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As a Support Engineer for a well known tech company, I took on the extracurricular role of sourcing, screening and interviewing candidates for our team. We ofte

As a Support Engineer for a well known tech company, I took on the extracurricular role of sourcing, screening and interviewing candidates for our team. We often had better results identifying candidates as an engineer making a direct contact. You do walk a fine line and create a lot of overhead to give feedback to all candidates. Generic feedback like "you weren't the right candidate" or "we were looking for someone who is a better fit" isn't any more helpful than a simple "no". More detailed feedback can be tainted with personal bias and potentially skewed personal perspective based on how well you got along with an interviewer. If I was in charge of HR/recruiting/etc I would advocate for not giving feedback, but build more robust communication mechanisms that give candidates a notification or view into the process. For example: 1. I submitted my resume and can see that a recruiter has reviewed it and moved me on to phone screen or its pending recruiter review. > I wasn't selected, but I am a good candidate for other jobs so my resume has been recycled. Honestly, I don't want feedback from some of the places I've interviewed but I sure hate being ghosted and feeling like I sent me resume into the abyss for no reason.

HarryHirsch 7y ago
More detailed feedback can be tainted with personal bias and potentially skewed personal perspective based on how well you got along with an interviewer Absolutely. Two weeks ago, interview at a certain top-10 liberal arts college. Meetings with 4 or 5 faculty members, the usual. Chitchat throughout, nothing substantial is being said, certainly nothing pertaining to the role. There is a tour of the facilities, the research labs are empty, even though the semester is still ongoing. You marvel at the unstructuredness of it all and ask: is this Potemkin's Village? The general impression is that the institution is living on past glories. The rejection arrives in less than a week, and just for grunts, you ask if there is any feedback to be had. There is feedback: the interviewers could not assess your competence. Guys, it was your job to convey expectations and bring the conversation back on track, if necessary. You just managed to turn a disappointed candidate into a completely enraged one. What a waste of time. People talk to each other, if anyone asks about the institution I would strongly recommend not to have anything to do with it, not as student, not as faculty, not as staff.
rootlocus 7y ago
> More detailed feedback can be tainted with personal bias and potentially skewed personal perspective based on how well you got along with an interviewer. s/More detailed feedback/Your decision to reject the candidate/

HarryHirsch 7y ago

More detailed feedback can be tainted with personal bias and potentially skewed personal perspective based on how well you got along with an interviewer Absolutely. Two weeks ago, interview at a certain top-10 liberal arts college. Meetings with 4 or 5 faculty members, the usual. Chitchat throughout, nothing substantial is being said, certainly nothing pertaining to the role. There is a tour of the facilities, the research labs are empty, even though the semester is still ongoing. You marvel at the unstructuredness of it all and ask: is this Potemkin's Village? The general impression is that the institution is living on past glories. The rejection arrives in less than a week, and just for grunts, you ask if there is any feedback to be had. There is feedback: the interviewers could not assess your competence. Guys, it was your job to convey expectations and bring the conversation back on track, if necessary. You just managed to turn a disappointed candidate into a completely enraged one. What a waste of time. People talk to each other, if anyone asks about the institution I would strongly recommend not to have anything to do with it, not as student, not as faculty, not as staff.

rootlocus 7y ago

> More detailed feedback can be tainted with personal bias and potentially skewed personal perspective based on how well you got along with an interviewer. s/More detailed feedback/Your decision to reject the candidate/