Many researchers have explored the speech act of refusals across various genres, languages, and contexts. However, little is known about how refusals are conveyed in academic job applications by Asia-Pacific and European institutions. To address this gap, the current cross-cultural study analyzed a corpus of naturally occurring academic job rejection emails from different universities. Using Beebe et al.’s (1990) taxonomy of refusals, a total of 85 rejection letters was collected and examined. The results revealed that while both Asia-Pacific and European universities employed similar refusal strategies, the frequency differed significantly: European universities used 219 refusal strategies, compared to only 60 by Asia-Pacific institutions. Both regions primarily relied on “indirect” refusal strategies and “adjuncts” to protect the applicant’s face. Interestingly, “direct” refusal strategies, which are more face-threatening, were notably more common in European universities’ responses. The study concludes with insights and recommendations for making the academic job application process more considerate for both applicants and institutions.
