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No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

blog.interviewing.io

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Re: No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

#21
Because it would take time to write up the feedback and it would have to be reviewed by HR to ensure it is not phrased in a way that in violation of local laws. This is a large investment for a candidate that is not going to work for your company and from a business point of view, this time is better spend else where.

Re: No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

#22

Perhaps if more people utilized glassdoor and talent steered clear, then we might see a positive change here. Until then, there is no incentive for employers to spend time formalizing and providing that feedback.

Steer clear of what? Almost all companies have this “no feedback” policy in some form. I’ve gotten rejection calls (a sadistic practice, if you’re not going to offer feedback IMO), where I’ve explicitly asked for feedback and literally been told “no.” If I limited myself to companies that provide feedback, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have a career right now.

Re: No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

#23
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If someone settled out of court that is not easy to find (as the article points out) Even if it was settled, surely the initial complaint would be public?

You don’t have to file any court documents to inform somebody that you believe they have wronged you, and that you believe you are entitled to compensation for the resulting damages. The civil court system is there to handle things if you can’t work it out among yourselves.

If you haven’t filed any documents, you haven’t sued anyone, either. I find it really hard to believe that every single case of an engineer suing over post-interview feedback has settled out of court, too.

Re: No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

#24

Perhaps if more people utilized glassdoor and talent steered clear, then we might see a positive change here. Until then, there is no incentive for employers to spend time formalizing and providing that feedback.

Glassdoor is absolutely filled to the brim with reviews clearly written by HR, marketing firms or by current employees who were told to write reviews. If a review's only advice to management are: "Continue doing what you're doing!", "keep up the good work!" or "make sure our awesome culture isn't diluted as we grow!", then they're fake. If a review's only cons are reframing the cons left my legitimate reviewers as so…

In 2014, Glassdoor was a goldmine and it saved me from several very toxic companies. Once companies began to catch on, it became a cesspool of corporate cheerleaders softballing points to make their reviews sound convincing. Things like, "Sure, work/life balance could use some tweaking but, overall, it's not too bad". It's pretty easy to scope out the fake reviews.

Re: No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

#25
I have given it and will continue to give it. Some people do initially react badly to it. Heck, I've reacted badly to it sometimes. But that doesn't mean that it isn't helpful in the long run. My responsibility isn't just to my employers. It's also to my profession and my society, and to the extent I can help well-meaning people to improve, I'm glad to do it.

Re: No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

#26

Perhaps if more people utilized glassdoor and talent steered clear, then we might see a positive change here. Until then, there is no incentive for employers to spend time formalizing and providing that feedback.

Glassdoor is absolutely filled to the brim with reviews clearly written by HR, marketing firms or by current employees who were told to write reviews. If a review's only advice to management are: "Continue doing what you're doing!", "keep up the good work!" or "make sure our awesome culture isn't diluted as we grow!", then they're fake. If a review's only cons are reframing the cons left my legitimate reviewers as so…

It’s also filled with reviews from disgruntled former employees who write massively exaggerated reviews, or complete works of fiction. I also have no reason to believe that people don’t write poor reviews for their competitors. It’s an anonymous review system that has many incentives in place that competing with “write thoughtful, honest reviews for you employers” along with all the typical review system biases (like a strong selection bias).

Re: No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t have to file any court documents to inform somebody that you believe they have wronged you, and that you believe you are entitled to compensation for the resulting damages. The civil court system is there to handle things if you can’t work it out among yourselves.

If you haven’t filed any documents, you haven’t sued anyone, either. I find it really hard to believe that every single case of an engineer suing over post-interview feedback has settled out of court, too.

Definitely. The fact that there are no known cases at least demonstrates the risk is very low. Much less risky than the kinds of things people do all the time in interviews.

Re: No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

#28

Perhaps if more people utilized glassdoor and talent steered clear, then we might see a positive change here. Until then, there is no incentive for employers to spend time formalizing and providing that feedback.

Steer clear of what? Almost all companies have this “no feedback” policy in some form. I’ve gotten rejection calls (a sadistic practice, if you’re not going to offer feedback IMO), where I’ve explicitly asked for feedback and literally been told “no.” If I limited myself to companies that provide feedback, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have a career right now.

> rejection calls (a sadistic practice, if you’re not going to offer feedback IMO)

Perhaps you're referring to other channels of communication, but I'd much rather have a rejection call than no contact at all. Corporate ghosting is much more sadistic.

Re: No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

#29
Because giving good feedback is hard work, and candidates won't always take it well (even if they don't sue). If the employer has already decided not to hire you, there's just not that much in it for them.

For what it's worth, as an interviewer I'm happy to give feedback in person, at the end of the interview, if the candidate asks for it. It's much easier to do when you're both in the same room, and asking e.g. "is there anything you think I could improve on?" makes a positive impression either way.

Re: No engineer has ever sued because of constructive post-interview feedback

#30
Why can't companies provide feedback iff the candidate agrees that the feedback is subject to NDA? Interview candidates already sign NDAs for the coding questions asked.

Granted those NDAs are always ignored (based on coding interview sites) but the NDA would at least provide the "protection" that these companies want. Then the companies benefit from having candidates actually improving and potentially coming back hirable.

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