Feedback: a social responsibility?

Over the past few months, I have seen several posts concerning candidates not receiving feedback from either a job application or post interview.

In most cases, the biggest frustration comes from candidates who are unable to get feedback following an interview with a client, whether this be face to face, or more commonly now, via video or teleconference.

In some cases, the frustration is levelled at the recruiter, for not being able to provide sufficient information about how they have fared, whether good or bad. Again, in some cases I’m sure this is valid, as a junior recruiter, I used to find it incredibly awkward passing on feedback to unsuccessful candidates, especially if it was directed at their soft skills which may not be quantifiable.

However, there are now several other factors that might be at play which preclude you from receiving the feedback that, in all honesty, you deserve.

1.      The evolution of the Applicant Tracking System. Most companies now have some sort of ATS:  Avature, Workday, iCIMS and Recruitee are all popular systems used by some of the biggest corporate names. These systems are intended to give traceability to applications, which they do very well, however it also makes it quite easy for hirers to “reject” applicants without adding feedback. Imagine Tinder for recruitment, swiping left without stating “why” in each case. This is, of course, a crude analogy, however it simplifies what are in fact complex systems. The middlemen quite often do not have information passed back to them when candidates are unsuccessful, at any stage of the recruitment process.

2.      Multi-tier Talent Acquisition. When I first got into recruitment nearly 20 years ago, contact with the hiring manager was commonplace, however over the years more and more tiers have come in between them and the proverbial coalface. Many companies discourage interaction of hiring managers directly with recruiters for a host of reasons, for example, to ensure candidate traceability (as above), anti-discrimination, and / or compliance to GDPR legislation. This means that the opportunity to get direct feedback has become less accessible.

I also wonder (and this is purely my own thoughts), whether some hiring managers avoid putting feedback in writing, for fear of implicating themselves in what could be perceived as discrimination; it is far easier to say nothing rather than say something. I appreciate this may be a controversial view; however, this would be a simple and less time-consuming method to avoid the potential of any controversy. Something very similar has happened in respect to companies providing references over the last 10 years; they are happy to confirm dates of employment, however less and less offer any more than that.

In summary, I do think there is a social responsibility to provide feedback to a candidate that has attended an interview; in an ideal world it should be per application, but realistically I don’t think this is feasible. Nevertheless, if you are struggling to get feedback, do not assume that this is because it is negative (I appreciate that may not be easy to do). It may be worth asking if your contact has direct interaction with the hiring manager. If they don’t, you may find that unfortunately they simply can’t offer anything productive.

Hope this helps

James Penfold