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About 15-20 years ago now, a potential employer accidentally CC'ed me on internal e-mail after I'd done a phone interview with them. It was clearly *not* intended to be sent to me so there was no effort to disguise it with polite apologies. What the interviewer's comments boiled down to was -- you guessed it -- they didn't think I was going to be a good fit for the job. It did make me angry, though, because the specific reason they picked on was something that had never even come up in the interview, and you'd think that if they considered it a deal-killer they would have at least asked me about it directly. But what can you do about it? They've already made up their minds, they have no obligation to make you an offer, and it was their loss that they jumped to the wrong conclusions about what was going to make me happy.
I also had the experience of going through a first round of interviews at a certain company and being told someone would be contacting me shortly afterwards for a second round.... and weeks went by, they kept telling me this guy was just extremely busy, etc... and finally I was told that there had been a reorganization and the position I'd interviewed for had disappeared. The funny thing is that some years later, long after I'd found a job at another company, the would-be second interviewer remembered that too and apologized for having dragged his feet on hiring me. :-P
Hiring managers are people too. Based on a 1 or 2 hour meeting, you have to somehow pick the perfect candidate... someone who has the skills to do the job, the personality to fit in well with the team, and the intent to stay with the company for many years. You then have to be able to manage that person, keep them motivated and happy, and coach them to succeed.
Not getting the position may have very little to do with anything tangible. It's easy to turn down a candidate if they don't have the technical skills needed, but often the decision is based on the intangible. A belief that you won't fit in well with the company culture or the team; a gut feeling; or just that they had a better connection with another candidate.
So it's unlikely that you'll get a thorough answer on why you didn't get the job, but there's no reason to take it personally. Learn and move on. If you really thought that you had a great connection with the hiring manager, try to utilize them in your job search. Send them a nice email congratulating them on finding a fantastic candidate, thanking them for a great interview, and asking them if the know of any other openings in your field or within the company, and if they'd be willing to make the introduction for you.
Yes, exactly, what I was also talking about.
Sometimes it's just the little things or just a gut feeling or vibe, and there's nothing wrong with a hiring manager or interview staff that cues on this and decides not to move forward. There's no reason why they should have to explain down to the little tiny detail why you weren't chosen.
Just accept it as you just weren't what they were looking for fit wise or whatever. Like I said, I know it stings the ego a bit but it is what it is.
Like I also said, many of you may also be in that same position where you interview people and there's just something about them that makes you think that person wouldn't fit in well with the group (outside of their technical/job skills which are a perfect match). Why should you have to tell the candidate, oh, sorry, but you give us the creeps and don't think you'd fit in with us.
All that is needed, if that, is a simple "thank you for applying but we decided to go with another candidate."
I hired a lot of people during my working life, and of course rejected many more. In nearly every case, my reasons for not hiring someone had less to do with their shortcomings than with the qualifications of other candidates.
I always gave guidance and advice to rejected candidates when they asked for it. In some cases, I was able to steer them to positions with my colleagues or competitors; in addition, when I encouraged job-seekers to reapply in the future, I was able to give them a more thorough look, having met them before, and being impressed with their persistence.
A lesson that most successful employers learn early on is to avoid burning bridges with job candidates who just barely lose out to others; a negative interview experience impacts both the institution/business as well as the job-seeker. Good people are hard to find.
Absolutely not. As a hiring manager, I would refer any questions after to HR, who would say what you are getting, we selected someone better. It's a shame that we can't help people in the future, but you can thank the lawyers.
This.
There is no upside for the employer to tell you with any degree of honesty why you weren't chosen.
No one tells Mitt Romney or John McCain why they didn't vote for them, neither should employers tell you why they didn't want to hire you. I have applied and interviewed for tons of jobs at one time. Most of the time, I get no response or the usual copy and paste "We are exploring other candidates" or "You weren't a right fit". If companies had a thousand people that applied, they don't have the time to sit with every one of them and explain why they didn't hire them.
See title... Is it possible? I always seem to have a lot of luck making it final round interviews but I have terrible difficulty actually securing offers. I always try to seek out feedback because I want to know where I could improve, (especially when I feel I aced the interview), but most companies are very adamant about only providing a standard rejection or providing some "safe" and generic reason because these companies are afraid of a having a lawsuit on hand.
The one I get the most now is just simply the "You are an excellent candidate but we found someone better suited for the role". Umm, if I'm so excellent where should I be improving??! I just really wish companies would provide feedback so I could actually work on weak areas if they exist!
Any tips for digging the real answer why you weren't hired out of the company?
If you dedicated considerable time to interviews, or even perhaps took days off of work, then yes, it might. I don't know about you, but I consider my time valuable. While I don't expect it or care as much as others, I've always been curious as to how often the reasons are legit like "We were looking for more experience in x" or "We decided to hire internally". Then of course, there are reasons where being honest would probably get them into trouble, deserved or not.
that's what I'm saying.. unless you live in the North Pole or Iceland, there are enough employers out there to find another job where they actually pick you.
There are some employers who have interviewed me and I knew if they made me an offer, I would refuse. One had a visibly very dirty office and bathrooms. Others had an atmosphere where the employees were visibly unhappy, passive aggressive for whatever reason; I would tend to think it's the workplace if the whole group looks like they're sulking. It was a funeral or something? Whether misery or germs, it's all contagious when you're there 35-40 hours a week. Now do I really need to tell the employer if they asked me? NO. "I found another job which was a better fit." Recently I had an interview where the majority of women were really obese. Not the men. Do I want to work around obese women? Maybe if I'm obese too, but as it happens, I"m really into fitness...yoga, pilates, dance classes. If they hired me, the obese clique would have made sure I didnt' last long. But do I really need to tell the employer? NO>
that's what I'm saying.. unless you live in the North Pole or Iceland, there are enough employers out there to find another job where they actually pick you.
There are some employers who have interviewed me and I knew if they made me an offer, I would refuse. One had a visibly very dirty office and bathrooms. Others had an atmosphere where the employees were visibly unhappy, passive aggressive for whatever reason; I would tend to think it's the workplace if the whole group looks like they're sulking. It was a funeral or something? Whether misery or germs, it's all contagious when you're there 35-40 hours a week. Now do I really need to tell the employer if they asked me? NO. "I found another job which was a better fit." Recently I had an interview where the majority of women were really obese. Not the men. Do I want to work around obese women? Maybe if I'm obese too, but as it happens, I"m really into fitness...yoga, pilates, dance classes. If they hired me, the obese clique would have made sure I didnt' last long. But do I really need to tell the employer? NO>
It was still the 1990s/Early 2000's when America was thriving economically and there were a plethora of jobs all over available ? Sure.. Thats not the case today.
As a hiring Director I always receive inquiries as to why they were not selected. In my earlier years as a manager I would try to respond back with some answers. Inevitably it would lead to more questions. I now simply forward such inquiries to HR
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