4 ms·

Large companies like RedHat have thousands of candidates, and managing a process like that well is really, really hard. Someone was probably going through a bat

Large companies like RedHat have thousands of candidates, and managing a process like that well is really, really hard. Someone was probably going through a batch of resumes in their internal system and accidentally checked the wrong box. Your comment is actually a wonderful example why sending unsolicited feedback to candidates is a bad idea. If I take half an hour after a long hard day to write thoughtful feedback for you, I really don't want to deal with "what bullshit is that?/fuck you!/I'll tell everyone I know your company sucks" because I accidentally phrase things poorly or confuse an aspect of your interview with five other interviews I did that day.

yeukhon 13y ago
Well, I do understand that part. Hence I didn't emailed him for the first few weeks. I normally wait a month (for my summer intern I waited two months to send an email on status). But it seems like I wasn't important. If it were a mistake, my email back to him should be visible. Let's blame email system (spam).
- fecak 13y ago
  To be clear, you were applying for an internship (as you said in your post), and now you write "seems like I wasn't important". I'm not sure how we are defining important, but there are tons of people that apply for internships at places like Red Hat, and I'm not sure how many would classify themselves as "important" (or at least important to Red Hat). I don't mean this as any disrespect to you, and companies should make efforts to make applicants feel comfortable and valued, but you are probably making more of a point for not sending specific feedback by your reaction. The sour grapes stuff is probably the most common reaction to the problem, and detailed or generic rejections can have that same negative result.
  - yeukhon 13y ago
    interns are just as important as full time. Any one interested in helping a company to grow is considered important. I did send n email back and asked to clarify the "you had an interview with us" part nicely.
    - fecak 13y ago
      "Interns are just as important as full time" in what sense exactly? Of course interns have a level of importance, but I think your overestimating some things here. If you were a senior level engineer, you may be more likely to get a personalized response. If you interview to be the CTO of Red Hat, I'm guessing you would not get an automated email response when you are not chosen. Let's not kid ourselves that there is not a hierarchy of importance. It's based on merit and contribution (or potential contribution in the case of an applicant), and it's a bit naive to think that applicants for internships will always be given the same level of respect as experienced professionals.
      - OmleteDuFromage 13y ago
        I'm sure a lot of senior level engineers would think twice before working for a company that treated them poorly when applying in the past, even for an internship.
        fecak 13y ago
        No argument with that, but I think most senior engineers would think twice if they felt they were getting the treatment they got as an intern. I think everyone should expect some level of respect, but it's naive to think the CTO is getting the same treatment in an interview as an intern.
        OmleteDuFromage 13y ago
        I totally agree that you'd want to hire some people way more than others, but the process for hiring your interns/entry levelers should be in a sense the lowest common denominator. As in, the more you want to hire someone, the more "features" you add to the process (eg. Paid flights, airport pickup, respond to emails withing 24 hours, whatever), instead of just treating lesser value candidates worse, if that makes sense.
        fecak 13y ago
Snoptic 13y ago
Yes, if you tend to be wrong a lot, it is in your interest to say less.

yeukhon 13y ago

Well, I do understand that part. Hence I didn't emailed him for the first few weeks. I normally wait a month (for my summer intern I waited two months to send an email on status). But it seems like I wasn't important. If it were a mistake, my email back to him should be visible. Let's blame email system (spam).

fecak 13y ago
To be clear, you were applying for an internship (as you said in your post), and now you write "seems like I wasn't important". I'm not sure how we are defining important, but there are tons of people that apply for internships at places like Red Hat, and I'm not sure how many would classify themselves as "important" (or at least important to Red Hat). I don't mean this as any disrespect to you, and companies should make efforts to make applicants feel comfortable and valued, but you are probably making more of a point for not sending specific feedback by your reaction. The sour grapes stuff is probably the most common reaction to the problem, and detailed or generic rejections can have that same negative result.
- yeukhon 13y ago
  interns are just as important as full time. Any one interested in helping a company to grow is considered important. I did send n email back and asked to clarify the "you had an interview with us" part nicely.
  - fecak 13y ago
    "Interns are just as important as full time" in what sense exactly? Of course interns have a level of importance, but I think your overestimating some things here. If you were a senior level engineer, you may be more likely to get a personalized response. If you interview to be the CTO of Red Hat, I'm guessing you would not get an automated email response when you are not chosen. Let's not kid ourselves that there is not a hierarchy of importance. It's based on merit and contribution (or potential contribution in the case of an applicant), and it's a bit naive to think that applicants for internships will always be given the same level of respect as experienced professionals.
    - OmleteDuFromage 13y ago
      I'm sure a lot of senior level engineers would think twice before working for a company that treated them poorly when applying in the past, even for an internship.
      - fecak 13y ago
        No argument with that, but I think most senior engineers would think twice if they felt they were getting the treatment they got as an intern. I think everyone should expect some level of respect, but it's naive to think the CTO is getting the same treatment in an interview as an intern.
        OmleteDuFromage 13y ago
        I totally agree that you'd want to hire some people way more than others, but the process for hiring your interns/entry levelers should be in a sense the lowest common denominator. As in, the more you want to hire someone, the more "features" you add to the process (eg. Paid flights, airport pickup, respond to emails withing 24 hours, whatever), instead of just treating lesser value candidates worse, if that makes sense.
        fecak 13y ago

Snoptic 13y ago

Yes, if you tend to be wrong a lot, it is in your interest to say less.