I'm seeking some insight as to possible reasons a company with a potential dream job available would be unresponsive and seemingly uninterested in me.

March 11, 2008 4:19 PM

Please help me determine the best way to ask for feedback from a company that I'm very interested in, but doesn't seem to be interested in me.

Overview: I'm seeking some insight as to possible reasons a company with a potential dream job available would be unresponsive and seemingly uninterested in me. I have applied twice, made several inquiries, am extremely qualified, have an excellent employment history, and yet there has been no interest on their behalf. I would like to find a professional and tactful way to illicit feedback from them so that my application is stronger next time and I have something to focus on improving.

Background: About three years ago I found an opportunity on Craigslist for this company. I had never heard of them before, but they are small, nearby, and were seeking to hire somebody with my exact qualifications. To the letter. This company does a specialized type of branding/marketing, requiring knowledge of a certain science background. I have 10 years of experience in creative arts, much of that focused on the type of work this company requires, and catering to the markets that I have lots of experience in. Furthermore, the science background is highly specialized and not very popular—but I love it. I have a BA degree in this exact field from one of the Top 3 universities in the US known for being a leader in this science.

At the time, I was looking to transition my creative arts work experience into something that could also utilize my degree. This company was seeking work requiring the same balance of experience. I applied and followed up. It wasn't until my second follow up that I received a short response saying that my qualifications were strong, but they had already decided to hire somebody else. I emailed back, expressing my continuing interest and thanking them for the update.

Over the next two years I inquired twice, both times receiving no response.

A little over a month ago they listed two new ads on CL. I was ecstatic. Especially since this time they wanted applicants to show up in person to deliver materials. Previously they had been very adamant about not calling or showing up, and very little info about their company is available for public consumption. I was excited about getting to see the place, meeting people, learning more, etc.

I prepared (what I felt) was a very strong application packet, with revamped materials and an engaging cover letter (I asked several people to review it). I put on a suit, arranged a meeting, dropped off the application packet, and followed up via email immediately after. After a week and a half of no response, I sent another follow up.

It's now been over two weeks since my latest followup and I've heard nothing. It's so disappointing. I want to learn more about this company. I want to know if and why I am not a good fit for them. I can't imagine they're inundated with applications...and from my vantage point, I seem to be exactly what they are looking for. Obviously I'm missing something.

I would like to send another follow up email. What should it say? How should I go about asking for feedback? What are some possible reasons they might not be interested? How can I find more contacts or information in this very secretive company? So far I've only been able to sleuth two names, and they've been copied on everything sent this latest round. I don't want to pester these people, but I'd like to get somewhere with all of this interest, even if that somewhere means giving up (which I really don't want to do without good reason).

I will happily Mefi Mail or liaison with another user to provide more information or answer specific questions, but I don't want to attach my username/profile to this post directly. Thank you!

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (12 answers total)

There could be any number of reasons. Maybe you're coming across as overeager, pushy, cocky, or creepy. Maybe you pissed off the receptionist when you dropped off your app. (It will get back to the people doing the hiring.) Maybe they prefer to find people through networking (despite having placed the CL ad). Maybe they don't think you're a good fit for the company's culture. Maybe -- no, definitely -- they're Just Not That Into You.

I don't think you're going to get anything from this company. It might be a better idea to talk to your school's career development center, or some other career counselor, and see if they have any feedback on this situation. It won't help you get a job at Dream Company, but it'll help with future job searches.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:45 PM on March 11, 2008

I've been in a job search for months, and it's been the rare company that bothers to give me any negative feedback, or even any "thank you, but we've filled the position another way." It sucks, and in my opinion is extremely unprofessional, but you'll have to write it off and move on.
posted by stevis23 at 4:49 PM on March 11, 2008

Companies are a lot like people in my experience. Some are just flakes. Some are just assholes. Do you really want to work at a place that treats you like this?

But if do want to "sleuth" around, figure out their email naming convention based on the people you've contacted: ie, [first intitial][last name]@jerkycompany.com or whatever.

then find out the names of decision makers through the website, fake phone calls or whatever legal way you can think of. Then email them and maybe, just maybe they'll think you are a referral or something.
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:57 PM on March 11, 2008

Maybe it's not a real company. Maybe it's a cover for some secret government project, and they're not sure about your security risk. Maybe it's a sting operation, trying to lure out of hiding a criminal who happens to have the exact same qualifications as you. Maybe I watch too many movies.

In any case, it sounds like they're not that crazy about you. Make sure they have your contact info in case they change their mind, and move on.
posted by ctmf at 5:15 PM on March 11, 2008

In my experience, companies never say anything official other than we had many qualified candidates but we regret that we can not hire you. (I just got three of those this week.) I'm sure that they don't give any specific details because they are afraid of (a) lawsuits over discrimination and/or (b) dealing with irate or merely demanding and persistant applicants that they don't want. Occasionally if you have a really good relationship with the interviewer, you might get an honest answer - especially they really are interested in considering you again in the future. But in your case, dealing with an anoynmous HR person, I would be very surprised if you got any honest feedback.

Best advice - ask everyone you know if they know someone who works at xyz. Maybe try Linked-In. Check and see if anyone is an alumni from the same school you went to. If you find someone, invite them out for lunch or a cup of coffee and see what you can find out about the company and who they hire (classic informational interview).
posted by metahawk at 5:31 PM on March 11, 2008

you might be able to connect (through a couple degrees) to someone in that company using linkedin.com. or maybe just connect to a person who knows someone in the company, who might be able to give you some insight into their handling of applicants.
posted by chr1sb0y at 5:40 PM on March 11, 2008

Yeah, I would work on finding a personal connection -- someone you know knows someone who works there. LinkedIn is a great place to start. You could also e-mail all of your professional friends, former co-workers, and other appropriate friends, asking whether they know anyone who works there.

Once you have a lead, call them up, tell them who you are and who introduced you, and ask whether they'd be willing to help you make a direct connection. Ask whether they know the name of the hiring manager. Also delicately sound them out to see whether they would be willing to talk about their impressions of the place, even if not in the department/area you're interested in.
posted by ottereroticist at 5:56 PM on March 11, 2008

There's this to keep in mind: perhaps they have someone in mind to hire already, but are required to make it appear that they are seeking out applicants. So, they post the ads only when they much show a reasonable effort in trying to find other people, and then they ignore them.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:44 PM on March 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm not usually the type for pointing out spelling errors in posts, but this may be applicable here - you want to ELICIT feedback, not ILLICIT. "Illicit" behavior is the type of behavior engaged in by shady characters. If you're specifically saying in your e-mails to them that you want to illicit feedback, you may be conjuring all sorts of unintentional imagery. :-)

To address the meat of your question - all sorts of strange things can happen during the hiring process. Sometimes funding for the position dries up right after the company posts it. Sometimes companies post openings not because they desperately need to fill the position, but rather because they want to "fish" to see if maybe a real gem shows up for an interview. Sometimes hiring managers get really busy and just let things go for a couple of weeks (the interviewing process is much less urgent when you're the one offering the job and not the one seeking it).

It sounds like you're doing all the right things. The only thing that I could imagine is that maybe you're coming on too strong? Job seeking can be a lot like dating in the sense that it can be a turnoff to seem too desperate. When I was just coming out of college I interviewed with an investment firm as well as a software development firm. I really wanted the software development job and yet I didn't make headway with them. I really didn't want the investment banking job, really didn't put much effort into impressing them during the interview, and they called me SEVERAL TIMES afterward asking me if I'd like to come back for the next round. I had to be really firm to get them to stop calling. Lesson learned - sometimes playing it cool is the best approach.
posted by sherlockt at 9:52 PM on March 11, 2008

One thought, don't know if it's applicable in your situation.

I had a friend who was similarly mystified about why so many companies that seemed such a perfect fit, or that had initially seemed very enthused about him, were suddenly giving him the cold shoulder. Finally one hiring manager told him that they'd Googled him and found his unprofessional internet antics and that was the real reason he'd been dropped from consideration for the job.

So, what comes up when someone Googles your name? Or look it up on Myspace, Friendster, etc. When I did HR hiring at my old company the first thing I did after reading a promising resume/application was look that person up on the internet. It is a very common practice these days.
posted by Jacqueline at 10:04 PM on March 11, 2008

Another thought. I think hiring is typically not a very organized process at smaller companies, so if the company you are applying to is not large that could be the problem. Often there is not a dedicated hiring manager and thus the person handling the applications is doing so in addition to his or her regular work. Also, a job opening indicates that there is more work at the company than the current employees can handle, so he or she is probably doing MORE than his or her regular work plus trying to hire someone too.

So, whoever is in charge of the hiring process could just be too overworked and/or flaky to take a close look at your application or get back to you. In fact, requiring applicants to show up in person to apply sounds to me like a strategy for reducing the size of the applicant pool. You would not BELIEVE how many applications come in response to a Craigslist want ad. It's overwhelming. I've personally been guilty of not responding to applicants. Their emails would sit in my inbox, and I'd mean to write back to all of them, but I'd have too much other stuff to do, the emails would get buried under newer emails, we'd find someone we liked from the first batch of promising applicants we interviewed, and by the time I'd get around to handling those emails again it would have been so long that I'd figure that they'd already found another job. I think most of the time I'd still get out a "Thanks, but we hired someone" email but probably not always.

Have you tried calling or just emailing? From your post, it sounds like you've mostly been sending emails. When one is overworked, emails that can be put off will be put off. Indefinitely. Try calling the hiring contact sometime when the company ISN'T hiring and they will probably have time to speak with you for a couple of minutes. (If you call when they have ads out and the ads say "no calls" then calls will probably just annoy them, but if you call when they're not overwhelmed with a zillion job applicants they are less likely to mind.) They are also more likely to tell you or let slip the truth over the phone than in writing.
posted by Jacqueline at 10:25 PM on March 11, 2008

i second deathalicious; i've seen it happen many times before that an ad is required to be placed for an external candidate when they really already have someone in mind. This could be for legal purposes, such as work visas, they have to prove that they've tried to find someone qualified that didn't require the visa first. unfortunately, you may be exactly qualified and not require the visa but they already have someone -- possibly even in house. The timing sounds right for an H1B visa candidate -- if you applied a few years ago to an ad, and they had hired another person requiring the visa, then their visa would be up in 3 years and they'd have to apply for a new one, possibly going through the same advertisement process as well, which would fall right about now.
posted by Soulbee at 7:43 AM on March 12, 2008