

The hidden beauty of recruiting - darrellsilver
http://blog.thinkful.com/post/42278275840/the-hidden-beauty-of-recruiting

======
hcho
>If you talk to hiring managers you’ll hear that they wish there was a way to
provide feedback to rejected job applicants

No, million times no. Providing feedback to a rejected applicant may open a
huge can of worms. If these hiring managers really exist they are putting
their employers in a very risky situation.

~~~
Swizec
As a sometimes job seeker: Screw hiring managers who don't give feedback. I
want to know what I did wrong so I can improve.

Not giving feedback when people fail is a sure-fire way to make the whole
ecosystem worse. In any situation.

~~~
droithomme
It's because you weren't a good fit for the position.

Want to know more? No, because then you will threaten to sue us. The legal
action is frivolous and will lose in the end but it will cost money time and
attention to deal with.

But forget all that, seriously now, what's the real reason, the applicant
asks? For us, if we didn't make an offer it's either because the applicant is
a jerk, a liar, or incompetent. One or more of these covers the situation with
the majority of applicants. Salary is not an issue, we pay what it takes for
the right people. I can't say the same for other companies, they often want to
find someone cheap. Jerks don't change, the incompetent can't improve, and
liars only use feedback to make their lies harder to detect. This means all
feedback is either useless or counterproductive. There is one exception. The
rare case they are a sweet genius with severe BO. In this case little can be
gained from feedback since there's little chance one is not aware of it. If
one suspects BO might be the reason, then it is and it should be fixed before
the interview.

~~~
toomuchcoffee
>For us, if we didn't make an offer it's either because the applicant is a
jerk, a liar, or incompetent.

What an incredibly cocky and pretentious view of the world.

~~~
droithomme
If you're finding trouble getting work, it is because you have an attitude
problem.

------
arbuge
"...hiring managers are by definition experts at hiring"

Ummm, I don't think so. Many if not most companies suck at hiring. If you get
hiring right, you just nailed the most important factor* to building a great
company, and great companies are the exception, not the rule.

*arguably, the only factor. The rest is what the people you hired do.

~~~
bunderbunder
They may not be experts at making the best hiring decisions. Whether they are
or not isn't really important.

What's important is that when it comes to knowing what hiring managers do and
do not like to see in an applicant, they're it. And that's exactly what
someone who's job hunting wants to know. They're not out to meet some Platonic
ideal for the best possible candidate for XYZ position. They're just looking
to get a job.

