Interviewee asks for feedback

swynia

I sent an interviewee a letter after we had chosen our candidate stating that he had not gotten the position that we had open.

He has since e-mailed me for feedback on how he interviewed, if I had any concerns with him from the interview and so on.

Have you received requests like this and do you give them the feedback? I've been taught in the past that as an applicant get all the feedback you can, but as an employer can giving feedback get you into trouble?

Thanks

Whirlwind

Having dealt with both disgruntled and merely curious rejected applicants over the years, I have pretty strong feelings about this.

First of all, I think we owe it to internal applicants - in the interest of their professional development - to give them candid and constructive feedback about why they do not get promotions or transfers that they apply for, whether it's due to performance, poor interviewing skills, or whatever.

I feel the opposite for external candidates. Their professional development is not our responsibility. In my organization, we try to stick as much as possible to a quantitatively based selection system. Giving applicants feedback about their interviewing skills might encourage them to infer that the process was more subjective than it actually was. Or that it contained more cultural bias than we hope it does. And it might give them false hope for future openings to boot.

Those are just my thoughts. There might be good arguments for the opposite perspective.

Paul in Cannon Beach

I would agree with Whirlwhind except for when the external candidate is a younger person. There are times when I may offer some carefully considered feedback if I feel it could be helpful and the applicant appears to sincerely desire the constructive criticism.

I never give feedback to applicant's mothers however.

HRCalico

I don't have many internal candidates, but Whirl and Paul make good points. Regarding my external candidates, I typically just say that I don't release that type of information. If they ask why they didn't get an interview at all, I tell them that our supervisors decide who to bring in and they base their decisions on work history and experience.

That said, there was one guy whose interview was a TRAIN WRECK. Just terrible. We thought he probably had some redeeming qualities and good skills, but ugh. He had worked for another mfg plant for many years and eventually got laid off, then tried unsuccessfully to sell cars. He called me and got a little tearful. I suggested he visit his local branch of our state DOL and get some advice on interviewing. Not sure if he ever did or not, but I at least felt I did my part and allowed a great resource (state DOL) to do theirs.

WT

I think Whirlwind is pretty close to the mark. Just remember that you do not owe anyone a job. You interview for the best candidate. Sometimes we cannot disclose why we make the decisions that we do make. Maybe you find the person disturbing or their work history has big gaps or all kinds of short term jobs indicating they cannot keep a job. They could have gotten hostile during the interview. Perhaps you have to work with the position in question and you just do not like the candidate. In fact, sometimes the job has already been promised to somebody and HR is really only going through the motions. This little unpleasantry has happened or will happen to most HR managers at one time or another.

ray a

As the others have written, we do give feedback to internal applicants for job postings who do not get the job, but give out minimal information to outside candidates not hired. I get calls and emails requesting information on why they were not hired so they can make improvements the next time they interview. Some may really mean that, but others could be looking for a way to trip you up legally. I never divulge more than that we hired someone who thought better fit our requirements. Recently, when one of the ladies working for me called an applicant to set up a job interview, his mother answered the phone. She was rude and complained how that junior seemed to go on many job interviews but no one would hire him and wondered why that was, as if we could provide her the answer. Well, we interviewed and hired junior, who I would guess is in his mid 30s. He never showed up for the first day of work and we never heard from him again. I was tempted to call his mother, but I didn't.

davids

Let me add a different perspective. Not giving any information to an applicant leaves the person wondering (was it my age, my race, am I being discriminated against?). You will have to answer the question to EEO if the applicant assumes the worst and files a complaint. I have found it a good practice to provide the applicant with job-related information (e.g. skills not as strong as chosen applicant in these specific areas, lack of degree, etc.).

pork1

I CONCURR, in my role as umsbudsman for the outside potential candidate, I feel that it is my responsibility to gently let the interviewee down as lightly as possible without putting the company at risk. I am the professional recruiter in our company so the individual does not get past me; if I felt there was no fit at all, he/she would not be interviewing. Therefore, only the best qualified with good team attributes that will fit the personality of our company get the chance to fail and stumble all over the interview. When they do that, I am usually the one that catches the wrath of the management team.

Step up and take responsibility for my failures and be accountable to the interviewee for missing the mark and putting this person through the mill un-necessarily.

PORK

WT

Pork: Add to that the fact that sometimes a candidate looks good to HR but the supervisors the employee is going to work with just do not like that candidate. This could be a very honest difference of opinion but HR is never well served by pushing a candidate that the managers do not care for. Aside from this, others may indeed see something that we did not see. I really like to have a candidate spend time with some lower level employees be it a tour or just some conversation. It is amazing how they sometimes let their hair down and disclose things that never got out during the formal interview process.

System

I beleive disclosing the reasons a candidate did not get the job is both risky and non-benefitcial to your organization. I think the best way to handle those inquiries is to tell the "unchosen" that it is not that they failed the interview, its just your organization selcted an individual that best met your requirements, and leave it at that. To get into any more detail than that leaves you wide open to all sorts misinterpretations, angry reactions and potential lawsuits. Why go there?