Should I reapply after getting to the final interview and being rejected less than 3 months ago? And not receiving feedback when I asked?

Question

I applied for a job last January, and ended up being interviewed for it in May (after a long silence after turning in a work test, assuming I was rejected due to the advert going back up and asking for feedback I was offered an interview!). The rejection letter encouraged me to apply to future roles, however when I asked for feedback a couple of weeks later, I received no response. This makes me think that what they said in the rejection was just a generic response...

I've now seen the same job ad appear online yet again. The role still seems amazing. But I guess if they didn't give me feedback before they can't have been that interested? I don't know if I can say I've gained any new skills in such a short time either. And again, without feedback, I'm not sure what I need to do better this time around.

Should I reapply? Or maybe wait until I've gained more experience?

Answer 1

There’s no harm in reapplying, at worst you could lose a few hours of your time for interviewing.

I’ve had many occasions whereby the company have been unable to provide specific feedback due to the number of applicants etc.

Maybe you were unprepared for the interview, nervous or just not the right time. If you get offered a second interview, you have had a few months to reflect yourself on what you could improve, I always come away from interviews thinking I should have said x, y or z. I say go for it, as second time round you kind of have an idea what you’re going into.

Answer 2

Should I reapply? Or maybe wait until I've gained more experience?

If you really want to work for this company, then reapply.

More experience could help, but it is not like you can gain that experience right now. A lot can change in three months. Companies can change their requirements based on what applicants the market provide. You could have grown in your current role, worked on some side projects, volunteered, and many more things. This could translate to a changed perspective from your interviewers.

Answer 3

If it's a large company? Then definitely reapply. It's hard to describe the levels of crazy red-tape, inefficiencies, bureaucracy, and levels of communication that occur at a medium to large corporation. At bare minimum, it's entirely possible that this job listing isn't even for the same position, even if it's identical in its listing text. (For example, our HR department uses the same listing boilerplate for the Content Management group as they do for the External Internet Team - even though there's not a large overlap of skills.)

If it's a small company? Up to you, but I'd recommend against it. You applied for the job, and they decided for various reasons not to hire you. Unless there's some reason you'd expect for those reasons to not be relevant anymore, you'd probably be wasting time.