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I participated in a procedure for a position, and I pass an online first-look-assessment of my cv and cover letter. I took exams and then I gave an interview. I thought I gave a good impression at the interview and I still think it after the rejection of my application with a very politely mail. I think the problem is my very small work experience but if there is a shortcoming on my knowledge I want to know if it is possible. We speak about a software developer with applied mathematics knowledge position.

The answer from HR it was this:

We appreciate your skills and qualifications, as they came through via your CV, the online assessment and the personal interview and would like to thank you for your time in taking part in all these stages. However, these did not match exactly this specific position's requirements.

We will therefore not proceed further with your application, but we would encourage you to further your knowledge and experience and you may apply again in the future for similar roles that are of interest to you.

We wish you best of luck in your next career steps..

Now I am wondering if it is appropriate to send an e-mail to get some more feedback of my application. Is it offensive to send such an e-mail? One the one hand I think HR manager will think that it is "sensitive" information the details of a decision and must be kept inside the company and the members take that decision. On the other hand, I think it shows interest.

So let me know your opinion, it good to send an e-mail to get some feedback more specific or not?

I don't want to ruin my relationship with HR and the company because I admire this company and I would love to work there. Surely I want to re-apply to another job opening relative to my interests.

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    The feedback they've given you is a standard template, but is still relevant to why you weren't successful this time round - I wonder if asking for more specific feedback will change anything. For example, if they said you were lacking in SQL skills, would you then attend courses on SQL?
    – dvniel
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 10:33
  • @DavidK With all due respect to you I don't think my post is duplicate. I think the other question is a different one because the other guy is I noticed have already sent an email for feedback. Second reason is I don't speak about so big company. Third reason is the answer from the company, every company has different template to answer and maybe there is a small company without template , or a big company which answer without template to a specific candidate. So I provided my specific case about the specific answer I got.
    – chaviaras michalis
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 13:38
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    @chaviarasmichalis Your question is one that gets asked very often here, so while the marked duplicate may not be perfect, it gets across most of the information. I also encourage you to look at all of the linked questions on that page as well. In particular, this question and this question match yours.
    – David K
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 13:52
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    Yup. Very similar to others. And the answer is usually either 1) it wasn't something wrong with you, there was just someone better, or 2) they won't tell you for legal reasons (afraid you might use what they say to sue them). But, if it's a small company, why not go ahead & ask them anyway? They can only say "no". Perhaps a friendly interviewer would give you advice on the 'phone, so as not to have anything in writing?
    – Mawg
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 14:51
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    Instead, I'd suggest that you get interviewed and that you interview others through pramp.com (practicing coding problems with other job-hunters is really the only way to tell how good you are vs. everyone else). It won't help with the resume part or if you lack too much work experience for the positions you're applying for, but if you're weak on the fundamentals at least, your fellow job-hunters will certainly tell you about it.
    – Stephan Branczyk
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 19:20

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As opposed to other answer, and also based on what I have done for positions I really cared about, I say there is no harm in asking a more detailed feedback on your rejection.

Worst case is that they will ignore your request, best case is that you will get more information.

Just mind that you phrase your request making clear you want to improve yourself, not judging their selection criteria.

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    yeh I just dv ask the other answers saying otherwise. OP is just asking for feedback, it won't take long and it won't start ww3
    – bharal
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 14:03
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    This. I have once asked for more feedback after I was turned down for a position that I felt I was a really good fit for. I emailed them and asked for more feedback, and said I didn't want to argue with their decision, I just wanted to understand it (as I had been really excited about working for them).
    – Martin Bonner supports Monica
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 14:56
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This is a standard legal-checked text. They won´t give you any more information in writing, so don´t bother asking. They want to avoid giving out details that could lead to anti-discrimination rules kicking in. You asking that way can come across as you not understanding the hiring process.

That said, it can´t hurt to thank them for considering you - and express your enthusiasm about maybe working with them in the future.

I know this is a bit of a long shot, but if you want to get further insight, this can only happen on a personal level.

So - maybe there was somebody on the interview-team you clicked with? Add him on Linked-in etc. and see if he wants to stay in contact. Have a coffee with him now and then. You can ask him casually after you get acquainted a bit, why it did not work out. Maybe he can also help with a future job opening. It never hurts to network...

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  • Do you think there is a fear to answer to me because of the law? Can you let me know further about this ? Thank you for your answer.
    – chaviaras michalis
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 13:39
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    Why do you think every job-ad these days seems to seek for a 20-year-old with two masters and 10+ years of working experience ... its a clean and easy way out if you do not fit the description (which nobody entirely does).
    – Daniel
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 13:45
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    Also, in most cases the one sending you the rejection message is not the one who made the decision. He just has to politely turn down these 30 candidates and dealing with every rejected candidate on an individual level would be far to expensive, with no benefit to the company.
    – Daniel
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 13:52
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The answer of Daniel concludes it pretty good. Although it's a possible approach to ask, how you can increase your chances next time.

There is a difference in telling you, why you got rejected or telling you how to improve the next time. As Daniel said, there is a legal background why they can't tell you reasons for a rejection. Same applies for job interviews. On the other side, giving you a good advice should be fine. So if you want to ask HR, rather ask for a good advise and not for the reason of rejection. Anyway this will give you a more useful answer and shows your engagement.

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How to Get Aditional Feedback from Interviewers

You don't. Get over it.

That's not how things work. First, no sane interviewer or HR droid is going to tell you what exactly they didn't like beyond some vague you weren't the right fit generalities. Getting specific only opens the possibility of you arguing with them and wasting their time. Even worse, it could lead you to sue them. There is absolutely no upside in explaining to a candidate exactly why they didn't get the job.

If you do ask, at best you'll only be labeled as someone naive, a clueless dweeb at worst. While I understand the value to you in understanding the rejection better, that doesn't change that there is no value to them, and that it's not going to happen.

I did note one little clue, though:

we would encourage you to further your knowledge and experience

You don't always see that. It may be normal boiler-plate text for that company, but it may also be a hint that they concluded that you didn't know enough and were too inexperienced. If you were trying to reach to a more senior position, then there may be some real content there. Or not.

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  • @Olin_Lathrop "Even worse, it could lead you to sue them", do you think there is a fear to answer to me because of this? Can you explain to me further. Thank you for your answer.
    – chaviaras michalis
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 13:32
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    @chav: Yes. Obviously if the real reason was that you were to dark-skinned, or blue-eyed, or anything else against the law, they risk a lawsuit if you find out. In reality, both quantitative evaluations and subjective impressions factor into a hiring decision, regardless of how much some of them are legislated against. No company wants the people they turn down to make a stink about it, even if they were turned down for the right reasons. How do you quantify seems difficult to work with, for example?
    – Olin Lathrop
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 13:47
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    I doubt that even the dumbest person I worked for would be so dumb to put in writing a straight "we don't want you to work with us because you are <insert discriminatory statement here>". But of course never underestimate the dumbness of people...
    – L.Dutch
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 15:57
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    @L.D: It's quite unlikely anyone will say something that blatant. However, there are gray areas where some turned-down applicants might think they have a case to sue. Even if they don't win, it will still cost the company money to defend. For example, the company might have hired a younger person that isn't going to retire in a year, as they thought the candidate might. That could be trouble in some jurisdictions. That doesn't make it less of a valid business case, but all employees in on the decision need to know not to mention it. Canned vague responses reduces this risk.
    – Olin Lathrop
    Commented Mar 13, 2018 at 16:20
  • I think you have a point about lawyers. While I think being sued is a bit extreme, I did experience a situation where I called a potential employer after an interview to express interest and a lawyer responded with a do not contact again. I was surprised by it and wondered what sort of things I might have done but after reading reviews online I realize that was the company's standard operating procedure.
    – Dan
    Commented Mar 14, 2018 at 13:14

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