Why don’t companies provide feedback to me after my interview? This is a question job seekers often ask? What immediately comes to mind is the thought of poor business etiquette or poor soft skills on the part of the interviewer. As a job candidate you have made it to the face to face interview phase of the interview process. You believe your interview went great and once you learn that you didn’t advance to the next phase it is natural to wonder why? Many companies have found themselves in more legal trouble than they want to deal with by providing this information to job candidates.
Let’s take a look at one example to get an understanding of how things can go wrong for the hiring company. Candidate Julie Smith had a great interview with the hiring company. The interviewing manager told Julie that she was really impressed with her skills and her experience. The interview ended and Julie was obviously pumped because she knew she had [smoked] the interview. One week passes and Julie doesn’t hear from the company and wants to know whether or not she is advancing to the next phase of the interviews? Julie was resourceful and was able to locate the interview managers contact information. She called the manager and was informed that another candidate was selected for the position. Feeling rejected but understanding that she did her best Julie asked; “can you provide feedback on what I can do on future interviews to improve my candidacy”? The hiring manager said “you need to gain more experience to be considered for this job”. Stop! 
This is where the problem begins. Looking back on the interview the hiring manager feedback to Julie was that she was really impressed with her skills and experience.So at what point did her experience become an issue? Julie gets into a spirited discussion about what was shared with her during the interview. The Manager ends the discussion. These are the murky waters companies don’t want to wade into.
There are a myriad of reasons candidates don’t progress to the next phase of the interview process. Hiring managers should never provide areas of improvements for job candidates or what they need to do to improve their candidacy. So if a candidate made those improvements and came back in one year would you hire them? If you can’t answer yes then you should not state this to a job candidate. The hiring manager’s job is to interview candidates that are the best behavioral and motivational fit with the qualifications that match up best for the job.
The Job candidate should understand after an interview that you have done the very best that you can do during this interview. The fact that the company chose another candidate is disappointing but at this point irrelevant. You should look at it this way; the company didn’t say NO to you as much as they said YES to someone else. So what should you do to improve your chances of landing your ideal job?
- Be sure you read the job description and only apply for jobs you are extremely qualified for
- Your value proposition statement should be at the top portion of your resume
- Show that you care by doing your homework and learn everything about the company, their culture and their competitors.
- Develop a 30-60-90 day plan that you share during your interview
- Dress professional and show confidence
- Write a thank you letter [in advance] before leaving the hotel or office and leave at the front desk for the manager. You can fill in the name portion after the interview
- If a company is really interested in you they will be in touch within 1-2 days. They wouldn’t want to take a chance of losing a future superstar or you taking a job with one of their competitors
So you ask: Why don’t companies provide feedback to me after my interview? If a company hires good Managers and HR Professionals you can expect a courtesy thank you letter within 2-3 weeks. This is after they have extended a job offer to their choice and that person has accepted the offer in writing. No additional follow up is needed as you’ve done all that you can do.
Stay positive and tenacious in your job search efforts. The best is yet to come.