3 ms·

I couldn't agree more. I'd kill for some useful, thoughtful feedback. That said, I'd kill for even a form rejection most of the time; nowadays, it seems never

I couldn't agree more. I'd kill for some useful, thoughtful feedback. That said, I'd kill for even a form rejection most of the time; nowadays, it seems never letting you know is the new form rejection.

cm3 10y ago
Only happened to me once, but zero response is bad, yes. However, it's not much worse than the neutral "thanks, bye" you get all the time. It's hard to stay motivated when all the interviews go well, or so you think, until the final thank-you email.
- a3n 10y ago
  "Thanks, bye" frees your mind from having to wonder about that position. It's closure. If you don't get feedback, you can still do a bit of post mortem; you may not come to the same conclusion that the hiring org would have, but you will gain some insight into yourself.
  - cm3 10y ago
    Because the occasions where I didn't get any closing responses have been with places that seemed to be unprofessional in the hiring process, I actually had an easier time dismissing those, especially after learning more about some of the from ex-employees.
wpietri 10y ago
My tip: try asking for the feedback in person. If after an interview somebody asks for feedback, I'll generally give it to them. The details are fresh in our heads, I can carefully calibrate my answer to the person's mood, and we can discuss anything that is confusing or upsetting. Once we've filled the positions, though, it's much harder to give feedback. I've got a number of people I'm turning down, so it'd be a lot of work. Details are fuzzier. And often the real reason is something unsatisfying, like, "this person was marginally better in a few key areas; that added up". (If we've done our pre-screening well, almost everybody we interview is hireable, so often the true advice is something depressingly anodyne, like, "keep trying" or "more experience would have helped".) But really, if you want feedback, I'd find some way to set up mock interviews with people you trust. There's a lot of feedback I won't give because I don't think the person is ready to hear it. E.g., I once interviewed a person who was a bluffer. They failed the pair programming portion of the interview spectacularly, to the extent that I ended it early. When they asked for feedback, I told them that they should definitely work on their TDD skills. But the honest answer would have been, "Go get a therapist and start working on your personal issues, because you have a pervasive character problem." That's an extreme case, but hopefully you can see the problem. As John Scalzi says [1], "There are a lot of people who, when they say, 'I’d love feedback,' actually mean 'I want a hug.'" Those people can be very unpleasant when you give them actual feedback. [1] http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/01/23/what-to-know-before-you-ask-me-to-read-your-unpublished-work/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/01/23/what-to-know-before-yo...
ddebernardy 10y ago
It's not that simple though. I occasionally give as constructive feedback as I can when asked. (And I sometimes cut interviews short explaining why, to avoid wasting my time and the candidate's.) But honestly, giving feedback can backlash. As in, the candidate will reply back two or three times by email, trying to argue their case. "We liked you a lot but we preferred another candidate" is about as neutral as it is uninformative, but has the merit of cutting a conversation short.

cm3 10y ago

Only happened to me once, but zero response is bad, yes. However, it's not much worse than the neutral "thanks, bye" you get all the time. It's hard to stay motivated when all the interviews go well, or so you think, until the final thank-you email.

a3n 10y ago
"Thanks, bye" frees your mind from having to wonder about that position. It's closure. If you don't get feedback, you can still do a bit of post mortem; you may not come to the same conclusion that the hiring org would have, but you will gain some insight into yourself.
- cm3 10y ago
  Because the occasions where I didn't get any closing responses have been with places that seemed to be unprofessional in the hiring process, I actually had an easier time dismissing those, especially after learning more about some of the from ex-employees.

wpietri 10y ago

My tip: try asking for the feedback in person. If after an interview somebody asks for feedback, I'll generally give it to them. The details are fresh in our heads, I can carefully calibrate my answer to the person's mood, and we can discuss anything that is confusing or upsetting. Once we've filled the positions, though, it's much harder to give feedback. I've got a number of people I'm turning down, so it'd be a lot of work. Details are fuzzier. And often the real reason is something unsatisfying, like, "this person was marginally better in a few key areas; that added up". (If we've done our pre-screening well, almost everybody we interview is hireable, so often the true advice is something depressingly anodyne, like, "keep trying" or "more experience would have helped".) But really, if you want feedback, I'd find some way to set up mock interviews with people you trust. There's a lot of feedback I won't give because I don't think the person is ready to hear it. E.g., I once interviewed a person who was a bluffer. They failed the pair programming portion of the interview spectacularly, to the extent that I ended it early. When they asked for feedback, I told them that they should definitely work on their TDD skills. But the honest answer would have been, "Go get a therapist and start working on your personal issues, because you have a pervasive character problem." That's an extreme case, but hopefully you can see the problem. As John Scalzi says [1], "There are a lot of people who, when they say, 'I’d love feedback,' actually mean 'I want a hug.'" Those people can be very unpleasant when you give them actual feedback. [1] http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/01/23/what-to-know-before-you-ask-me-to-read-your-unpublished-work/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/01/23/what-to-know-before-yo...

ddebernardy 10y ago

It's not that simple though. I occasionally give as constructive feedback as I can when asked. (And I sometimes cut interviews short explaining why, to avoid wasting my time and the candidate's.) But honestly, giving feedback can backlash. As in, the candidate will reply back two or three times by email, trying to argue their case. "We liked you a lot but we preferred another candidate" is about as neutral as it is uninformative, but has the merit of cutting a conversation short.