

Ask HN: Can I sign a waiver to not sue and know why I was rejected? - dominotw

in an interview
======
soham
Very very unlikely.

Realize that an interview is not a standardized test. It's a date. Most
candidates make the mistake of thinking that it's a test, which leads to a lot
of agony.

When you dig deeper, you'll likely realize that an interview outcome is just a
fuzzy function of multiple interviewer's subjective preferences, very much
like a date. And when you get reject a date (or someone rejects you), it's
often not possible to put a finger on a crisp reason, more than "it didn't
feel right".

What is in your hands, is just preparation. Once you have done comprehensive
preparation, then you have to leave it to luck. Hope that you get seasoned
interviewers who can evaluate you objectively in that hour.

[about me: [http://InterviewKickstart.com](http://InterviewKickstart.com)]

------
davismwfl
As an employer, no I would never sign this and share as there are just way too
many liabilities attached even if we had done all the right things.

However, I have had people that interviewed with me and didn't get the job
send me an email and thank me for the opportunity to interview and ask me what
I feel they could do to improve, work on etc. I won't reply to all of these,
but if someone asks a specific question I will more likely reply. For example,
I had one guy that wrote something to the affect the he knew he flubbed part
of our algorithm questions but he was really interested in that work and was
curious what I thought he could work on to better his skills.

I replied to him and told him things he could work on, and really very little
of it had to do with what he flubbed. In his case, I suggested he work on his
communication skills and reminding him that an interview is a sales process,
he is there to sell himself to the interviewer. I also explained that his
algorithm flub wasn't a big deal as it is more about ability to learn than
always knowing the right answer. In this way, I gave him valid, constructive
feedback without putting us at great risk. Although I know some employers
wouldn't allow a hiring manager or team member to respond, but finding that
person on LinkedIn etc outside of his work role and learning how you can
improve might work.

Also, find a couple of friends and do a post mortem on your interview to the
best of your recollection and see if they can give you any hints or ideas.

------
taprun
No. A company has nothing to gain in telling you. Doing so would only open
itself to risk.

------
greenyoda
Since interviewing is very subjective, a company might not even be able to
give you a clear reason why you were rejected. You may have been interviewed
by six people, each of whom gave you a 9 out of 10 rating. You thought the
interview went very well, and so did they. But then those people interviewed
someone else, whom five interviewers gave a 9 out of 10 rating but one gave a
10 out of 10 rating. So they chose the second person instead of you. But there
may not have been a clearly expressible reason why - just one interviewer's
gut instinct.

Also, they may have rejected you for a stupid reason, like "the CEO didn't
like your blue hair and nose piercing", which they may not feel comfortable
sharing with you even though it's perfectly legal (under U.S. law, these are
not legally protected attributes).

------
aurizon
If you sign and they advise you that you were rejected for an illegal reason,
they can be charged for that crime, and if they are guilty, you can sue for
$$. If you sign and they give a rational and reasonable reason, like you only
received 15 points on their rating system, and they chose only prospective
employees who received 25+ points on that rating system, then you agreed to
not sue if they revealed and you can not.

That said, there are many nuances in this, however, any company would be a
fool to codify illegal acts - if they have their own lawyer, so you might not
get anywhere.

I would say, sign and get the details, and if they can not be changed by extra
study, get going and improve your score. A lot of people never get criticisms
on which to base self improvement.

------
informatimago
So, nothing from the corporation.

But you might get lucky "befriendling" an interviewer and asking him for
advice on how to improve your interviewing and employability.

