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464 votes
Accepted

Rejected in the fourth interview round, citing insufficient years of experience

Why didn't they say you didn't have enough experience earlier in the process? Because it isn't true. You had enough experience going in, but you didn't get the job. Now they need to give you a ...
Rupert Morrish's user avatar
281 votes

How can we handle overqualified applicants for an entry level position?

A really important interview question you should ask is something like this: You are a lot more qualified than is required. Why did you apply to this job? What about this job interests you? ...
thursdaysgeek's user avatar
257 votes
Accepted

Should I share my opinion of my former manager (from a different company) who's interviewing to be my new manager?

You have first-hand, relevant experience with how he manages teams. You'd be negligent as a team-player and employee if you did not offer that input, as long as it is objective and non-personal. This ...
PoloHoleSet's user avatar
  • 10.6k
229 votes

Making a job offer to a candidate while privately advising them to decline

Meet her for a coffee. (If you're a guy, mention that it's to talk about her career and meet her in a totally non-romantic setting, otherwise she might get scared you are interested in her ...
BigMadAndy's user avatar
  • 22.8k
212 votes

Is it ok to bring cookies for the entire office to my interview?

Is it ok to bring home baked cookies for the office to an interview? Whether it's okay or not, just don't do that. It might be a cultural thing, but do not risk appearing as trying to influence the ...
Sourav Ghosh's user avatar
  • 69.1k
193 votes
Accepted

How to delay hiring a candidate for 1-2 months?

How about just talking to him? Many candidates will actually appreciate a later start date. That makes winding down things at your current gig easier. And if you are not strapped for cash, you can ...
Hilmar's user avatar
  • 113k
188 votes

Does diversity provide anything that meritocracy does not?

Here's a Harvard Business Review study on why diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams. Diverse teams are more innovative and focus on facts better than homogeneous teams. However, it's not as ...
Glen Pierce's user avatar
  • 9,032
173 votes
Accepted

How and when should I disclose that I'm deaf?

Let me start by stating that I understand the difficulties you face. While not profoundly deaf, I am legally deaf -- just over the threshold. When I first graduated college I had a lot of concerns ...
USER_8675309's user avatar
  • 5,115
172 votes

How can I accept a job offer after rejecting it?

I am sorry for the loss of your boyfriend. Regarding your job issue, there is no need for over-complication. Just contact them and tell them what you told us. Normal English language should do it. ...
virolino's user avatar
  • 26.9k
168 votes
Accepted

Is there a minimum number of candidates that need to be interviewed before a decision is made?

There are a whole pile of reasons: To meet HR policy. Some companies just require that at least X number of people be interviewed for any position. I worked for a bank that required several people be ...
Matthew Gaiser's user avatar
159 votes

Does diversity provide anything that meritocracy does not?

I work in a big IT company (100.000+ employee). Here is what I was told from an HR representative when I was promoted as a manager: We need to hire smart and talented people. Smart and talented ...
armand's user avatar
  • 1,574
155 votes

Could producing a grave bug that made headlines make you unemployable?

Your mistake is thinking that this is a bug. It isn't. It's a feature that someone wanted, and the developer implementing it did so without any bugs that we know of. In hindsight, it was a very, very ...
gnasher729's user avatar
  • 166k
140 votes
Accepted

Is it unethical to not hire somebody because of their body odor?

I find that most situations can be solved by a frank discussion with the people involved seeking to find the best solution for all parties. With that said, have you informed this candidate that they ...
zzzzBov's user avatar
  • 1,737
140 votes

Interviewer wanted to connect with me on LinkedIn the day after the interview, is this appropriate?

Is it appropriate to accept a connection request from an interviewer the day after the interview, with no context as to whether or not they want to hire you? Yes, that is basically the purpose of ...
sf02's user avatar
  • 77.9k
137 votes
Accepted

Getting an entry level IT position later in life

I'm developer in your shoes and I had the added challenge of not having done any kind of computing type work before my current job as a Technical Lead at my company. With age comes experience, so ...
ShinEmperor's user avatar
  • 5,616
136 votes

What do I do when my boss is sabotaging interviews?

Anyone that behaves like you describe here is, put bluntly, a complete asshole and should be removed from their position ASAP. Is this grounds for going over my boss's head to his boss? To HR? Yes, ...
Philip Kendall's user avatar
132 votes

Am I likely to be rehired after being fired for misconduct?

The likelihood that they would re-hire you after firing you for "gross misconduct?" Sorry to be blunt, but the odds are zero. If it was a matter of it being one mistake, and getting a second chance, ...
PoloHoleSet's user avatar
  • 10.6k
131 votes
Accepted

How can we handle overqualified applicants for an entry level position?

Should the other candidates get a better chance for the job, or should the best applicant get the position? The best candidate should always get the position. But remember what the term "best" does ...
Joe Strazzere's user avatar
124 votes

What is the normal rate of turnover among developers and does it impact productivity?

What is the normal rate of turnover among developers You turnover rate looks insane to me. It's more what I´d expect with callcenter-agents. If you really mean you need to source 35 employees to ...
Daniel's user avatar
  • 22.3k
120 votes

How to professionally oppose a potential hire that management asked for an opinion on based on prior work experience?

How do I fairly and professionally tell the VP that in my opinion she is not worth interviewing? You aren't being asked if she is worth interviewing. You are being asked for your opinion of her ...
Joe Strazzere's user avatar
114 votes

Should I share my opinion of my former manager (from a different company) who's interviewing to be my new manager?

If you have legitimate concerns about his performance, speak up. If the entire team effectively quit because he ran the projects into the ground, that's something these people will find quite ...
AndreiROM's user avatar
  • 49.6k
113 votes

Applicants clearly not having the skills they advertise

If you want a "solution" so that you don't end up employing them, then consider an exam or test as part of the interview process. Had it done to me, as I said "yes" to having Excel skills... They had ...
Solar Mike's user avatar
  • 17.6k
109 votes

Does diversity provide anything that meritocracy does not?

The general problem here is that the "merit" in meritocracy needs to be measured in some quantitative way. It's not an objective or absolute quantity. Organizations or teams that have a blind spot are ...
Hilmar's user avatar
  • 113k
103 votes

Company about to send me an offer, but they changed their mind at the last moment

It's impossible for us to know exactly what occurred. What we do know is that every sign seemed good, until the point where you provided your previous salaries. It's possible they realised they could ...
Gregory Currie's user avatar
101 votes

Is it unethical to not hire somebody because of their body odor?

Interestingly enough, I have had this very same concern expressed, more than one time, to me! And so, I can tell you "from the other side of the fence," that I was absolutely unaware of it. And ...
Mike Robinson's user avatar
100 votes

I was assigned a totally incompetent intern but there is no official procedure to report this. Should I make noise about this?

Interviewers/Hiring Managers are human - and as such they aren't going to get it right all the time. This means unfortunately that the occasional person gets hired (or accepted for an internship) who ...
motosubatsu's user avatar
  • 106k
97 votes
Accepted

Should I mention a company's apparent lack of diversity when rejecting their offer?

Should I mention a company's apparent lack of diversity when rejecting their offer? Noooooo. No. Just no. You have nothing to gain and a lot to lose. While you may think that it would be a kind ...
Lilienthal's user avatar
  • 59.3k
97 votes
Accepted

How to turn down a pitch when someone won't take no for an answer?

Some freelancers cannot recognize a "slow no" and don't understand there is no such thing as a "slow yes". They truly believe that "one more pitch will work" or "if ...
Kate Gregory's user avatar
96 votes

Making a job offer to a candidate while privately advising them to decline

Sounds to me like you don't owe this company any particular allegience -- the key to being ethical with this is separate your business responsibilities from your personal obligation not to harm this ...
jkf's user avatar
  • 1,122
93 votes
Accepted

What is the rationale of not offering an existing employee a salary as large as the one offered to a new one?

What is the rationale of not offering an existing employee a salary as large as the one offered to a new one? In general, salaries increase over time quicker for new talent versus the standard 3% ...
Neo's user avatar
  • 84.7k

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