To ask for feedback?

[Mummyundecided]

Applied for a job. Covered every single one of their experience and skills criteria with lots of evidence to back it up. Lot of relevant experience, and I’m highly qualified (degree, relevant CPD courses, etc). Arguably over qualified. I have a disability so included that in the equalities questionnaire. The job itself was a huge pay cut, but had other advantages for me (part-time/flexible working being the main one).
Received an email to say I would not be invited for interview. No reason given.
WIBU to ask for further information on the selection process/my application? Presumably they scored the applications against set criteria. Fair enough if they say I scored lower than other candidates, but I’m suspicious that they've bypassed me because of my disability.

If you are over qualified perhaps they think you won’t stay there long and are filling a gap until a better job comes along?

Obviously don't know about this particular company but in my experience most companies will not allow the hiring manager/shortlister to see the equalities information.

The thing is you don’t know who else applied. Maybe you ticked everything, but maybe 9 other people also ticked everything and some.

Angrybird345 having done lots of recruitments myself, that’s not enough of a reason not to give someone an interview, especially if they have a disability. My disability is the reason I want to take a lower paid role with fewer hours.

In the NHS we have to interview anyone with a disability who meets the essential criteria and we do see whether they have a disability as a recruiting manager. You should get feedback and take it from there... perhaps there is a valid reason, but perhaps not.

Princessmushroom I would be ok with that, but I would like information to confirm it. ‘I’m sorry, but you haven’t been selected for interview’ tells me nothing. And not to big myself up, but in a rural location, I’d be suprised if they’d had found a huge number of candidates with huge experience in a niche area for a fixed term contract. (My DH works in the same field and struggles to fill similar but permanent vacancies on much higher salaries, even in a more densely populated area - I can’t commute because of my disability.)

Sorry, that sounded incredibly arrogant. There may well be lots of other better qualified candidates. I would just have expected more of a reason or more feedback on my application given my experience ( and my disability). Would I be reasonable to ask the question?

Sorry to say this, but you're wasting your time and should just move on. What are they realistically going to say that isn't generic whitewash?

I have a disability so included that in the equalities questionnaire.

I would object strongly to their recruitment process if I were you. They shouldn't qhave given you an Equality Questionnaire, they are behind the times! They don't need that information, they should focus solely on your CV, experience and skills.

The only time they are entitled to check about disabilities inc reason adjustments is after they've offered a candidate the job. It removes any risk of bias if they don't know in advance.

Maybe it’s an inside job.

Also I find that it is easy to assume that there are limited applicants to 'rural' or regional roles but in reality a lot of people are keen to work closer to home and can afford to do so for less than if they worked further afield.

It is not standard for the two tick approach to be followed as referenced by a PP as it is in the NHS and less likely to happen outside of the public sector.

My advice is to by all means ask for feedback but ultimately move on, as someone else said, they may have had 9 others who met the criteria and then frankly you're splitting hairs as to who to interview.

I’d like the feedback to know what I should do differently next time. They’re a big local employer (although this exact role rarely comes up). I don’t want to antagonise them, just genuinely know what more I need to do to get an interview.
Is it my presentation of information in the application, is it I’m over qualified (in which case I’ll dumb down? Or is it something intangible my disability in which case I’ll not put myself through this again.

It's almost certainly none of them.
90% they've got someone lined up and only advertised externally because company rules say so.
9% they didn't even look at your application. They had 50 applicants and we're only going to interview three.
1% you'll get any kind of worthwhile response. You're just going to get some stuff about others more closely meeting the criteria; many high quality applicants; looking for someone with more large/small company experience.

I understand you've had your nose knocked out of joint, but seriously just let it go. Recruitment is simply random, little more than a numbers game.

To avoid any claims about discrimination, employers have to assess ALL applications against pre-set criteria. I’ve been the recruiting manager and done this endless times, often with 100+ CVs/applications for one job. The organisation is highly professional and I know they take this approach in their recruitment too.
My nose is only a little out of joint, for me it’s genuinely about constructive feedback that might lead to a more flexible role moving forward.

I know where I work we opened up some permanent positions in the team which was open to everyone. HR then rejected all CVs of people that weren’t working with us already as we wanted to make some of the contractors permanent employees.

It’s tricky to say, but at most places I’ve worked at we don’t offer feedback at the shortlisting stage solely due to the volume of applicants - it’s only if they get interviews we tend to provide it. So you might find they don’t give you more info.

In which case @altiara it was probably a management decision rather than an HR one ....

You can ask but in the NHS for example we would only give feedback to those we interview because we get 100s of applications and will only interview a handful. There will inevitably always be some who met all of the essential criteria but miss out because someone else has more experience. However as said up post someone with a disability would get an automatic interview in this situation.

@charlieandlolacat
Yes, it was a management decision (HR dept managed the applications for us).
Just trying to get across (badly) that there might not be any feedback to give other than the positions would go to someone already working in the company.

I refuse to give feedback to candidates not selected for interview because it's totally wasting my time to help people I don't want to work for me, but I do give my time talking through feedback with all the candidates I do interview.

However, if you meet the min requirements for the post AND declared a disability you wished to be considered under the legislation, they owe you an interview!

I don't tend to interview people who are overqualified unless they explain on their cover letter why they want to take a step down. Recruitment is painful, I don't want to hire someone who isn't going to stay.

Do yourself a favour in future and don't declare your disability until you have to, so you're put on a level playing field with other candidates. It's one less thing to worry about in a case like this where you will never know the true reason for rejection.

Unconscious bias is rife everywhere, it's human nature. My organisation gives us mandatory training in recognising and dealing with bias as it creates a more fair and healthy workplace.

To avoid any claims about discrimination, employers have to assess ALL applications against pre-set criteria. I’ve been the recruiting manager and done this endless times, often with 100+ CVs/applications for one job. The organisation is highly professional and I know they take this approach in their recruitment too.

How do you know this?

Is it public sector?

Recruitment is nothing like that in my organisation and we don't fall foul of equality legislation. We've rejected many CVs because the candidate is overqualified and we think they will leave as soon as they find something higher paid or more suited to their skills.

We don't owe anybody an interview.