Then, lo and behold, you get that very thin letter from ABC Company. One page. Starts something like "We appreciate your interest in
our organization, but..." Somewhere in the note, you will inevitably find something like: "Though your qualifications are impressive, we have
decided to pursue our search with other candidates." There will probably be lots of "howevers" and "good lucks". Yet, there you sit, paper in hand,
and wonder what went wrong. What do you do? That useless piece of paper offers no clues.
Wouldn't it be nice if, for a change, some helpful organization wrote, "Though your education is impressive, we would rather hire someone
who doesn't scratch their nose."? Or, "Your social skills are greatly lacking and for a customer relations position, this is the most important aspect."?
That way, those of us who feel we are eternally searching for that perfect vocation would have some idea of what we are doing wrong.
I understand that there may be legal ramifications for being honest. Some idiot might sue a company for saying "Due to the nature of this position, and contact with the public,
we need to hire someone who doesn't have a Southern accent." But you'd think there would be some protection from that. After all, who wants their company's reputation questioned
because their PR person says "ain't" and "y'all" at a press conference?
So, as I continue to look for The Perfect Job, perhaps you can offer me some ideas as to why a company wouldn't be brutally honest. I value their candor more than I would
ever value my own sensitivities.
** For those of you who know me, you realize that I have found a job, despite my discontent from neglective (is that a word?) companies. I am still looking for your anecdotes until the
end of the month. For details on the new job, see the Occasional Journal.
So why can't companies be honest? Laws against discrimination. You could sue for discrimination if you were refused employment because you have nose hair or so on and so forth.
It took me three and a half years out of college and slaving in the Real World to find my present and great job. Keep going for what you want, and it will eventually happen.
Dear ,
We regret the fact that we granted you an interview.
We are of the opinion that it was a lost of time because
of the following reasons :
What I would recommend is if you really want
to know why they did not hire you, you should call them
and ask them to be straight. And maybe, the company
that you contact, will apreciate that. The issue is
that you have to stand out, don't be a number !
That can make a difference between receiving an unpersonal
standard rejection letter and something more personal.
Most of the people who receive these kinds of letters
are strangers to that company.
I have been straight in my opinion, I hope I have
not offended you. If so... well...the truth has been
said.
12/13/97
mm
Well you should be homeless or dead by now, but we apologyze for any inconvenience this delay has caused in your career.
We know you have given up hope by now, but to just humor you, we thought it would be important to let you know that
the committee has finally decided, after careful review of your qualifications, that indeed you should look elswhere for a job.
We think you may be mummified by now. we wish you the best preservation in your eternal journey as a jobless mummy.
Sincerely,
Do Little Department.
Things goes with like that :
Actually, they should put in something more specific,
maybe the salary scale is too high, not enough expertise in that
field or so on.
maybe all we can do is fantasize about that
How Do I Keep From Killing My Parents instead!
You've all seen them. After a few weeks have passed and you still haven't heard from ABC Company with whom you
interviewed. You weren't quite sure how the meeting went, but with each passing day, you became painfully
aware of the outcome.
Sex: Male
Occupation: Voodoo Child
Dear Jennifer,
Let me begin by expressing my deepest admiration
for the question you posed. My colleagues and I found
it to be both thought provoking and sincere. After
much deliberation, and consultation with my inner child,
I feel my answers do not mesh well with your particular
question. I am fully confident that a robust, well
asked question such as yours will be answered in the
near future. Even though I was unable to answer your
question, I thoroughly enjoyed being asked. I look
forward to considering any future questions you may
have.
Sex: male
Occupation: Investor
Comments: The truth hurts. And most people can't deal
with the truth. I'm supprised that the lawyers aren't
richer than they already have become.
Sex: male
Occupation: Consultant
Comments: Dear Jennifer,
Let me begin by expressing my deepest admiration for
the question you posed. My colleagues and I found it to
be both thought provoking and sincere. After much
deliberation, and consultation with my colleagues, I
feel my answers do not mesh well with your particular
question. I am fully confident that a robust, well asked
question such as yours will be answered in the near
future. Even though I was unable to personally answer
your question, I appreciate your question, and will
keep in on file in the event that a future answer comes
up that is meets the demands of your question. I look
forward to considering any questions you may have in
the near future. (And this guy is supposed to be a friend of mine...)
Sex: male
Occupation: i trade stocks
Comments: I'd guess that most people who have to hire/fire would have
that position because they liked the idea of being rude to someone that
they'll never have to see again if they don't want, or maybe it's a
power trip for them and wouldn't care enough so they smile when you're
being kicked out the door to avoid a lawsuit.
Sex: female
Occupation: Insurance Brokers
Comments: They do not want to offend you for in case they need a replacement for the person that got the job
Sex: male
Occupation: student
Comments: Wish you every success?
Thankyou for your interest in our company?
I think we should organize for people to write back
and say 'get lost'
or words to that effect.
Sex: male
Occupation: STUDENT
Comments: THEY DON'T HAVE THE BALLS TO TELL THE TRUTH
Sex: female
Occupation: secretary
Comments: You remember the line from "A Few Good Men": .."You can't handle the truth!"
I think that's why most rejections letters are so 'unresponsive.' Companies may
figure, "Why tell the truth behind us not hiring this person? We'll never see them
again." Of course, this is not helpful to those of us
who are looking for another job. Feedback of any kind, especially honest feedback,
would be better than a simple, nonthoughtful, "Even though your qualifications are im
impressive,..." If I wanted a rejection like that, I would apply to Harvard.
Sex: female
Occupation: Administrator
Comments: It has been my experience that it is common courtesty not to
be rude in a rejection letter. Who REALLY wants to hear negative things
about themselves? Imagine getting a letter back from a company that
tells you because your thighs were too large and rubbed together when
you walked we will not hire you? Or, your teeth had several large gaps
in between them. It really disgusts us and we think it will gross out
our customers too. The rejection letters might be generic, but at least
they only hurt in the fact that we didn't get hired.
Sex: male
Occupation: system programmer/analyst
Comments: Hi! That's a good question. I think these companies
are following a sort of "ethics" that tells them
not to be so honest with their rejection reponses.
I think it would really help if we can now the weakpoints
that they've found in us that gave them the idea to reject.
At least the next time we apply , we can watch out
for that points. However, the companies don't usually
do that--the most honest answer you can get is that
your credentials does not meet their needs or requirements.
Thanks.
Sex: female
Occupation: nurse
Comments: When reviewing hundreds of applicants resumes it is
unreasonable to personaly respond to every applicant. The hiring
process is time consuming enough without writing personal responses to
every applicant. (To this, I let her know that I was referring to those
letters that come after the initial interview...)
Sex: male
Occupation: Engineer
Comments: Because they have to conform to political correctness, Most
Big Time Companies will not tell you directly that you suck and they
dont want you, but rather use an indirect method that does not
discriminate in any way possible (not mentioning your flaws and by
being politicaly correct).
Sex: female
Occupation: Receptionist/Admin Asst
Comments: I think sometimes the bosses find out that you are
actually smarter than they (bosses)are. I think that
frightens them and of course, they can't admit that
they won't hire you because you're smarter them.
Sex: male
Occupation: Tech Support/Student
Comments: Some idiot will at some point sue a potential employer because of a rejection letter that they recieved caused a severe mental destablization. Or it could
just be that you are a complete moron . . .(I let this guy know exactly what I thought about his last statement)
Sex: female
Occupation: Personal Assistant
Comments: The person that interviewed you has no communication skills and is unable to tell you what really buggs them about you and your way of doing things.
Sex: female
Occupation: Telephone Tech Support
Comments: They don't care and don't want to take the time
to tell why they didn't hire you. They use a form
letter. They create a mail merge file for you and
the other unlucky unhired bastards, merge them
into the letter and then mail all the letters out.
Sex: female
Occupation: Sec.
Comments: How about writing your own letter stating that you are
appalled at their letter of rejection and that you will not tolerate
any inconsiderate rejection letters from ANYONE. AND that you are
sorry but you have to turn down any position offered anyway because
they obviously don't deserve you - how's that?
Sex: female
Occupation: Secretary and Former H.R. Assistant
Comments: Why aren't they honest? It's simple: They claim it's being "tactful". They can't say what they'd really want to.
Sex: female
Occupation: Administrator/Marketing
Comments: Because they could care less about the people who didn't get the
job, they already found who they're looking for and they don't want to
take the time to explain why the other people didn't.
Sex: male
Occupation: Investor Service Rep.
Comments: The answer to your question is that only a committe could come up with such mindless dribble.
Committees as we all know, are the root of all evil. They are entities that suck people in
against their will and make them stupid for a while. Time is usually distortied inside a committee
and when the people emerge from it, they are often nautious and sometimes experience a loss of
memory. Documents that a committee is asked to produce normally can't survive inside the
hostile environment of the committee. They usually come out as just a dry, contorted and confusing
semblance of the original. For example, the IRS Tax Code was originally intended to be a sequel to
Hamlet. Well, there's your answer. The only other bit of wisdom I can impart on this topic is a
possible solution. I suggest we return to the days of the 3-martini lunch. This should prove a
good antidote to the dreaded committee by making its victims less susceptible to the otherwise
irresistable "groupthink" (which is invisible and resides inside the committee). So long, and
good luck!
Sex: male
Occupation: recluse
Comments: My bitter experience has been than many places already know
who they want before they advertise the job, and write you a pretty
form letter so you don't have any cause to take them to court. That
and it saves the effort of having to write out an actual critique of
your performance during the interview.
Sex: male
Occupation: Student (currently)
Comments: I don't know, but I do remember a radio commercial a few years back for Bud Dry:
VO: Why aren't you ever honest with your boss?
guy: That's a real stupid idea, sir!
VO: Why isn't your boss ever honest with you?
boss: It takes a lot more than hard work to get ahead in this business! You have to brown-nose some people.
VO: Why aren't job applications honest?
Ben Stein anonymously: We offer low pay, long hours, and no chance for advancment.
Sex: No response
Occupation: Marketing
Comments: I made the mistake (?) of majoring in Sports Journalism at a great Midwestern college and then moving down South. One tip is that Southerners do not appreciate Northern schools.
Sex: male
Occupation: No Response
Comments: After receiving many rejection letters telling me how impressed they
are with my education and skill but decided to seek someone else I
finally realized that they are only looking for the someone less skillfull.
Sex: female
Occupation: Office Manager
Comments: I do understand your frustration and I too received several of these
annoying letters in the past, but picture that you receive a letter like
this :
That is of course an extreme letter, but if that's the
thruth, I think there a lot of people who appreciate
a bit of diplomacy.
Sex: male
Occupation: Sales manager
Comments: Rejection letters are never honest because in the corporate world it is assumed that by being polite, one is acting in a professional manner.
Thus rejection letters can never highlight the true reason why the candidate was rejected due to the above reason.
Sex: male
Occupation: sales
Comments: It's a plot. A 'Queen Bee' of Corporate form
letters lay on her side spitting these politically
correct forms out into the rejection rooms of
America. This allows these under-talented and
non decision makers, posing as Human Resource
people, to weasle out of telling more qualified
people than they are, to take a 'polite' hike.
These form letter Resource people,who feed off the
corporate hierarchy for self propagation, have
no reason to tell anyone why they weren't
accepted; only that they weren't. They relish
in the corporate 'Dear John' letter. They don't
love you. They just want to be your friend!!!
Sex: female
Occupation: math & business
Comments: You are lucky to get any response at all. If you want to
know more, call the person who interviewed you and
ask for tips on presenting yourself better. (Unfortunately, this person did not send an e-mail address. Had she done so,
I would have given her a very large piece of my mind. Something like: "I present myself quite well, thank you. In fact, I managed
to get a very cool job. I am not asking for tips on presenting myself. I am asking companies to tell me that they are hiring someone
with more experience or a degree in underwater basket weaving, not to tell me that my breath smells.")
Sex: female
Occupation: Recruiter/Human Resources
Comments: Yes, I am a recruiter for a large company.
Why don't we send out letters specifically saying why we
didn't select you for the position? Because you'll sue,
that's why! Maybe you need to take a look at the
responses you are giving to the questions. I asked an
applicant once why he left a previous employer. He told
me, "I hit my supervisor in the head with a 2 x 4. It
got really messy after that." HELLO! If this candidate
doesn't know why I didn't consider him/her for the job,
then I REALLY don't want to hire him/her.
Sex: male
Occupation: IT Consultant
Comments: ....it's a tiny thrill to a tiny mind as
they sit across the desk then dump your CV in the bin
as you head for the door ... but hey, it's their loss
not yours ...
Sex: male
Occupation: Computer Analyst
Comments: Honesty is not the way of business these
days. You say what you think others want to hear in
front of them and roast them behind their backs. Why
treat the outsiders any better?
Sex: male
Occupation: Unemployed
Comments: I wish to see those employers get back with you sooner than 6 months to a Year.
I remember once a company which sent me a "No Job for you Sir" letter 9 months
later. Well I thought, better late than never, I thought they should have written the greeting
as follow:
Dear Mummy,
We know you have been waiting impatiently for a reply to your Job Application. You also should know
that we had formed several committees to scrutinize your application. The meetings were postponed
several times due to illness and vacation of some of the decision makers. Added to that our budget for your type of position has not been signed
by the big cheese.
Sex: male
Occupation: investment banker
Comments: form letters written ages ago simply can't go into details like "southern accent" or "big breasts".
key word: automation
Sex: female
Occupation: C Programmer
Comments: It's not rejection letter, rather it is not so - suitable for the vacancy letter.
It's better to receive one than not receiving at all.
At least, some news is better than no news.
Sex: male
Occupation: Controller
Comments: Rejection Letters are scripted. A company's rekjection
letter is the same they send to all "rejects". I know this because I
worked close enough to the Human Resource Dept. of my old company to
overhear them talking about sending rejection letters. I think the
legal stuff you referred to has a lot to do with it but also they
don't "waste" time writing rejection letters to everyone. Think
about it... If you are hiring and you interview 10 people but only
hire 1 - would you take the time to write original letters to the
other 9?? You wouldn't have time if you wanted to. So, a combination
of all those things is why the are not honest.
Sex: female
Occupation: College Professor
Comments: Well for starters they say all good things on the
beginning of the page and then they give you the news of your
rejection. By the way I am looking for a full-time job right now,
and I am collecting these form letters!
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