To ask if a prospective employer has to do this

[Ritzsaltedcrackers]

If you meet all the criteria for a job and don’t get short listed, if you ask the employer for feedback on how short list was done and why you didn’t make it, do they have to provide it?

Do political views not come under the 'beliefs' protected characteristic?

Why reported? Is the OP ‘known’?

You can ask for feedback, they will just do the generic ‘strong field’ bollocks.

I was told the other day (after interview) that it was because I wasn’t a native speaker (despite a native speaker insisting I was!) I’m pretty sure that is discrimination and the employer really ought not to have said that, bit stupid of her.

How were your political views involved? And why didn’t you just keep your mouth shut about them?

It’s pretty normal these days for companies to check prospective employees social media, we were warned about this as we graduated uni and were strongly advised to think carefully how our posts/comments would be perceived by prospective employers......

Political views are on FB where I reserve the right to share them - not that much, just now and then in the form of articles I've shared, etc - and I'm fb friends with someone who works there.

Thanks for replies, I just need to put it down to experience I guess.

NO idea why this has been reported!

No they don’t have to provide feedback and usually wouldn’t at such an early stage. You could ask for the data they hold on you (eg their decision making on your application form). If you suspect discrimination based on protected characteristics then you could pursue that but hard to prove at this stage I expect, presuming you are not a perfect fit and they’re not oversubscribed.

Political views are not a protected characteristic.

Sorry, I mean hard to prove presuming you’re not a perfect match with criteria and they are UNDERsubsribed (ie don’t need to screen out at this stage).

Think it through.

Even if they did have to tell you their selection criteria which they don't (e.g. we were looking for someone who can do X, has qualifications in Y and would fit into our team as z) they couldn't tell you who else had applied or the contents of their applications or how they'd scored on X,Y and Z - so you'd only know that your total X,Y and z was less than some other people's.

Meaningless.

Also from my days in recruitment, If too many candidates met the selection criteria than it was realistic to interview the fairest thing to do was draw names from hats......not sure if it’s changed now but I’m pretty sure you do not have the right to feedback and many companies cover their arses by refusing to give it. But if you feel your social media could jeopardise your employment prospects then I think you need to have a serious rethink to make yourself more marketable and attractive to an employer.

And yes, political views not a protected characteristic, in my understanding. Unless you believe it’s indirect sex distcrimination (women are more likely to be gender critical than men and if they select on that basis it will impact women more than men).

I’d honestly advise to let it go. Good luck with your job search.

OP I read what you posted on the other thread, and I think you should at least get in touch with them to find out why you didn't get an interview.
I've no idea why someone wants to report this thread

I can assure you that this a genuine post, how bizarre. I post regularly on the feminism board.

Nicky the OP posted on the other thread. Maybe you should read the thread about being gender critical in the workplace. Its shocking.
The thought police must be very fucking busy

Personally as someone in HR I check twitters and public facebooks for anything out of the ordinary - they may have decided you’re not a “culture fit”

We are very rarely asked for feedback at the short listing stage (and the answer is generally that we had an exceptionally strong field on that occasion, etc etc). We do make sure we assess every application against the same criteria, but to be honest, some applications are much easier to extract info from than others.

It's more usual to be asked for feedback post-interview, and it's easier to answer because we have more info to go on. As it happens, we're aware we have hired a few people lately with strong political views that could perhaps clash. We expect them all to behave professionally in the workplace and find ways to work together harmoniously.

Some employers remove any identifying information from application forms before shortlisting. It was a pain when you could not actually check that the applicant is actually registered (HCP) before you invite to interview. Also a problem when HR also remove the qualifications and the JD requires a specific one.
Parts of public sector put the scores on line for feedback. We always assumed our comments would be shared with any unsuccessful applicant on request.
Your can ask for feedback- however you may not have ticked their selection criteria even if you think you have.

In my experience, when screening applications before drawing up the short list I wouldn't have looked at anything other than your suitability for the role based on what is on your cv.
The time to be more thorough is after the initial interview stage.

Personally I wouldn't bother pursuing why I wasn’t short listed, what would you possibly be looking to gain from it? move on. Find a company more suited to you and your views

Well if you post stuff on fb I'm not surprised, what do you expect.
You have a right to say what you want and they have the right to refuse an interview.
I'm not saying I agree, but if that's the way it happens, surely you are better not spouting on fb so much.

If you’re publicising controversial views on FB, then you’re all kinds of idiot. And probably very immature. You reserve the right to publicise your political views? Because you’re so important that you need to parade your self important views?

As an employer, I reserve the right to check your FB and decide not to employ someone who has views that may be offensive. It’s stupid, frankly. If you want a job, you need to realise that many companies will expect you to uphold a certain level of decorum in your personal life or at least what you publish for all to see.

I don't 'spout' gillybeanz.

I completely accept that they have the right to refuse an interview, but obviously in the wider context of women being policed for gender critical views, the fact that I've not been short listed for a job that I am wholly qualified to do in a small industry with a small pool of potential candidates means that I was interested to know if I could find out whether this was a factor in me not being successful. It sounds like I can't find out so I just need to let it go.

How constructive and courteous Gide, I do hope I never end up working with someone as rude as you!

There's always one on every thread isn't there, incapable of contributing without resorting to personal insults and unpleasantness.

Off to bed now, thanks to everyone else who posted!

I’m not rude. I’m telling you it’s stupid behaviour to post controversial views on FB. Do you really think they’ll employ you anyway because you’re qualified to do the job, much like others are?

It is very immature to think that ensuring you make your views public is more important than obtaining the job you really want. I’m an employer, have employed many people over the years. If their FB had racist or other controversial views, I would decline them and would possibly have a quiet word about how to maximise chances of employment.

Unpleasantness? Ha, funny girl!

What’s controversial though about what she is referring to ? I’m assuming feminism ?