“Why didn’t they hire me??” Getting an Answer to the Question

It’s bad enough that you didn’t get the job.  Now you just want to know “WHY?”  The resume you submitted won you the coveted interview, it seemed to go well, and you clicked with the management team.  Everything was swell until………you got the call.  So what exactly happened??

The unfortunate truth is, most potential employers stay mum about their reasons for rejecting candidates out of fear of a lawsuit.  Many rejections can be twisted and interpreted as discrimination.  For example, being told you have too much experience could be construed as age discrimination.  To make matters worse, corporate attorneys began cracking down on hiring practices in 2012 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced its intention to focus on identifying discrimination in the hiring process.

It’s not just the candidates who are suffering.  Hiring managers struggle through mile-long lists of candidates who repeatedly fall short, unaware of why they are missing the mark and doomed to repeat the same mistakes interview after interview.  If you are one of the 10% who ask for feedback after a rejection, we’ve got bad news:  not even 5% of rejected candidates ever receive an explanation.

Is there any good news here?  Well, if you work with a search firm like Merraine you’ve got a better chance of receiving feedback, as our recruiters serve as the candidate’s bridge to the hiring authority long after that life-altering experience that we call an interview has ended. Organizations tend to feel a bit more comfortable with a recruiter as a buffer, leaving all parties better off without the unfinished business of “the unanswered question.”

So what do you do if you when you finally get that feedback?  Heed the advice, like it or not, and make your next interview your last!