There’s an interesting discussion going on over at Evil HR Lady about whether it’s okay to ask for feedback when you don’t get a job, with a lot of people pointing out in the comments section that when they’ve agreed to give rejected candidates feedback, it inevitably ends with the candidate trying to convince them that the feedback is wrong and they should get the job. (I think it’s great when candidates ask for feedback, but that’s precisely the reason I’ll only give it via email and not over the phone; I don’t want to get trapped in that conversation.)
Anyway, it made me think about how often candidates are convinced that they are precisely right for the job and they become baffled when they don’t get an offer. Sometimes they even become aggressive and hostile, but that’s another post.
There are all kinds of reasons for why you might not be chosen for the job, no matter how qualified you think you are, including:
1. Your qualifications aren’t as strong as you think they are. Your assessment of your skills isn’t in line with the reality of the situation.
2. Your qualifications are very strong, but someone else’s are stronger. (It’s odd how often candidates shocked that they didn’t get the job overlook this possibility, which is one of the most common.)
3. You don’t have an accurate understanding of what the job is all about, and therefore your opinion of how well-matched you are is based on an erroneous foundation. This one is surprisingly common. For instance, I did a phone interview with a guy today who really did have an impressive business background and kept referencing examples from it — but the job he’s applying for wouldn’t make much use of those skills. He picked out a couple of smaller aspects of the job description and focused on those, missing the larger picture (which is that the job is way more clerical than he realized).
4. You’re well qualified, but you have some other characteristic that would cause you big problems here, such as an inability to listen without interrupting, or trouble answering questions clearly, or a hostility problem. I’m not going to knowingly put someone in a job that they’re likely to run into problems in — both for the manager’s sake and the candidate’s sake.
So don’t become shocked and irate if you don’t get a job you thought you were perfect for. After all, chances are good that the hiring manager knows better than you do about who will thrive in the position. That is a good thing, because you do not want a job that you will not excel in.
People do make hiring mistakes, of course, but in general, it makes sense to respect the opinion of the people who work there, who know the needs of the job intimately, and who know better than you whether or not you’re likely to be a good fit for this particular position with this particular boss in this particular culture in this particular company.
None of which is to say that you shouldn’t ask for feedback. Just be sure you’re asking out of a sincere desire to know, not to try to argue your case.
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Super timing for me. I finished interviewing candidates this week and am just starting to think through my reasonings for not only the non-selects but to make a decision between the top two. This is very helpful. Thanks!
FIT is very important. If I think a department will eat a candidate alive because they appear too passive rather than assertive I just might go with another candidate.
Don’t even get me started on aggressive or hostile candidates…I fail to understand a person’s thinking behind yelling at or telling off the person who rejected you for a job…you’re just re-affirming to them that their decision was correct..lol!!
I agree with HR Wench. Fit is so important and all else being equal, sometimes one work style or personality type will fit better on a particular team than another. That is the kind of nuance that candidates can’t possibly know and need to take on faith that you know what you are talking about.
I recently had a candidate (that I didn’t even interview, just didn’t think his experience as seen on his resume was a good fit) tell me that he didn’t mind the rejection because his next step was to “get at” our founder and our Managing Partner so that they could evaluate his credentials. I of course told him to go right ahead with that tactic knowing that both people would immediately send the resume to me for my evaluation without even looking at it.
I just finished interviewing for my “dream job”, and didn’t get an offer. I sent the hiring manager an email thanking him for his time and asking for feedback. I received a very thoughtful and supportive response in which he confirmed I was qualified, and commended me on my interviewing technique, but ultimately someone else was more qualified. His response has helped make this a more positive experience while leaving open the possiblility for future consideration.
The most frustrated candidates I met were those who regularly make it to the final interview round but never get the job.
And the most annoying ones are those who can’t accept that we make decisions and that sometimes the non-negotiable decision is “no”.
^ Agree completely with previous comment. What about times when you pass the final interview with flying colors, continue to get positive feedback, but are still left in limbo about the decision? What should I expect about my chances of winning the position when I’m really given no direction either way? That to me is ridiculously frustrating and awful. I suppose HR at these large companies doesn’t have the time to have sensitivity towards the needs of every individual candidate who applies. Nobody really cares! I guess that is the world we live in.
totally agree with anonymouse on June 15th!!!!!!
I am both an employee seeking to receive an offer of a dream position and an HR professional that has had to make the tough decision of hiring the right person. I would like to encourage those of you that are in a situation to fill a position not to confuse Authority with Duty. Just because your company has deligated the duty of filling a position does not mean that your decision is the right one. a little humility, as I see being Preached, may make you a better Interviewer.
Perhaps it might be better to give/receive the response by email. This removes all the emotion from the equation and feedback is feedback.
Most of you hiring idiots need to be on the other end of the table, out of work and looking for a job. Scarier is the fact that most of you morons don't even have a background of what the candidate is applying for, and then judge him/her on whether or not you think they are qualified.
I've already had one employer who treated me with disrespect; lose business because I knew someone who is their large customer. I told this person of the treatment I received and he is doing business with this employer's largest rival.
Something you employers had better understand: Watch the job seekers you crap on today, because it might cost you allot of money tomorrow.
Kris,
Why would this candidate want to go around you and speak to the managing partner and founder? Have you thought that maybe you weren't "LISTENING" to the candidate when you should have been looking at his knowledge, skills and abilities?
I hope you become unemployed soon if you aren't already and experience what job seekers are going through.
Have you considered that sometimes people, even job seekers, are delusional? I might have a dream job in mind but that doesn’t mean I am qualified for it. This person described also seems to have a problem with authority that wouldn’t translate well in many workplace environments. Who wants to hire someone that every time he disagrees with his supervisor immediately runs to the managing partner?
I hope you get into a career in HR and have to deal with angry, upset, and often delusional candidates every day. We can’t hire every candidate. I get 100+ applicants sometimes for a one person opening. That’s tough. It’s not that I don’t want to help them all, but that I can’t!
Greetings, I know this thread hasn't been touched in awhile, but I just wanted to get some feedback. I have been working in a Service Desk position for 4 years (with another 2 years experience at another location) and just recently, they decided to open up a Service Desk manager position. I met pretty much all of the qualifications, except education – 2yr degree instead of 4yr, but occasionally working on the 4yr when time allows.
After they had reviewed all the resumes, I was not even offered an interview, just a heartfelt, "You are qualified for the position, but I don't think you would get the respect you deserve from your subordinates."
I think this is a crappy way to treat someone who has provided 4+ years of service and instead will hire outside of the company, however, before I jump to conclusions, I wanted to see what you might think about this situation. Should I be contempt with working under someone who doesn't know the inter workings of the company or should I take this as a sign that I should move on? Thanks for your help.
Erik: just my unprofessional guess, but could it be they were giving an honest and maybe even accurate assessment of the amount of authority you exude?
Giving a company 4 years of service doesn't automatically equate to having the appropiate skills/abilities for the job, even if it *seems* unfair.
What should you do in the event that you don't get the job, but they offered a similar position that is freelance instead of being directly hired on. This is the third time with the same company I've encountered this situation.
I first applied for one position, interviewed over the phone and they said someone more qualified had filled it. Then, they called me back, I flew to them, interviewed, went great, even interviewed with the girl who had filled the 1st position I applied for, and then was once again rejected via voicemail. But during the voicemail the HR Manager had mentioned a temporary freelance position that I would be a good fit for, and would allow me to get my foot in the door.
I'm going to take the freelance offer, but I want to know what an appropriate way to ask why I wasn't the candidate for the 2nd position. feedback???
As a recruiter, this is a very helpful article because the bottom line is, as you point out, the hiring manager is the person who knows what is needed in the position, not the candidate. When I receive multiple calls, emails, etc. from a candidate before they’ve even been invited in for an interview, I consider them high maintenance already and therefore, even though they think they’re just showing interest, its too much and its offputting. So be cautious out there candidates…its all about balance and putting your best behavior forward.
Wow, really? When someone calls or emails you regarding a position after they have submitted a resume you think they are high maintenance? That’s a warped view. I think they are showing interest and are being responsible enough to show that they are genuinely interested and ambitious. They aren’t afraid to put in extra work to get out there and get what they want. Sometimes it can be over done, but it’s also part of the game. Would you rather hire that person who just emails or mails a resume and hopes for the best, i.e the lazy way? You have to remember that while you are sitting there still drawing a paycheck these folks may be on their last dime. I think you need to spend some time on the other end. Maybe you would be more appreciative of these people. Plus, in giving someone a chance you may create the best employee your company has ever known. I have no idea why many HR people will disqualify a candidate simply because they are showing interest. It’s like they are just looking for a reason. Sorry that these people cause such an inconvenience in your day that you might have to read or delete a few extra emails or trash a few more letters. I know that’s tough.
It’s one thing to write in once and say “can I get an idea of when I could expect to hear back from you?” It’s quite another thing to get *multiple* phone calls or emails.
As AAM says, phone calls must be attended to *then*, whereas emails can be attended to at the receiver’s convenience, so multiple phone calls are likely to rile up someone who you’re depending on to advance your candidacy.
Likewise, gone are the days when not receiving a reply meant that the recipient didn’t get your email in the first place. If they don’t reply to an email, give them more time or move on to another opening, rather than spamming their mailbox with the same question multiple times with snippy “oh, you haven’t responded yet, obviously you didn’t receive my email because otherwise you would have dropped everything to answer it right away” additions.
I understand that it’s hard out there right now – but saying “it’s okay to act desperate” is the wrong advice to job-seekers.
I think it depends on how they aproach the hiring manager. I recently set up a job ad and i got a phone call at 8.00am in the morning from a person asking when will they be getting an interview. I told them that they sent their resume at 11:30pm the night before and then called first thing the next morning. I recieved over 50+ resumes that night and at 8:00am in the morning I had not even looked at them all. Straight away this was “off putting” and I wiped her off my list as she was very demanding and pushy. (I did check her email and she was not qualified nor presented enough experience anyway). But as a HR professional these phone calls are annoying and time consuming, and not all of them are showing intrest; they are pushy and annoying
We never had problems getting jobs in the United States until we started hiring Human Resource Managers who are not skilled in the position they are recruiting for in the first place. DO not get depressed just consider the fact that what comes around goes around!
“I consider them high maintenance already and therefore, even though they think they’re just showing interest, its too much and its offputting. ” It’s too bad you can not be exposed to your company as I’m sure they would have a different stance on this. This is why there is so much friction between employees and HR. I will remember that the next time an HR person calls the help desk because they can not login to their VPN. Sorry, this is the third time you have called in today, you are high maintenance. P.S. Remember, put your best behavior forward.
Recently I got an internal interview with my dream job. Although I had business relationship with that hiring manager for several years, very unfortunately I still have not been selected for the final interview. I sent couple of emails to follow up with my application, again recruitment managers always ignore my emails and that hiring manager also ignores my emails. No one is willing to provide the feedback to me. But, I still receive lots of business requests for doing extra things for that hiring manager. Maybe it just as they said all the skills are trainable but just the right person. But, how to be the right person? It could be regardless how hard you try, you will never be ‘that one’.
Look at it from another perspective.
I have 15 openings I am working on right now. I have 30+ applicants for each position, some in the hundreds for certain positions. So at any given time, I have 500+ resumes from job seekers. Now, if every single one of these applicants tries to call multiple times to force their application to the top, it becomes so time consuming that I can’t get off the phone to even read the resumes! More less discuss the position with candidates that are actually qualified. Not to mention, the type of applicant who follows up obsessively is rarely qualified for the position to begin with.
“Not to mention, the type of applicant who follows up obsessively is rarely qualified for the position to begin with.”
This has been my experience too.
“Not to mention, the type of applicant who follows up obsessively is rarely qualified for the position to begin with.” I do not agree. For those people who has been shortlisted for interview do have rights to know the reasons. Within the job application stage, it is not necessary. As one person can easily apply for hundreds of jobs regardless they are fit or not(This especially addressed to previous post Lizzie).
Have to mention, most of time qualified for the position does not necessary mean the right fit for the position. Think about this one, a highly Intelligent candidate has been interviewed by someone less smarter than her/him, the hiring manager may prefer someone is not qualified. I believe I made myself very clear.
You forgot to mention the biggest reason why you don’t get an offer even if you are the most qualified: RACISM. I can ensure you it exists
Welcome to the world of cyborgs – where human beings are expected to perform, function, and duty themselves 24/7 for the employer (though this is beyond realistic, even for the enslaved). I completely disagree with the HR d-nozzles who think their excrement smell like roses and that they are the great divider between production and lack of. WE are all human beings and YES we get disgruntled over you nozzles completely throwing our applications out the window because we don’t fit your (personal) stringent “requirements”. I’d rather see a machine interview me than a human being. I know for a fact this PC society are rejecting the best candidates for a multitude of positions available and only satisfying the job fix they create with these “requirements”.
So true….
i recently interviewed for an entry level position at a company that i was more than qualified for. Its an annuity wholesale position which requires specific licenses. I already have those licenses and 2 years experience selling various financial products. I didn’t get the job and they told me it was because i didn’t know enough about annuities…..which is like telling a history professor that he can’t be a highschool teacher because he doesn’t know enough about history. I simply think that the interview board didn’t like me.
theres so much wrong with the interview process now days. Interviewers look for negatives in a person and focus onwhy they shouldn’t be hired instead of surveying what that person can bring to the table. It should be more of a “get to know you” scenario and less scrutiny of everything little thing you say.
I recently had an interview for a inside sales position and was asked “what are my career goals”. I responded that “I want to finish school, write a children’s book in the short term. Open a restaurant in the short term. In the long term in about ten or 20 years maybe an elementary school principal” I then reiterated that I was not settled on the field of education because I feel I am strong in sales and customer service. “The very next question was do you have any questions for me”. I took this statement to mean that the interview was over and that I had blown my chances. What was wrong with my response?
You basically said “my goals don’t revolve around this job and I have all kinds of other plans.”
I would have considered the interview over at that point as well.
1. Finishing school, restaurateur, author, sales and service. Four radically different fields of interest tells me you have no idea what you want to do and no career plan.
2. Opening a restaurant, finishing school and writing a book (even a children’s book) are work intensive endeavors and considering them all short term goals would tell me you haven’t considered the details at all.
3. Opening a restaurant alone is HUGE both in terms of commitment of capital and time. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t expect to work 70-80 hours weeks until viable – which stats show can take years. That it’s just one on a list would indicate to me that you’re giving me a bucket list of things you’d like to do and there’s been no real business analysis applied to any of it.
4. People may go into sales for the money or the love of selling – but people go into education, culinary careers, and writing because they are following a passion. There may be exceptions – but most of the time people go into those professions for the love of the field. Why would they want you for a sales job if you’ve told them that short term you’re planning on doing three unrelated things. Turnover is expensive and employers would at least like the allusion that you’re going to be there a while.
It reads like a lack of commitment and focus. Just tailor your answers to the job for which you’re applying.
I have many goals and I intend to meet them all. I do have a passion for teaching. I tend to mention this interest because I can be utilized in other areas besides sales and customer service. I have trained employees before and I mentor adults and children. I guess I was thinking ahead instead of trying to close the deal. I have my priorities in order and I don’t want to be stuck in a position where there are no opportunities for me to grow professionally. I am very good at what I do and I don’t work only for the money , I have to like what I do and like where I work or I will continue to seek other options. Thank you for the heads up. I know what to say next time
Yikes! I’m not trying to start a big argument here, but I think a opinionated rebuttal is due.
I think this article is an extremely over generalized response. In fact, I would definitely argue that most HR people don’t have a clue who would be a fit for the job. That would definitely include headhunters as well, since they themselves are a form of Human Resources. I would also argue that HR has more turn over, at least as much as, than the other employees.
The people who do know best (not surprisingly) are the people who actually work in that specific environment. Not the managers, not the supervisors, not anyone but the actual employees. This is a hiring practice that is just plain archaic. Who should interview and hire the candidates? The employees.
While I do agree that people who apply won’t understand the full scope of the job, but I would bet on it that the HR person knows even less. After all, they base it on only second hand information, same as the applicant.
I didn’t write anything about HR in the reasons I gave in the post. I’m writing from the perspective of a hiring manager.
Interesting thread. I recently applied for a role, went through interviews and testing and was told my results were excellent. I was one of 2 candidates left and the other person apparently did not do well with the testing.
I was then called in for a final interview which was unexpected as they advised the process would be an offer to the successful candidate post testing. This time the Manager whom I would report to was not present and I met with the GM (prior interview) plus the CFO. During this meeting I was asked questions about my children, how I would cope in the mornings and was asked how old they were. I have a 16week old baby and a 4 year old. Sounds terrible from an employers perspective and where I’m from, these are highly inappropriate questions which potentially leave me wide open to discrimination, hence they are not actually allowed to ask. Ha, but how do you not answer and come across well?
The GM commented towards the end that he really just wanted to get me back to reconfirm his thoughts from my previous interview. Confusing.
I completely tick all the boxes, which even they said right up to the point where they found out about my kids. How do I politely ask for feedback and trust that it’s genuine and not based on the fact I’m a full time working mum which put them off? Do I even bother?
Thanks!
I’d like to add that candidate selection is an imperfect science subject to a certain amount of bias. To give you an example:
I recently interviewed for a position at a hospital. The medical director extensively quizzed me about my family life and marital status. After I explained that I am not married – I am a 26 year old male – he asked, “But you want to get married?” He was shaking his head up and down as if to push me towards an affirmative response. He followed with a speech on the value of taking the advice of one’s elders.
The medical director was showing a preference for a paternalistic married man. While I am uncertain as to how much negative weight my unmarried status was given, I am certain that I would be viewed less positively when compared to a married candidate.
In some cases, “highly qualified applicant” may translate to “highly likeable candidate”.
On the bright side, HR was especially nice about giving me the bad news. In the past, most HR reps have delivered the news quickly and without much empathy. My experience with this last HR rep was a in wonderful opposition to the norm. I appreciated it.
To all the HR people reading this blog: how you deliver bad news matters.
-Joshua
Since the last time I’ve posted here, I’ve had three interviews and applied for over 60 positions. I was not chosen for any position. In one interview, I had the interviewers laughing at “tell me about a time you handled a difficult customer” and the interview went well but…The other interview was a marketing job that was advertised as customer service. I was not interested in this position at all. I was even turned down for driving a shuttle bus position because I’ve never driven one but, I have driven a moving truck plenty of times. I’m wondering if I should just tell a lie about everything. The truth is not getting me hired anywhere. I am a educator who has not graduated college yet. Should I leave this off my resume? I can do many things but it seems that employers are finding that one missing thing and excluding me. I really think it’s because I’m an education major and employers may be considering me unteachable or a know it all. This is far from the truth. I enjoy learning and new experiences. If I can’t get a $9.00 an hour job with a bachelors degree…what am I doing wrong?
Neenah:
As a fellow frustrated applicant, I’m no stranger to feeling like fabricating myself into a duplicate copy of the job description I am applying for – no more, no less.
But to answer your reciprocal question, I don’t think you are doing anything wrong. I think the job market just happens to be horrific.
It’s simple math:
1 job opening
40 applicants
15 highly qualified applicants.
Who really knows why highly qualified candidate #3/15 failed to get the position? Maybe the interviewer (we will call him Sean Connery) had heartburn after meeting candidate #3 (let’s call her Lucy Lawless). When the time came for Sean to decide, he recalled a mild feeling of discomfort when thinking about Lucy. He didn’t, however, associate the discomfort with his heartburn. No, he associated the discomfort (subconsciously and quite accidentally) with Lucy. Wham! Rejection.
And this is no joke. Research by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky shows how illogical human decision making can be. Not to say human decision making doesn’t work out. With 14/15 highly qualified candidates left how can you go wrong?
So, I suppose I am trying to say that you are playing a random numbers game. If you keep applying to positions for which you are reasonably qualified, you will eventually get one. Given the economy, its probably going to take awhile and you should expect it. I know that doesn’t completely take away the sting of getting rejected over and over, but I hope it helps a little.
All the best,
Joshua (fellow qualified but unemployed applicant)
I just loss out on a job at work to someone that’s been with the company for less than two years. I have been with this company for almost five years and know alot more than this other person. I heard on the floor that someone in the front office asked him to put his resume in for the job, well after weeks and two interviews he got the job. The people up front in the offices have been know as the good ol boys club. They always seem to know who will get what job and make there decisions before hand. Very upset and looking for a new job.
Im going back to grad school and im looking for a few hours of work. I applied for a per diem job working at a company i used to work for doing the same thing i used to do. I did not leave on bad terms and have been working in that field for several years and it wasnt just one position, there are multiple openings around this large city and no call or anything. Just really frustrated because im super qualified and they post 2 or 3 job ads every week and nothing. This economy sucks.