4 ms·

Just say he's no fit for the organization. Safe and at least partially fair for the candidates.

• gnicholas 8y ago
  Interestingly, if they give concrete technical reasons why people weren't hired in most cases, then telling some people that they were "not a fit" could actually raise a red flag. Basically, it tells them that there was no technical reason not to hire them, which raises the question of whether it was something illegitimate.
  • pmiller2 8y ago
    It may raise the question, but it’s not evidence, and it’s not actionable. No lawyer would ever take a case based on a lack of interview feedback, or “not a fit.”
    • presscast 8y ago
      No, but it might prompt someone to dig deeper. I think companies are starting to treat the hiring process as a security risk and are trying to minimize the attack-surface.
      • pmiller2 8y ago
        To anyone who’s try “digging deeper” in a situation like this, I say good luck.
        • presscast 8y ago
          For most of us, dealing with this kind of issue is a hassle, even when there's no actual legal danger. Substitute "bad PR" with "litigation risk" if you prefer. The point is: there exists an incentive to think in terms of information leakage, and it's a very unfortunate state of affairs because everybody loses.
  • presscast 8y ago
    This gets right to the heart of the issue, IMHO. Hiring has become such a litigation-prone process that companies are now incentivized to leak as little information as possible. It's sad because nobody wins -- companies get sued for petty nothings, candidates who have been wronged have no recourse, and candidates aren't given the feedback they need to improve themselves. Our startup isn't hiring yet, but I must confess this kind of thing has me worried...
    • EliRivers 8y ago
      Hiring has become such a litigation-prone Where? I've never seen anyone sue a company for not hiring them, and no company I've ever worked at has been sued for not hiring someone. If it was litigation-prone, I'd expect to see some litigation. I don't work in the US; maybe this is a weird US thing? Maybe people who do work in the US can give us some numbers? What proportion of companies one has worked for have been sued for not hiring someone? Or in a given year, what proportion of rejected interview candidates come back to sue the company?
      • btilly 8y ago
        It is a weird US thing, and nobody can give you numbers because the existence and outcome of these lawsuits is never talked about (most are settled out of court). But talk to anyone in HR and you'll hear, "The stories that I've seen, if only I could tell you!"
        • EliRivers 8y ago
          So are they real? No numbers, no talking about it, just people in HR saying "No no, I promise you, they are real!" If everyone is so cautious about hiring for fear of litigation, do they still happen? Since everyone is so cautious.
          • btilly 8y ago
            They are real. In some organizations more frequently than others. Anecdotally, call centers seem to be a particularly good source of interesting HR lawsuits.