To want to take action after poor and dishonest interview feedback

[quantmum]

The week before last, I had an interview for my ideal job in a highly specialised sector. It seemed to go very well but the institution's HR emailed on Monday to say I didn't get it, but came second so if their first choice didn't take the job, I would be offered it. I was upset, but accepted that a more suitable candidate must have got it.

My feelings changed from disappointment to anger when I asked the HR person if any feedback was available and got a few lines of totally negative comments. The comments are not an accurate reflection of the interview, for example they say that my presentation went over time (it was within the allocated 15 minutes) and that I didn't outline future plans (I did, and as part of the application process I'd to submit a detailed document about future plans).

I really want to take some action as this seems completely unfair and close to libellous. I understand feedback is sometimes worded to justify why someone wasn't offered a job but it's deeply frustrating that the interviewers have put actual lies in writing to me - as well as such a crappy and inconsiderate approach in not giving actual proper feedback - given the application and two-round interview process was extremely demanding.

I've drafted an email refuting the errors in the feedback, but I'm torn between sending that or just a relatively neutral one asking for more detailed feedback and mentioning in passing that I found the feedback confusing.

AIBU to want to send a strongly worded email? Or can anyone advise? I'd made my peace with the outcome and now I'm seriously annoyed. I'm finding it hard to move on as these jobs come up so infrequently and I was waiting years to go for it (although not unemployed in the meantime).

Christ.

Do you still want them to hire you if the first choice doesn’t work out?

I’m trying to imagine what we’d do if someone came back to us and said our interview feedback was close to libellous.

We’d certainly think we made the right call..

I can understand how frustrating this must be but I’m not sure why you want to get out of taking it up with them.

I am sorry this happened but I think you should move on.

I suppose it just seems such a shitty way to treat someone after two rounds of interviews and I really would find actual feedback helpful after all the preparation and time and so on - as in I'd like to learn from the experience

I might be inclined to go back and say could there possibly be a mix up and these were actually notes on another candidate? Stress that you're keen to be absolutely clear about the ways you could improve, as the post is of the type you are keen to move into...

But would you ever give feedback like this? Seems very weird that they are ok with being so dishonest.

Watch and wait.

I know you reeeeaaaaalllllyyyy wanted the job, but it has not come to you.

Why?? We do not yet know.

I now think that things that don't come through for me were not right for me somehow. I think this due to experience of the aftermath of things I thought I wanted that didn't happen, and later I find out why.

Watch and wait. Do not obsess. Do not ruin your reputation with them.

If you send your strongly worded email I suspect the role will not be offered to you if the first choice drops out.

personally I wouldn’t send anything - as you’re the 2nd preference candidate you still might get it, not unusual at all for 1st choice to fall through, and if it’s a small industry it’s rarely a good idea to burn bridges. If you do decide to send something think about what outcome you want? They’re not going to change their minds and make you 1st choice candidates, so do you just want to vent or is there some actual action you want them to take?

remember also that these things are subjective- maybe they meant you didn’t outline future plans very effectively? Clearly there must have been some positive feedback too if you were their 2nd choice

If you want to never ever work for them should an opportunity arise in future, then go ahead and send the email.

You sound unusually angry about it.

I can understand how it must make you feel but it is likely to be the case that there was a rushed phone call between HR and the interviewer, and the interviewer said something like "the successful candidate's presentation was more succinct and they were better on forward planning." HR have to talk to you about you, not someone else, so they have translated it to say what they did about you, missing the mark.

I guess you could respond with "are you sure that's my feedback and not someone else's because I was under time and did mention forward planning" but to be honest there seems little point, sadly.

I'd only challenge interview feedback if it was so glaringly wrong I strongly suspected they'd mixed me up with another candidate. I'd also be very careful to challenge only objective elements. You may not agree with subjective points but they are as entitled to their opinions as you are.

They've told you that you are their second choice. Being confrontational about their feedback is never going to bump you up to first place (unless they really did get the candidates mixed up) but it may well result in you being completely ruled out, not just for this role but any future ones.

Well it's quite common that if you don't get a job and ask for feedback on interview you get a made up response that justifies why they didn't offer you the job. This is just a more extreme version of that.

I can see why you feel incensed by what they've said but If you ever want to work for that company then don't challenge them

if you perceive the feedback to be unfair, do you really want to work for the organocation anyway?
I ask for feedback if it's offered, reflect on it, but you need to remember it's reflective of the organisation - last year I had two sets of one week, one that I'd be too 'soft' with staff, the other that my management style seemed to direct - I'd given the same examples in both interviews.
TBH, people questioning/criticising feedback they're given has led to employers either not giving muck feedback at all, or keeping it fairly anodyne.

Ok thanks.

There was no positive feedback whatsoever, just four sentences from their HR of things I did 'wrong' in the interviews, but 3/4 of them were categorically untrue, one was a subjective interpretation.

I'd made my peace with not being first choice, but would have appreciated some considered feedback. And as they said they'd offer me the role if the first choice turns it down, presumably there must be some positive feedback.
I've gone for other jobs that I didn't get and received decent feedback that I learned from, and this one just seems so shitty in comparison.

Do you think it's ok to just ask for some more details? It took two weeks to prepare all the application material and for the interviews/presentations. I'd to specifically prepare and submit 6 different documents in the application (c. 50 pages), and then 3 more for the next round.

If they said you'd be offered it second then what more positive feedback are you looking for?

If its such a specialised sector and jobs only come up rarely I suspect the employers all know about the prospective candidates in the market and if you send the e mail they may well get to hear about you being “difficult” when they come to hire next time.

Their Views on the interview effectively are he said / she said and perception. I’ve spent years interviewing people and it’s interesting their perception of how well they did / covered an element of the presentation / discussion in response to feedback. I would personally always deliver feedback f2f or by phone to enable clarification and discussion. E mail can be cold and what one person reads as acceptable wording someone else will be horrified and read it in a completely different context.

No harm if you really want to phone and ask for further specific verbal feedback but as an earlier responder said if you are really so upset and angry with the feedback so far do you really want to work for them and ask yourself how this additional feedback will really help you ?

I thjnk you are all being unreasonable. They seem lax to give such shoddy feedback, and you sound confrontational about it.

Ok, I guess it's frustrating - as I said to another poster it took two weeks to prepare all the application material and for the interviews/presentations. I'd to specifically prepare and submit 6 different documents in the application (c. 50 pages), and then 3 more for the next round. Any time I've received feedback for similarish roles it's been more detailed and considered so this just feels pretty shit.
Maybe anger is too strong a word - frustration and and annoyance is more like it - but I get the point of not challenging it if I want to ever be offered anything there again.

Op I would let it go- as @BalloonSlayer said, likely some messages have got lost in translation via HR- I would take it to mean that the areas the other candidate was stronger on were forward planning and delivering a succint presentation. I don’t think you’ll gain anything from following up, particularly not while you’re still feeling quite riled up about it.

I got feedback once if the same roles comes up again do apply - Answer the questions the same . I absolutely believe they wanted someone to start asap and I wasn’t available for a month .

i then did apply for the same role different branch - I got the job.

sometimes it is about something you don’t see .

I'd probably just ask for more detailed feedback and ask if they'd accidentally mixed up the feedback.

A strongly worded email, whilst in the moment may satisfy your frustration, will not materialise a job offer and will likely just piss them off and disregard you.

So you'll get the job if the other person drops out? Based on those comments, I'm surprised. Is it possible there's been a mistake and you got somebody else's feedback?

In any event, don't say/do anything until you've calmed down a bit. I'm a bit of a hot-head myself and that's the best advice I ever took any notice of!

It's not "libellous" if someone says something you perceive as incorrect TO YOU.

Libel is causing damage to your reputation by writing this about you that others see. Slander is doing this orally (to others).

It has to demonstrably damage your reputation.

Move on. Don't send the email.

My ploy for jobs I really really want has always been to be the most amenable, upbeat, unflappable person in the room at all times. It works.

Write a really honest email about the feedback and send it only to yourself. Reread it next day and then delete it. Never send it.