When I do interviews I try to give good feedback. My goal is that in 2 or 3 years if the candidate is interested in working with us again that they will certainly pass the interview. However, "You are not a good match for our company culture" is feedback I've definitely given and it's a bit hard to give details.
There are a couple of main things. Usually when I have this issue it's because the candidate seems really keen to do things or have things that we just don't offer. For example, "Every piece of code must be a micro service". Some of our code works that way but lots doesn't and we aren't going to change it. Another example might be a very junior person saying, "I want to be the scrum master". Well, we don't do scrum master in our team and even if we did, we would be unlikely to pick that person.
Basically, "You aren't a good match to our company culture" is saying "I really think you would be very unhappy here based on your responses". Again, I try to explain if I can but I also don't want to get into an argument. If I'm getting "no go" feelings and they aren't reciprocated, this seems doubly like a problem.
My advice, if you are getting this response a lot, is to consider how you are responding to questions. You may be projecting an inflexible attitude. Don't wait until the end of the interview to ask questions about how things work. Try to make sure to fit it in at every place you can. How are they doing their development? What are the people like? How do they resolve disputes? How do they decide on their tech stack? etc, etc.
However, also think critically about the place you are applying into. If you think, "Oh this is an awesome place" and they think "This guy isn't a good fit", That's a pretty bit mismatch. Did you listen well enough to their explanations? Are you sure that it works the way you think it does? However, if you are thinking, "Oh well, this place is OK. There are problems, but I can fix them", maybe there is a mismatch between what you think is a problem and what they think is a problem.
And while you might be thinking that "not a good match" is corporate speak for "you can't balance a B-tree", my experience is that it really means exactly what it says. As much as my ego takes a hit when I experience it myself, in retrospect every time I've gotten that response it's because it was true. I would have hated that job.
Sorry for the rambling nature of this reply. I should be working, but I hope it was helpful.
Your comments are helpful and it is aligned with my observations as well.
I have been on both sides of the hiring table, and while the engineer in me wants to give constructive feedback so that the rejected candidate can better themselves for their next interview, the corporate management in me is telling to do something else.
It has been a conflicting point of view in my head ever since I got involve in hiring.
There are a couple of main things. Usually when I have this issue it's because the candidate seems really keen to do things or have things that we just don't offer. For example, "Every piece of code must be a micro service". Some of our code works that way but lots doesn't and we aren't going to change it. Another example might be a very junior person saying, "I want to be the scrum master". Well, we don't do scrum master in our team and even if we did, we would be unlikely to pick that person.
Basically, "You aren't a good match to our company culture" is saying "I really think you would be very unhappy here based on your responses". Again, I try to explain if I can but I also don't want to get into an argument. If I'm getting "no go" feelings and they aren't reciprocated, this seems doubly like a problem.
My advice, if you are getting this response a lot, is to consider how you are responding to questions. You may be projecting an inflexible attitude. Don't wait until the end of the interview to ask questions about how things work. Try to make sure to fit it in at every place you can. How are they doing their development? What are the people like? How do they resolve disputes? How do they decide on their tech stack? etc, etc.
However, also think critically about the place you are applying into. If you think, "Oh this is an awesome place" and they think "This guy isn't a good fit", That's a pretty bit mismatch. Did you listen well enough to their explanations? Are you sure that it works the way you think it does? However, if you are thinking, "Oh well, this place is OK. There are problems, but I can fix them", maybe there is a mismatch between what you think is a problem and what they think is a problem.
And while you might be thinking that "not a good match" is corporate speak for "you can't balance a B-tree", my experience is that it really means exactly what it says. As much as my ego takes a hit when I experience it myself, in retrospect every time I've gotten that response it's because it was true. I would have hated that job.
Sorry for the rambling nature of this reply. I should be working, but I hope it was helpful.