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As someone who filters resumes, this is something I haven't figured out how to handle and am quite curious about. If the company can tell from your resume + co

by trefn 14y ago

As someone who filters resumes, this is something I haven't figured out how to handle and am quite curious about. If the company can tell from your resume + cover letter that you aren't a good fit for the position, what would you want to hear back? Brutal honesty? Lame corporate speak? Silence?

furyofantares 14y ago
Honesty.
- j_baker 14y ago
  Unfortunately, honesty is the last thing Silicon Valley's hiring system is set up for. Employers expect you to tell you what they want to hear, not the honest truth. This means that the people they tend to hire will either be someone who either is lucky enough to think just like them or is willing to tell them everything they want to hear. And God forbid you express any opinions that would make you a "bad cultural fit". Companies give people they don't hire polite platitudes to avoid hurt feelings and legal issues. In short, if you expect honesty in a job search, you'll be disappointed.
  - furyofantares 14y ago
    Where I work, we put a lot of effort into giving honest, actionable feedback to anyone we interview or phone screen. (We don't do it if we choose not to phone screen someone, though.) We tell you why we didn't proceed and what we think you could do to make a difference if you choose to try again in a few years. This is for our own benefit as much as the job seeker's. We don't want to leave a sour or even neutral taste in someone's mouth just because it didn't work out. Someone who is a bad fit now might be a good fit in the future, as they change or as we change, or we might be wrong that they are a bad fit now.
  - igorsyl 14y ago
    My experience is that east coast companies are more upfront about all of this compared to west coast companies.
evincarofautumn 14y ago
Honesty, though not necessarily brutal. When it’s possible to offer them, specific constructive criticisms are great. Critique can help a candidate improve themselves—or improve how they present themselves, in case they’re very well qualified but just awful at putting together a résumé. Just be polite about it.
foxit 14y ago
As the gp says - silence is NOT acceptable. A form courtesy email with the word unfortunately appearing somewhere in it is the bare minimum.
tomjen3 14y ago
Anything but silence. With silence I don't know if you are still considering candidates, haven't gotten my resume, or whatever. Other than a yes, we are interested, I would prefer honesty. You are welcome to make it brutal if that pleases you, but I can read through the lines if you feel you need to soften it up (I have gotten the nicest, most corporate speak, email saying basically that they consider me so completely unsuitable for the position that they would rather not hire anybody than hiring me, but they are still advertising it.).

by trefn 14y ago

furyofantares 14y ago

Honesty.

j_baker 14y ago
Unfortunately, honesty is the last thing Silicon Valley's hiring system is set up for. Employers expect you to tell you what they want to hear, not the honest truth. This means that the people they tend to hire will either be someone who either is lucky enough to think just like them or is willing to tell them everything they want to hear. And God forbid you express any opinions that would make you a "bad cultural fit". Companies give people they don't hire polite platitudes to avoid hurt feelings and legal issues. In short, if you expect honesty in a job search, you'll be disappointed.
- furyofantares 14y ago
  Where I work, we put a lot of effort into giving honest, actionable feedback to anyone we interview or phone screen. (We don't do it if we choose not to phone screen someone, though.) We tell you why we didn't proceed and what we think you could do to make a difference if you choose to try again in a few years. This is for our own benefit as much as the job seeker's. We don't want to leave a sour or even neutral taste in someone's mouth just because it didn't work out. Someone who is a bad fit now might be a good fit in the future, as they change or as we change, or we might be wrong that they are a bad fit now.
- igorsyl 14y ago
  My experience is that east coast companies are more upfront about all of this compared to west coast companies.

evincarofautumn 14y ago

Honesty, though not necessarily brutal. When it’s possible to offer them, specific constructive criticisms are great. Critique can help a candidate improve themselves—or improve how they present themselves, in case they’re very well qualified but just awful at putting together a résumé. Just be polite about it.

foxit 14y ago

As the gp says - silence is NOT acceptable. A form courtesy email with the word unfortunately appearing somewhere in it is the bare minimum.

tomjen3 14y ago

Anything but silence. With silence I don't know if you are still considering candidates, haven't gotten my resume, or whatever. Other than a yes, we are interested, I would prefer honesty. You are welcome to make it brutal if that pleases you, but I can read through the lines if you feel you need to soften it up (I have gotten the nicest, most corporate speak, email saying basically that they consider me so completely unsuitable for the position that they would rather not hire anybody than hiring me, but they are still advertising it.).