Tell me why I suck
injekt.net
Tell me why I suck
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Re: Tell me why I suck
#2Telling candidates why they are not a good fit is not the company job, it's your job as a candidate to figure out why you are not a good fit. Also it would open them to some liability, which is something that anyone prefers to avoid.
I sometimes made interviews with potential candidates, and if you do it at a time you'll learn that it's really not something personal. I just say this, so that you know that you don't suck actually. Most companies are looking for someone who know their stuff (surprisingly hard to find ) AND is nice (someone you can work with ).
If you do the two above thing for a long enough time, have a good CV, ideally some personal project to show, you'll land up a good job in the end.
Re: Tell me why I suck
#3Companies won't do it because they fear being taken to court for discrimination. When hiring we were specifically advised by our legal team not to tell people why they were unsuccessful. It doesn't matter how careful you are, anything you say can be leapt upon by an unsuccessful candidate and used as an excuse to drag you to court claiming that they were discriminated against. This is especially true in these days of "No Win, No Fee" lawyers.
Sometimes, of course, the prospective candidate really has no skills at all in the required areas. I'm reminded of the Tom Lehrer quotation:
" ... one of the many fine things one has to admit
is the way that the army has carried the American
democratic ideal to its logical conclusion in the
sense that not only do they prohibit discrimination
on the grounds of race, creed, and color, but also
on the grounds of ability. "
However, the age of litigation prevents me from doing that. And I'm not allowed to say "Sorry" either, because that could be taken as an admission of culpability.
(edited to add the Lehrer quotation)
Re: Tell me why I suck
#4Companies won't do it because they fear being taken to court for discrimination. When hiring we were specifically advised by our legal team not to tell people why they were unsuccessful. It doesn't matter how careful you are, anything you say can be leapt upon by an unsuccessful candidate and used as an excuse to drag you to court claiming that they were discriminated against. This is especially true in these days of…
I didn't really think of "Oh maybe some companies DO want to give feedback, its just better that they dont, for say perhaps, legal reasons". The sorry part makes total sense though, I've seen that a lot.
I guess there are those kind of people who feel discriminated against what might only be some helpful feedback, it's a shame, because it's one of the most educational means of response I've come across, in my experience.
Thanks for your response
Re: Tell me why I suck
#5America has an extremely litigious society. I won't tell you why you suck, because if I do you'll find a way to sue me.
Re: Tell me why I suck
#6Companies won't do it because they fear being taken to court for discrimination. When hiring we were specifically advised by our legal team not to tell people why they were unsuccessful. It doesn't matter how careful you are, anything you say can be leapt upon by an unsuccessful candidate and used as an excuse to drag you to court claiming that they were discriminated against. This is especially true in these days of…
Also, for real, about 8 out of 10 people take it badly. I've tried it. It just doesn't work.
Why don't you ask for it though? A quick reply: "I'd love to hear why I was rejected, won't take it badly, but as an opportunity to learn". Don't make them do all the work.
Re: Tell me why I suck
#7Companies won't do it because they fear being taken to court for discrimination. When hiring we were specifically advised by our legal team not to tell people why they were unsuccessful. It doesn't matter how careful you are, anything you say can be leapt upon by an unsuccessful candidate and used as an excuse to drag you to court claiming that they were discriminated against. This is especially true in these days of…
This comes up a lot in these types of discussions, but I have a (major) gripe with this: Laws differ. There are some large (and overrepresented on this site?) countries in the world that have a "sue them" culture and, obviously, laws to back this type of behavior.
Lots of countries don't, though - and there I'd expect this kind of feedback.
I know, I'm not a lawyer and I might even be a bit naive here, but telling me that I seemed to lack the required understanding in technology X or couldn't convince them that I'd get up to speed in Y shouldn't open any chance to drag in a lawyer. Of course, things like 'you didn't fit the team' or 'your personal hygiene is not good enough for our corporate standards' might be something that is harder to disclose..
Bottomline: I hate your easy way out, giving no valueable feedback at all/in general.
Re: Tell me why I suck
#8There's also the fact that there's multiple candidates for one position. You might have been a good choice, but someone else had more experience, or another diferential.
Re: Tell me why I suck
#9America has an extremely litigious society. I won't tell you why you suck, because if I do you'll find a way to sue me.
A very good point. It's actually the UK, but to be honest.. The same can be said in most countries nowadays
Re: Tell me why I suck
#101. There is no position. We're just "feeling out" the marketplace.
2. There is no position. This was a headhunter building his database.
3. We were planning to promote from within, but HR made us post the position anyway. We didn't read or respond to any of the resumes.
4. We already had the perfect candidate, but HR made us post the position anyway. We didn't read or respond to any of the resumes.
5. We posted the position as required by HR, but when an executive saw it on the intranet, he made us hire his son/nephew/family friend. We didn't read or respond to any of the resumes.
5. We were planning to hire someone, but by the time the resumes started arriving, the perfect candidate presented himself. We didn't read or respond to any of the resumes.
6. We were planning to hire someone, but the budget was cut. We didn't read or respond to any of the resumes.
7. We got 1,200 resumes in 2 days so HR ran them through a filter with almost no correlation to potential suitability for the job. Your resume didn't get through the filter. Next time, add buzzwords from the ad.
8. Your resume made it through the HR filter, but we only had time to read 20% of them. Yours wasn't pretty enough.
9. Your resume didn't stick out in a field of many that did stick out. You probably should have some kick-ass differentiator FRONT AND CENTER.
10. We read many great resumes. Yours was substandard compared to many of them for one or more of many possible reasons. Have 5 friends proofread it and give you brutally honest feedback for next time.
11. Your resume sucked but you don't. Find 5 friends. See #10.
12. You interviewed well, but someone else absolutely kicked ass. We loved him/her. Tough break for you, I guess.
13. You didn't interview well, but we can't really put our finger on it and don't have time to respond. Tough break.
14. You interviewed well and are still under consideration. But we are waiting on corporate for 27 other things. You'll probably find another job before we get back to you.
15. You really do suck. (No you don't. Chances are the process never got this far.)