<i>I don&#x27;t know what to say or how to not sound like a dick.</i><p>I&#x27;m sure you know the stock phrases.  If you don&#x27;t, &quot;Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, but we&#x27;ve decided to move on with another candidate.  Good luck with your job search&quot; is perfectly adequate.  If it&#x27;s been a few weeks, and you feel you need to apologize for the delay -- then of course do so.  Really, it does help.<p>About the only &quot;dick move&quot; is sending no response at all.    People don&#x27;t need lengthy explanations and reinforcement of their positive traits.  They just need an <i>answer</i> (yes or no) and, perchance, <i>some</i> acknowledgement of the fact that they&#x27;re human beings, and have made a significant investment of their time and energy in talking with you.<p>It still amazes me how many companies don&#x27;t get this.<p><i>That said, big companies have professionals whose job it is to make sure this doesn&#x27;t happen.</i><p>I think what happens in big companies is that everyone <i>assumes</i> someone has the responsibility to do this, but no one ever does.