremendously even before receiving this excellent letter]

Now that's class, people.