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Hi Guys

I have just been informed that I did not get a job that I interviewed for. :(
I am very keen I receive proper feedback on my performance from the recruiter.
Is the receiving feedback podcast relevant here or I should be approaching the recruiter with different questions?

Any help or sharing of experience will be appreciated.

Olugbenga

HMac's picture

Great question - I hope you get a lot of responses.

You SHOULD be pressing for as much feedback as you can get. And in my experience (as a recuriter and as a candidate), the key term is "FIT" (or lackthereof).

"what about me didn't fit?"
"where do you think the fit was off?"
Etc.

The reason to think in terms like this is so you don't start changing things just because you didn't get an offer this time.

wendii's picture
Admin Role Badge

Olugbenga,

A few things:

Bear in mind that recruiters fear giving negative feedback as much as anyone else. Try and make it easy for them.

You may get negative feedback in euphamisms and avoidance words. Try to work out what they might really be saying. Post them here and I'll translate if it helps.

Remember that unless the recruiter was in the room, they've got the feedback from a hiring manager, who doesn't like giving negative feedback either. It can be hard for a recruiter to get anything substantial out of a hiring manager.

Critically review your own performance first. Often, candidates know where they went wrong, but won't admit to themselves or anyone else. (I know this, because despite being an interviewer... I am THE worst interviewee. I wouldn't employ myself I'm so bad. And it took me a long time to admit it.)

I hope that helps.

Wendii

olugbenga's picture

Wendii and Hmac

Thanks guys - I will post the feedback I receive for further comments/analysis.

I really appreciate your comments.

Olugbenga

HMac's picture

olugbenga -
One other thought. This thread made me go back to John Lucht's book overnight. On a related topic (pp.162-163), he talks about how there are three factors to consider when a job isn't right for you:

1. Wrong job
2. Wrong location
3. Wrong money

I'm not suggesting you directly apply these three (chances are that at least two of the three were fine in your example). What made me remember this approach was how it dovetails with the whole concept of "fit" - it's NOT about YOU - so there's no reason to feel defensive - it's about [i]the fit.[/i]

wendii - I'm really glad you chimed in on this, because I had one other thought - I'm wondering if there may be some "recruiter error" on this...Maybe the candidate was poorly matched to the opportunity.

olugbenga: As you ask about the fit and seek input from the recruiter, just keep in the back of your mind that the matching may not have been that good - the recuriter might have been trying to "squeeze" you to fit the worng job, the wrong money, the wrong culture, whatever...

Finally, yes, you might just have been a lousy candidate :wink: or underperformed on the interview...It's human to think that it's YOU - when it might be any number of other things.

The One Best Solution: More Interviews! At More Opportunities! With More Employers!

Good luck,
-Hugh

kklogic's picture

Olugbenga,

I agree with Hugh's comments about fit. We're interviewing for a position right now - and this is our key differentiator. We have some candidates with better experience, but their personalities won't mesh with the ones we have on staff now.

We are a weird bunch of people - quirky, tell-it-like-it-is, corporate-speak hating, Type A, performance-driven, etc. So, there are people we've interviewed that would have been perfect for a very uptight corporate environment that just aren't for us. Try to keep this in mind if you hear any "fit" feedback.