So dejected...job rejection

[SuperMeerkat]

I didn’t get the job I wanted so I decided to ask for a copy of my interview notes under GDPR. Unbelievably they sent them today. I feel not only very upset but confused. The job I had applied for was something i’m qualified in and I have all the qualifications. I used to train others in it ffs 🤦‍♀️ Yet, throughout it I was getting 1/5 and 2/5 on most questions!

I get that someone else was obviously better than me and I can (grudgingly) accept that. My beef is, what on Earth did they expect me to say to get 5/5. Is it even possible? These days you have to wonder how anyone ever gets a job (thankfully I do have one)

Back to the drawing board...

Give us an eg of a question they asked and how you answered and let's see if we can spot where your answers let you down. It's a pain as some people interview vv well but turn out crap at the job, and vice versa

Sounds obvious, but were you answering the questions they were asking? It's easy to get sidelined and actually not answer the question posed.

I also wonder whether asking for some feedback rather than the notes, might have given you a better insight into what was missing from your interview.

It depends what they were asking for

So they asked about if I was recruiting a volunteer and if they suddenly disclosed they had worries, what would I do. In their notes, they’ve put that I said:

-Talk with them to find out what the issue is
-Ask if there is anything I can do to reassure them/do they need more training?
-I checked whether the volunteer was in the
Correct role and advised of other roles
-suggested ‘buddying up’
-suggested that (if they still wanted to continue) we could check in regularly and explained what that meant.

I have an example of how i’d Done that in a previous role. For that one assessor gave 1/5 and the other gave 2/5.

Did I really get is so badly wrong?!!

*gave an example

Honestly, I'd call them and ask for some feedback. Otherwise I would leave it and simply assume I wasn't the best fit for whatever they were looking for.

Sounds like there was a preferred candidate from the get go. So they adjusted your marks in order for another person to get ahead. Your answer sounds perfect in that example.

Thanks @PurpleCrazyHorse and @Pomegranatemolasses This is the first time i’ve genuinely felt that there may have been a preferred candidate and it’s upsetting. Where I work (NHS) they do it all the time so I know it happens and it’s horrible to witness people coming for interviews knowing they won’t get it. Horrible now it may have happened to me 😓

Of course it’s upsetting, and bloody unfair! I would look at it as their loss and try to move on. Easier said than done I know.

Thanks I reckon!

Better to ask for feedback from the interviewer than to request a copy of notes through GDPR.

oh its so shit when you dont get the role (i've been rejected more times than i can count) but you will find the right role, you will get through

Is it possible that they used the reversed scale, I.e. 1 for a comprehensive answer?

Can you tell me the process of asking for your interview notes via GDPR? Do you just email the company HR and make a request?

Was it a competency based interview? Do you have a copy of the competencies? It may be that you weren't ticking the right boxes if unless.

I.e. were you supposed to show evidence that you could follow a policy? Agree a plan with them? Did you look too accommodating and therefore risk looking as though you weren't displaying sufficient leadership?

It's a terrible interview system and I think it tends to favour candidates who have the technique and can tell a good story over those who would be better at the job!

I’d say you’ve missed the key words and not related your answer back to the guidelines and policy. You’ve probably answered correctly, but not in the correct way.

Was there selection criteria? Can you reference the question to the selection criteria to see how they wanted the question answered reflecting the organisation.

Agree it completely sucks. Took me several interviews to get my job which was by the sounds of it scored like yours

I'd go for the 'keywords' explanation here. Your answer sounds far too much like commonsense, the sort of down to earth answer that makes you look like the child pointing out the emperor's nakedness. Unless you can throw in words like 'stakeholder' and 'evidence base' and 'transformation' and assorted other jargon that will convince them you speak the same language as they do, you won't get the job.

Caveat here - I'm not an HR expert, just one of those annoying children.

I once went to an interview and they were asking questions only an internal candidate would know. It was a blatant waste of time