follow up why you didn't get interview / job

[Deleted]

Did you ever follow-up with a potential employer as to why you did not get an interview or a job after interviewing? What did you find out?

I am having absolutely no luck in my job search. (Even though I am employed now (thank goodness) but not good benefits.)

I am not even getting interviews for jobs that I felt 100% qualified for. In the past week, I got two reject letters. I brought my cover-letter and resume to the local technical college and they thought it looked good.

Next year I will have to start considering relocating since I am having no luck in my hometown. Lately I have not even been getting interviews. This is a small, rural area with limited jobs available. I don't want to move so I am considering follow-ups when I get the reject letters.

All I read in the local newspaper is how the county is having trouble attracting and retaining qualified employees.

I don't think I am that much of a loser.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I've tried but it's VERY rare to get feedback because they don't want to risk you coming back and suing for "discrimination".

I only got feedback from ONE job and the only reason she gave it to me is because she worked for the VA not Creighton so she would not get in trouble if she disclosed anything.   I was in the running all the way up till the very end when they decided that since I did not put "phone experience" on my resume they would go for a secretary for a "Research Technologist III" position instead of me.

They felt it'd be easier to train her to do everything I do than to have to train me to use phones.

If I had known that was going to be the deciding factor I would have put my server experience down.   Since it's over 10 years old I leave it off and it's not relevant (or so I thought) to a Biological technician position.   I did not waste time in the interview talking about it either.

Having that information was worthless all it did was piss me off.   That's the ONLY interview I've ever been on where my server experience would have landed me the job.

If your town is really small and you have a high unemployment rate then you are probably facing a lot of competition.  There is a major bottle neck in my field so they have 100+ people applying for the positions I am going for.   With that many applicants they have to weed people out somehow so it often comes down to small shit like my story above.  I can't control that besides tacking on a teeny tiny sentence at teh end of my resume with my server experience.

Which then at the next employer gets me questioned about why I have something so old on my resume.

[swasat]

You can always ask but don't be surprised if you get no bites and no replies.

Honestly, any time I reject a resume or a job candidate, I don't have to provide feedback to HR and recruiting on WHY a certain candidate was rejected. Its reject pure and simple, no questions asked. 

So its doubtful you will get any feedback. But then again, you might....depends on the company, hiring people etc.

[Deleted]

Sept 2, 2016 11:00:18 GMT -5 swasat said:

You can always ask but don't be surprised if you get no bites and no replies.

Honestly, any time I reject a resume or a job candidate, I don't have to provide feedback to HR and recruiting on WHY a certain candidate was rejected. Its reject pure and simple, no questions asked. 

So its doubtful you will get any feedback. But then again, you might....depends on the company, hiring people etc.

What are your reasons for rejecting a resume or job candidate? Do you reject people that are qualified for the job?

[ken a.k.a OMK]

Once I was asked if I wanted a follow up interview after I didn't get the job. Since I thought I nailed the initial written test, the interview and additional technical questions and was probably over qualified I said yes. Turns out they promoted from within. I think it was predetermined. Six months later, after I had started another job, they called me with an offer. Too late for them.

[swasat]

Sept 2, 2016 11:04:13 GMT -5 @bluester said:

Sept 2, 2016 11:00:18 GMT -5 swasat said:

You can always ask but don't be surprised if you get no bites and no replies.

Honestly, any time I reject a resume or a job candidate, I don't have to provide feedback to HR and recruiting on WHY a certain candidate was rejected. Its reject pure and simple, no questions asked. 

So its doubtful you will get any feedback. But then again, you might....depends on the company, hiring people etc.

What are your reasons for rejecting a resume or job candidate? Do you reject people that are qualified for the job?

"Qualified" is a very subjective word


Does a candidate have "most" skill set as required by a job?
Has he/she shown career progression?
Can the person stand the demands of the job?
Can the person work well with the current team? (VERY important)

So...generally there are multiple phases of rejections.

Phase 1: The resume sucks or is illegible, or the candidate doesn't have required skills or the salary requirements are too high 
Phase 2: Rejection after phone screen. For whatever reason the candidate was found unsuitable when spoken to, even though they made it past the resume screening.
Phase 3: Phone interview went well, but in person interview sucked.
Phase 4: The candidate was awesome ....BUT! there was another candidate that was MORE awesome.

I am pretty sure its industry specific as well. I am just telling you screening and rejection process as it happens in MY industry.

[Peace77]

Have you had someone check your resume and cover letter for errors, typos and misspelled words?

One fellow was having trouble landing a job so he sent his "resume" for feedback.  It was not a resume --- it was his life story in 27 pages.

[Deleted]

Sept 2, 2016 11:46:48 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

Have you had someone check your resume and cover letter for errors, typos and misspelled words?

One fellow was having trouble landing a job so he sent his "resume" for feedback.  It was not a resume --- it was his life story in 27 pages.

Yes - I brought my cover letter and resume to the career counselor at our local technical college. She thought everything looked fine.

I also had a friend review it.

I have a suspicion that a past employer is trash talking me. I resigned from that position after three years. They were appalled that I quit.

[swasat]

How do you know that your past employer is trash talking you? That would involve them stalking your job search. I can't imagine them doing that for 3 years (!!).

[souldoubt]

I think it's hard to give feedback because as previously mentioned while it may be with the intent of actually helping someone out going forward you don't want it backfiring and the company getting sued.  I've conducted multiple interviews for a few positions we've filled over the years and the last go around we had a candidate who was extremely qualified but we could see her getting bored with the job real quick.  She was over qualified because there wasn't a lot of growth prospects with the position.  I'm pretty sure she knew this but she was also older and I wouldn't want to tell her anything because I don't want to end up getting named in a lawsuit if she claimed age discrimination.  Did she come off like the type of person who was sue happy or would file a lawsuit?  Not at all but I've come across a few people who came off as being extremely nice that had filed multiple law suits against previous employers or threatened lawsuits after termination to get better severance packages.  

[Deleted]

I never, ever give feedback for interviews for the lawsuit reason mentioned previously.

You aren't a loser, there are so many reasons people don't get jobs they are qualified for after an in person interview:

1.  You just barely got beat out by someone 
2.  The position wasn't really open to others, the hiring manager had to go through the charade of interviews to be able to hire someone they want.
3.  The position is never filled (hiring freezes happen all the time no matter where a position is at in the hiring process)
4.  You said something that offended the interviewer that would not have offended 99% of people.
5.  You were interviewed on a day the interviewer was being slammed by unexpected work issues and the interviewer does not have their head in the game.
6.  Someone in upper management submits "their" person at the last minute.




 

[alabamagal]

In the job hunt world of today, it is very common to 1) hear nothing from an application, 2) hear nothing after phone interview or 3) hear nothing after in person interview.  If you get a rejection, I think that is actually better because at least you can move on.

When I got my current position, I was actually had in person interviews with 2 companies.  I got job offer from current company (which was better for many reasons).  The other company I did not hear anything for several weeks.  Then I get email from plant manager and he said that they had an internal candidate (it is large company with many sites) come in at last minute and they gave them the position.  I took that to mean that I did really well, but internal candidate had preference.  It was nice gesture, and I had a better job anyway!

I'm not sure how you think a previous employer is damaging your job search.  If you are not getting interviews, there is something else going on.  In most cases, a company you are applying to wont check previous employment or references until just prior to job offer.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

I took a test for a county government technical job. Got the highest score. They tell you that by mail. I got called in for an interview. I knew right away the 2 guys interviewing me knew I was qualified to have their jobs. They kept talking down the job. Low pay, rotating hours, limited advancement, etc. I was not surprised when they gave the job to a guy who scored second on the test.

[Deleted]

Sept 2, 2016 12:45:00 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

I took a test for a county government technical job. Got the highest score. They tell you that by mail. I got called in for an interview. I knew right away the 2 guys interviewing me knew I was qualified to have their jobs. They kept talking down the job. Low pay, rotating hours, limited advancement, etc. I was not surprised when they gave the job to a guy who scored second on the test.

I never understood that kind of thinking, I ALWAYS hire that person, it makes my life 50 times easier to have someone fully competent on my team and it makes me look good to have someone on my team that can take over my slot when I advance.  Any company I have been at it is not looked kindly upon when you don't have a succession plan for your team.  It is also great to have a person that can step in and facilitate my meetings when I have a conflict.

[Miss Tequila]

Sept 2, 2016 11:51:45 GMT -5 @bluester said:

Sept 2, 2016 11:46:48 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

Have you had someone check your resume and cover letter for errors, typos and misspelled words?

One fellow was having trouble landing a job so he sent his "resume" for feedback.  It was not a resume --- it was his life story in 27 pages.

Yes - I brought my cover letter and resume to the career counselor at our local technical college. She thought everything looked fine.

I also had a friend review it.

I have a suspicion that a past employer is trash talking me. I resigned from that position after three years. They were appalled that I quit.

Why would you think your previous employer is trash talking you just because you didn't get the job? Do you really think there is no one out there that could be a better fit for the job? I can't imagine many employers would do that because they could be sued. 

[Miss Tequila]

Sept 2, 2016 12:23:02 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

This reminds me of a post on another board I'm on.   Basically this person was interviewing for positions.   She got an email from one of the people at the company that he wanted to talk to her... He called her to personally tell her she didn't get the position and why (it came down to the poster had too many personal commitments that she wasn't going to give up and the person they did hire didn't)   


The poster then goes on to write this: 

I also wrote a very polite note to the guy on the phone, saying I understand you thought you were being nice but:



“Generally, when someone in charge of hiring wants to speak to an applicant it means the applicant is still a candidate. So when you emailed me with your request to speak I assumed that I was still a candidate, and quite possibly the board’s choice to offer the position to. So when you told me that was not the case I went from giddy delight to misery in 10 seconds while still on the phone with you.



I know that you are not an HR professional and I know that you meant to be kind and respectful, but I would have greatly preferred to receive this news in an polite email where I could have had an authentic response to it rather than having to manage my own emotions as well as my interaction with you.



As I told you, I really wanted this job and thought I could do excellent work for this organization. Not getting the job was a hard blow, and it would have been easier for me to assimilate that blow in private. Yours, etc.”



So today, I got back a note from our man saying “You are correct in that I felt that it was appropriate and courteous to call all the candidates with our decision. I appreciate you taking the time both to meet with us and to share with me your thoughts on my process.”

I think this is a good reason why company's don't provide feedback to candidates.  

If I were the person receiving that email I would have been super glad I didn't hire that candidate! 

[Deleted]

Sept 2, 2016 12:08:10 GMT -5 swasat said:

How do you know that your past employer is trash talking you? That would involve them stalking your job search. I can't imagine them doing that for 3 years (!!).

I said I had a suspicion. I quit that job 1-1/2 years ago.

My old boss is on a couple of county wide committees with other hiring managers. For an example, there is an economic development committee that is trying to figure out how they can attract qualified employees to the area. During meetings she might mention not to hire me. She is that type of vindictive person. Like I said - suspicion. I don't know for sure.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

It's unlikely it is your former boss trashing you.   It's a committee to discuss improvement for city businesses and attract new candidates and new businesses to employ people.

These companies are not going to be bringing their stacks of candidates and having her go thru them.   That's not what the committee is for.   They are also not going to be discussing it with her at committees because as mentioned before it could open them up to lawsuits.

The only way she is talking is if they are calling her to confirm employment.   Which if you are concerned you can simply list HR's number to verify employment dates.   If she's a reference remove her and put someone down you trust.

I am guessing you are a big fish in a teeny tiny pond based on your posts.  If that is the case then it's going to take A LOT of applications and interviews before you land a job.  When that is the case ANYTHING is on the table to weed out a candidate in order to shrink the pile as fast as possible.

Thinking back to when I was applying there were a lot of labs in limbo in terms of grants. 

I asked in interviews what people's grant prospects were like because I wanted to be able to make long term plans.   Looking back that probably clued them in that I was going to keep looking. I was not a new grad/desperate enough to happily take a 2 year job and let them milk me until the grant ran out.

I don't regret asking that question I need to look out for myself and eventually I landed here where I will get at least 5 years on my current grants.   However by asking that question I gave them a golden opportunity to weed me out without me even being aware.

That's just how job hunting works.  You are never going to know what caused you to be eliminated (unless you do something really obviously stupid/bad during the interview) It's one of the most soul sucking activities on earth.

[thyme4change]

Sept 2, 2016 13:23:02 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

It's unlikely it is your former boss trashing you.   It's a committee to discuss improvement for city businesses and attract new candidates and new businesses to employ people.

These companies are not going to be bringing their stacks of candidates and having her go thru them.   That's not what the committee is for.   They are also not going to be discussing it with her at committees because as mentioned before it could open them up to lawsuits.

The only way she is talking is if they are calling her to confirm employment.   Which if you are concerned you can simply list HR's number to verify employment dates.   If she's a reference remove her and put someone down you trust.

I am guessing you are a big fish in a teeny tiny pond based on your posts.  If that is the case then it's going to take A LOT of applications and interviews before you land a job.  When that is the case ANYTHING is on the table to weed out a candidate in order to shrink the pile as fast as possible.

Thinking back to when I was applying there were a lot of labs in limbo in terms of grants. 

I asked in interviews what people's grant prospects were like because I wanted to be able to make long term plans.   Looking back that probably clued them in that I was going to keep looking. I was not a new grad/desperate enough to happily take a 2 year job and let them milk me until the grant ran out.

I don't regret asking that question I need to look out for myself and eventually I landed here where I will get at least 5 years on my current grants.   However by asking that question I gave them a golden opportunity to weed me out without me even being aware.

That's just how job hunting works.  You are never going to know what caused you to be eliminated (unless you do something really obviously stupid/bad during the interview) It's one of the most soul sucking activities on earth.

If I know someone that worked for a company on an applicant's resume, I call them and ask. It is totally possible that a hiring manger would connect her resume to her old boss who is still at that company and ask about said applicant. It happens all the time. It is even easier now with LinkedIn. I can see if anybody I know worked in even remotely the same time frame, same company as applicants. Random calls from college chums asking if I know so-and-so. If someone is very connected in a community, like OPs ex-boss, there is a level of power.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Sept 2, 2016 15:49:34 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Sept 2, 2016 13:23:02 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

It's unlikely it is your former boss trashing you.   It's a committee to discuss improvement for city businesses and attract new candidates and new businesses to employ people.

These companies are not going to be bringing their stacks of candidates and having her go thru them.   That's not what the committee is for.   They are also not going to be discussing it with her at committees because as mentioned before it could open them up to lawsuits.

The only way she is talking is if they are calling her to confirm employment.   Which if you are concerned you can simply list HR's number to verify employment dates.   If she's a reference remove her and put someone down you trust.

I am guessing you are a big fish in a teeny tiny pond based on your posts.  If that is the case then it's going to take A LOT of applications and interviews before you land a job.  When that is the case ANYTHING is on the table to weed out a candidate in order to shrink the pile as fast as possible.

Thinking back to when I was applying there were a lot of labs in limbo in terms of grants. 

I asked in interviews what people's grant prospects were like because I wanted to be able to make long term plans.   Looking back that probably clued them in that I was going to keep looking. I was not a new grad/desperate enough to happily take a 2 year job and let them milk me until the grant ran out.

I don't regret asking that question I need to look out for myself and eventually I landed here where I will get at least 5 years on my current grants.   However by asking that question I gave them a golden opportunity to weed me out without me even being aware.

That's just how job hunting works.  You are never going to know what caused you to be eliminated (unless you do something really obviously stupid/bad during the interview) It's one of the most soul sucking activities on earth.

If I know someone that worked for a company on an applicant's resume, I call them and ask. It is totally possible that a hiring manger would connect her resume to her old boss who is still at that company and ask about said applicant. It happens all the time. It is even easier now with LinkedIn. I can see if anybody I know worked in even remotely the same time frame, same company as applicants. Random calls from college chums asking if I know so-and-so. If someone is very connected in a community, like OPs ex-boss, there is a level of power.

That prompts me to make sure Boys Town is off my LinkedIn profile.  

[cronewitch]

I seldom knew why I didn't get jobs. Once I had 4 interviews for a non profit and it was down to two people they said they would decide in the morning. They decided on the male applicant because he had non profit experience. They said I was better qualified but he could hit the ground running. One job had two openings one for tech support and one depreciation expert, I applied for depreciation. They also had 4 temp openings so hired me as a temp while they decided. They hired for the other jobs and I didn't get either but they still wanted me so I was a temp until they redid the budget to hire me. Sue got the depreciation job I wanted because she had more depreciation experience, I got accounting support.

[Artemis Windsong]

I did check back a couple of times.  One said I did not score on the testing as high as the person they hired.  I was shown the sample score sheet from the state job service that showed the scoring but the names were covered.

Usually it's generic like the other person was more qualified or had this experience and you didn't. 

[whoami]

Your name isnt Ya'llJealous is it?

[TheOtherMe]

I am retired now, but it's usually was something along the line that the a person more qualified was hired.  Very generic. 

I also know that many former employers will only give out the basics of start and end date and start and end pay because they are afraid of lawsuits.

I worked for a man once when he was going to fire an employee.  It was at a women's clothing boutique.  She was a sales person, probably his best sales person.  I was the bookkeeper and had my office with him at another desk.  He told me the reasons and had me look at everything he was going to give her.  She was afraid it was coming and kept asking me if I knew if he was going to fire her.  I hated being the person in the middle.  I did not tell her anything.  I did ask him to please not tell me anything else because she kept asking me if she was being fired.

When he actually fired her, he brought her to our office, which made me a witness.  When it was over, she said to me that I did know she was going to get fired.  I didn't respond.  I hated that situation.

[rob base]

Sept 2, 2016 12:56:48 GMT -5 @bluester said:

Sept 2, 2016 12:08:10 GMT -5 swasat said:

How do you know that your past employer is trash talking you? That would involve them stalking your job search. I can't imagine them doing that for 3 years (!!).

I said I had a suspicion. I quit that job 1-1/2 years ago.

My old boss is on a couple of county wide committees with other hiring managers. For an example, there is an economic development committee that is trying to figure out how they can attract qualified employees to the area. During meetings she might mention not to hire me. She is that type of vindictive person. Like I said - suspicion. I don't know for sure.

You know, they have companies that for like $40 you can use to check what former employers are saying about you.  You hire the company and they pretend to be interested in hiring you but ask your former employer for their opinion / reference. They will tell you what the former employer said, and if former employer is doing things they shouldn't they can help you draft a "warning" letter and / or recommend legal action if needed......

[Artemis Windsong]

Years ago a friend shared this with me.  She didn't get a job at the Catholic church because she hadn't been in a church in years and wasn't Catholic in faith. 

She applied with Girl Scouts but was not considered because she had no scouting experience.

She turned down an entry level job at a bank because it was beneath her bachelor's degree and not the wage she wanted.  She didn't notice the benefits she rejected.  The fact that the entry level was a way to get to know her for future placement.

[geenamercile]

The only times I have heard back is when the funding fell through, or the position didn't come open as anticipated (teacher who said they were going to leave signed their contract last second)  and they wanted to hold my resume for a future position.  Sometimes I would get the letter saying they decided to go with a different candidate but those are pretty cookie cutter.    

[Tennesseer]

I once had a candidate's mother call me complaining I had not hired her son and wanted to know why.  Her son was in his mid-twenties.  I told her I was not obligated to tell a candidate's mother why I would not hire her adult son.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

In applying for management positions, the reason for not hiring is typically "it's just not the right fit" or "the candidate we hired was a better fit". 

As a manager, I've told people honestly  that I had to have verified good recommendations, and since I couldn't get those I couldn't hire him/her. 

I was interviewing applicants for an English teacher positions once, and there was one person I didn't hire. That person emailed asking me why. Her letter to me had at least ten grammatical and typographical errors including addressing me as Mr. I chose not to respond because I couldn't figure out how to do it nicely. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Sept 3, 2016 21:41:31 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I once had a candidate's mother call me complaining I had not hired her son and wanted to know why.  Her son was in his mid-twenties.  I told her I was not obligated to tell a candidate's mother why I would not hire her adult son.

I can think of a reason why. Too bad itd go over mommy dearest's head.