Responding to a job rejection when I think my skills were misunderstood
November 12, 2020 3:21 PM Subscribe
I just received a (very polite!) rejection email for a job I interviewed for recently, which was worded along the lines of "We liked your personality and your experience with Y, but at the moment we're looking for someone experienced in X." The thing is, I believe I'm perfectly experienced enough in X to meet the job requirements, I just emphasized Y more in the interview because I guess I misjudged the profile they were looking for.
Obviously it's a failure of communication on my part, and I'm certainly not looking to argue or change their decision because I realize how unprofessional that would be, but should I address this disconnect in any way in my reply?
They did say they'd keep my profile on file for future openings more related to Y, so I guess my goal would be to express that I'm still interested in positions related to X as well -- but I accept that there might be no way to do that. It's a company I'm very much interested in working for, so I'd like to put my best foot forward and keep on good terms with them!
Obviously it's a failure of communication on my part, and I'm certainly not looking to argue or change their decision because I realize how unprofessional that would be, but should I address this disconnect in any way in my reply?
They did say they'd keep my profile on file for future openings more related to Y, so I guess my goal would be to express that I'm still interested in positions related to X as well -- but I accept that there might be no way to do that. It's a company I'm very much interested in working for, so I'd like to put my best foot forward and keep on good terms with them!
Obviously it's a failure of communication on my part
I would not assume this. There could be all sorts of reasons they have decided not to hire you, and they aren't going to tell you honestly why. I would not get caught up in this. They could have found someone who was a better fit in others way. It sounds like it was a very kind no, and I would try hard not to see it as a failure on your part.
I do think cheesecake's response is perfect.
posted by bluedaisy at 4:24 PM on November 12, 2020 [19 favorites]
I would not assume this. There could be all sorts of reasons they have decided not to hire you, and they aren't going to tell you honestly why. I would not get caught up in this. They could have found someone who was a better fit in others way. It sounds like it was a very kind no, and I would try hard not to see it as a failure on your part.
I do think cheesecake's response is perfect.
posted by bluedaisy at 4:24 PM on November 12, 2020 [19 favorites]
I think you could address this in an even more head on way than cheesecake suggests-in particular, the 'continually growing my skill' framing makes it seem like you agree with them that you aren't really qualified in X, yet, but it's something that you're working on improving. But you don't agree with that! You're already an X professional. You can make that clear while still taking responsibility for not making it clear during the process.
Here's my punch-up of cheesecake's frame:
"I really enjoyed meeting you and learning about Company. Thanks for keeping my resume on file. I am disappointed to learn that I didn't highlight my experience in X well enough during the interview process. In addition to Y, I'm also working regularly on X via [sentence or two description of current project*]. I'll have to be sure to emphasize my X experience as I interview for other positions! If you have a future opening in either Y or X, I'd love to be considered for it."
*You really want to make your experience clear in more than half a sentence with this approach, and it should be really solid experience. I am taking "I'm perfectly experienced enough in X to meet the job requirements" at face value; if your X experience is in any way impeachable, I would reconsider addressing it at all.
One last thought: to me it is possible that "at the moment we're looking for someone with experience in X" is not actually representative of their thought process and they are rejecting your for another reason entirely and just not great at communicating. That's not a reason not to address it, but I think that lots of weird stuff happens in hiring processes and this could easily fall under that umbrella.
posted by Kwine at 4:26 PM on November 12, 2020 [6 favorites]
Here's my punch-up of cheesecake's frame:
"I really enjoyed meeting you and learning about Company. Thanks for keeping my resume on file. I am disappointed to learn that I didn't highlight my experience in X well enough during the interview process. In addition to Y, I'm also working regularly on X via [sentence or two description of current project*]. I'll have to be sure to emphasize my X experience as I interview for other positions! If you have a future opening in either Y or X, I'd love to be considered for it."
*You really want to make your experience clear in more than half a sentence with this approach, and it should be really solid experience. I am taking "I'm perfectly experienced enough in X to meet the job requirements" at face value; if your X experience is in any way impeachable, I would reconsider addressing it at all.
One last thought: to me it is possible that "at the moment we're looking for someone with experience in X" is not actually representative of their thought process and they are rejecting your for another reason entirely and just not great at communicating. That's not a reason not to address it, but I think that lots of weird stuff happens in hiring processes and this could easily fall under that umbrella.
posted by Kwine at 4:26 PM on November 12, 2020 [6 favorites]
Best answer: don't use the word "disappointed" or talk about interviewing for other jobs. The first is negative and argumentative; the second is irrelevant and weird.
Cheesecake's response is perfect. Don't say more than that. Just write that. It's a great script. But do keep in mind that companies almost never go through old resumes when they post new jobs. At best, they will have notes on you in their ATS to which they will refer when you apply in the future. It will be up to you to keep tabs on their openings and apply when you see something new.
posted by fingersandtoes at 4:33 PM on November 12, 2020 [16 favorites]
Cheesecake's response is perfect. Don't say more than that. Just write that. It's a great script. But do keep in mind that companies almost never go through old resumes when they post new jobs. At best, they will have notes on you in their ATS to which they will refer when you apply in the future. It will be up to you to keep tabs on their openings and apply when you see something new.
posted by fingersandtoes at 4:33 PM on November 12, 2020 [16 favorites]
I really liked Kwine's version, for what it's worth.
posted by amtho at 4:54 PM on November 12, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by amtho at 4:54 PM on November 12, 2020 [3 favorites]
"I really enjoyed meeting you and learning about Company. I very much appreciate your taking the time to send feedback; it is particularly valuable to me to learn that I gave an innaccurate impression of my experience in X. (In addition to Y, I'm also working regularly on X via [sentence or two description of current project*].) Thank you again, and [gently humorous pleasantry that presents a callback to something one of them said in the interview, proving you paid attention and would be a pleasant person to work with]!"
Agree that "we'll keep your resume on file" is mollifying happy talk; watch and wait, and if a position opens, apply again. Refer to your previous interview in your cover letter and stress your experience in both X and Y, particularly any new stuff that they haven't already heard about.
posted by Don Pepino at 5:09 PM on November 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
Agree that "we'll keep your resume on file" is mollifying happy talk; watch and wait, and if a position opens, apply again. Refer to your previous interview in your cover letter and stress your experience in both X and Y, particularly any new stuff that they haven't already heard about.
posted by Don Pepino at 5:09 PM on November 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice, all. I’ll keep my reply light!
posted by mekily at 6:17 PM on November 12, 2020
posted by mekily at 6:17 PM on November 12, 2020
I had the same thing happen to me a month ago, although I only had a screening interview with HR and not a full formal interview. In my response I decided to address the issue on the off chance that the stated reason was actually why they were passing. They did not respond.
"I appreciate you following up! I'm not sure that I follow your comments about my experience - I only have 3 years of experience in [X] whereas I spent 6 years doing [Y] - but I'll take that to mean you're looking for a different skill set than I have.
Take care!"
posted by Hermes32 at 6:53 AM on November 13, 2020
"I appreciate you following up! I'm not sure that I follow your comments about my experience - I only have 3 years of experience in [X] whereas I spent 6 years doing [Y] - but I'll take that to mean you're looking for a different skill set than I have.
Take care!"
posted by Hermes32 at 6:53 AM on November 13, 2020
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posted by cheesecake at 3:32 PM on November 12, 2020 [21 favorites]