Should I take this rude reply further?

[livingontheedgeee]

I recently applied for a job working as a PA to the CEO in a local company.

I wasn't selected for an interview which is fair enough but I did ask the company for some feedback on my application so I could adjust my CV to better showcase my skills.

The response I received from the HR Director was frankly quite shocking - so much it actually upset me.

To paraphrase, he suggested if they offered me the role they would run the risk of needing to re-advertise after 6 months. He told me I must believe their system of selection was flawed and that I was clearly bitter about the fact I wasn't taken any further.

I was very polite in my email and just wanted critical feedback - something which is commonplace when applying for a job. His grammar and spelling was atrocious and after reading the entire email, I was shocked at having been spoken to like I was shit on his shoe.

Should I make a formal complaint or do you think it might just come across as sour grapes and I should let it go?

Every job I have applied for recently clearly states "due to the high number of applicants, we do not provide feedback for unsuccessful applicants at the first stage".

He sounds like a dick though, just be glad you won't have to work for him.

Lucky you didn’t end up working for that company isn’t it?!

I’d do two things, forwards the email chain to the CEO, and also tweet it.

I loathe people who think they can treat others like shit because of their ‘status’ and self perceived ‘superiority’. Vile little toe rag.

I wonder if he wrote that you’d be out of there in 6mths because that’s been his previous experience, or whether your cv shows a lot of jumping around? It may be that he’s had a lot of people leave quickly due to his foul behaviour, and his naturally blaming others rather than doing a little self-reflection of why employees never seem to stay!

I think I'd probably forward the email chain on to the CEO direct. I'd want to know that someone from my company was projecting such an awful image

The thing is each job should have its own cv/application, tailored to their job spec, not copied and pasted

I haven't read every single post on here but this is my take.

Obviously the reply was inappropriate etc etc, that's not in dispute. But there are no grounds to complain.

It's normal / usual (as far as I know) to ask for feedback after rejection following interview, not an application not being taken forward! Blimey, if they actually let you know that your application wasn't being progressed that's nothing short of a miracle!

I would also take NO reassurance from a recruitment agency telling you you've got a good CV (no disrespect to the good recruiters out there) but typically they'll tell you all kinds of positive stuff because they just want you on their books in their pool of people that they can contact when a (probably unsuitable, crap paying) job opening comes along that they need to fill.

You'd do better using your time and energy by spending a couple of hours reading up on the types of words to use, looking at examples of good CVs, understanding how to highlight key information, reading up on every aspect of what's important when it comes to LinkedIn and creating a profile on there, and then totally sprucing up your CV. But these days the number of people who apply is huge and it's unrealistic to ask for feedback to an application - I'm surprised you got any response at all, even an automated one. That's just how it is.

And Horace is right too.

If I was him and had a million emails asking for feedback on just a cv and didn't have time or the will to respond I'd have just ignored it as they aren't obligated to respond. Emailing a nasty reply isn't necessary

I’m not sure though it’s the norm to ask for feedback if you didn’t even get an interview though?

Think of it as a positive, that you dodged a bullet there.

I think you are expecting too much asking for feedback if you haven't had an interview. If they have had a lot of CVs, there may just pick the most promising best fit ones to go forward. They won't have done an in depth analysis of your CV.

I've been both sides of the table, recruiter and job seeker, and think to request feedback just on a CV is unreasonable. I had over 100 applicants for a job I advertised for a few years ago - there was no way I could take the time to not just read all the CVs in detail but to also give individual feedback on each one. The thing mentioned by a pp above saying "if you haven't heard back within x days, you were unsuccessful" is very common.

It's getting rarer these days to get feedback even after an interview, and sometimes you don't even get told you haven't been successful you just assume that as you haven't heard after a week you haven't got the job. Most of the time you get standard wording like another candidate has more relevant experience or just "thank you for coming, we've decided to take someone else on".

Deciding not to interview someone can be for many reasons, and often not because you've failed to "showcase" certain skills. Examples can be other applicants with more relevant experience e.g. same industry, same software or methods used, the role is at a higher level than the majority of your experience, the role is a LOWER level than your recent experience, internal candidates have applied unexpectedly (that happened to me just a week ago, booked interviews were cancelled). If they already had 4 applicants that were just a tiny bit more suitable than you on paper, that would give them enough to choose between.

Chris is a prick. Email to CEO!

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for feedback on why you failed to get an interview. However the volume of applicants may mean that not every firm will respond to your request.

If I receive a genuine request for feedback I'll always try and respond, because I'm happy to help people who want to try and improve their professional prospects. In one case the feedback given helped the candidate get the next job they'd applied for - and they dropped me an email to let me know, which was nice!

Even if requesting feedback on a cv is unreasonable, such a rude response to the request is unacceptable. If they had time to write that nasty email, they had time to write "we are unable to offer feedback to applicants who have not been offered an interview".

I would correct all his spelling mistakes and grammar and send it back to him and every other email address you have for the company. But that's just me

^^do this!!

Even if it isn't usual to ask for feedback based on just the application the op did not deserve the response. If he's that busy he'd just ignore it or send a stock "sorry, not able to give feedback" response.

His reply certainly doesn't look very professional.

I would just be happy that you aren't working somewhere with an HR director like this.

No, don't take it further. It will accomplish nothing. No CEO will sack an HR Director for an email like that. Might get a talking to but that's about it.

He never should have been so rude but the fact you even received a response after asking for feedback is rather surprising. You either get radio silence or you get the bland shit of other candidates being 'closer to the job description' than you. We all know some companies will discriminate on age, name, that you didn't go to University etc but you can't prove it as you don't know who you were up against.

As PP have said, you dodged a bullet here. They've shown you what they are really like.

I wouldn't take it further. It sounds like it was a lucky escape so put it down to experience. If the job were to become vacant again don't re-apply. Be the bigger person and take your talents where they can be properly appreciated.

Forgot to add - one of the reasons why companies assume they will need to re-advertise in 6 months is because they feel you are over-qualified for a role so will get bored and leave.

I would try to look at it as a lucky escape away from the company.

Absolutely right! You made a perfectly reasonable request, and they responded in a very rude manner. Taking it further won't achieve anything.

I’d always give feedback after an interview but I just don’t have time to give feedback at the sifting stage so while you had a harsh and unprofessional response back, you were always unlikely to get anything helpful.

Not sure about just submitting a CV but if someone takes time to complete a detailed application, I think it is perfectly fair to ask why it has been rejected. I live in a remote area of the UK and recently applied for a niche senior role, which I knew (as the industry is so small) that there would not be a huge number of applicants for. I also knew that my application not only met but smashed the criteria yet I didn't get shortlisted for interview. I asked for feedback and got no response. A couple of weeks later, a young man barely out of university who had worked there a year and had none of the experience or qualifications they had asked for (according to his LinkedIn) was announced in the role. I was glad they didn't mess me about inviting me for interview but this is a female dominated industry and a man getting a senior role when all the other applicants would likely be very strong female candidates, is galling. I think that there should be checks on the application process to ensure that this doesn't happen.

Gertygypsey that sounds hugely frustrating and like something dodgy went on there. However that does illustrate why companies would be advised not to offer feedback to the applicants they aren't taking forward, for legal reasons that they expose themselves and their procedures to claims. Or 'just' complaints.

As others have said, perfectly normal to have 30 applications for a role in a day - I've had to close adverts after a couple of days as we've reached 50+ applicants. It really may not be about your age.

Chris sounds like a rude arse, either he was having a spectacularly bad day, or he is a really unpleasant person. Just going back to your request, asking where you fell short in terms of experience (as you did) would be fine to ask, but might not elicit a response as it can be very time consuming. It is unusual though to ask the recruiting company to critique your CV. 'I have so much experience but it is sometimes difficult to express that in a CV without it becoming too unwieldy' is almost asking them to help you write it, and maybe that's what irritated him (unreasonably so, but my guess is that it did).

Could you get some advice on your CV to make sure you showcase your talents better? You could think about having a non-chronological CV which wont highlight your age if you feel that is likely to count against you. Also, I dont know about others, but I always have a standard CV which I then amend to highlight specific experience which will be relevant to the role.

All the best OP and dont bother complaining, Chris isnt worth another moment of your time.