hiring peas: have you ever provided feedback if an appliant

I know it can be so frustrating if you think you did well in an interview. I had one about a month ago and I thought I did a great job. It was a 2nd interview and it was between me and one other candidate. The principal even told me that he would give me as much feedback as he could if he did not hire me. Well, I didn't get the job and I did email and ask what advice he might have for future interviews (I only did this because he said he would give feedback). I never heard from him and that was ok. You may have done everything right but they just liked the other candidate better for some other reason. Maybe they had more experience. Good luck! Trust me, I feel your pain!

I spent months reading every job-seeking advice blog, column in major publications, etc, and every time this question comes up the suggestion from real hiring managers is that they won't provide constructive feedback, and if they do, it's a very generic "we found a better fit but we'll keep you on file" type answer.

I don't think most people will give feedback like that, for the exact reason Darcy said - liability.

Try not to get too down about it. Sometimes (frequently) they already have a candidate in mind and are just scheduling other interviews for due diligence or in case the first person falls through. It has nothing to do with you in a case like that. And even you were a great candidate, sometimes someone else is just a tiny bit better, or they liked them more for some subjective reason.

Hang in there!

I know in many districts they already know who they want to hire, they just have to go through the motions of pretending they are looking at other candidates.

I wish!! Once we had a guy with a truly perfect resume write in. He spelled the name of the town where he lived incorrectly. Twice. The job was for a technical editor, so we didn't hire him, but seriously, an impeccable resume. I wish he had asked.

I get that liability is so bad. I interviewed a candidate who looked incredible on paper, but all he did was talk and talk and talk. I knew how much everything cost in his life and pretty much everything about him. I was really sad because we needed someone of his caliber (I saw his work), but no one would be able to stand the talk.

I wish there was a standard rejection note we could check off things.

Happens all the time. If someone calls next week and resigns, they're going to start with the pool of strong candidates they've already interviewed before they go looking for someone else. Happened to me in somewhat delayed fashion - I interviewed for the new job I'm starting next month LAST YEAR. They already had a candidate in mind at that time and I was a "due diligence" interview. Well, she turned out to be a bad fit for the job so in May they called me and asked me to come in to re-interview as a formality - the job was mine.

When I first went back into the work force after being off with my daughter I asked the question at the end of the interview

Something along the lines of can you tell me how my experience matches up with what you are looking for? and As its been xxx years out of the work force what could I do to bolster my cv or interviewing skills.

I got a great response. I got the job! My boss later told me that it was because of my enthusiasm for the job, and the questions I asked. They did not expect that I was as ready to take on the roles of the job as it turned out I was. Most importantly they left the interview thinking... I can't think of one thing that really makes her unsuitable for the job.

For my current job, my boss has this very complicated, sort of ridiculous process he takes people through, the main reason is he wants people who REALLY want the job. So anyone who is not willing to jump through some hoops usually drop out of the process. There were 12 people he considered for my job. only 6 showed up to the group interview, 1 of those 6 was 30 minutes late!

He asked 4 people to reply to an email with a series of questions. 3 did, one missed the deadline by about 6 hours. Of the 2 that he interviewed one to one he was torn, and he strung it out.

I followed up, and un promoted I wrote a 30-60-90 day plan for what I envisioned my role to be. That is why I got hired! Be proactive. If you don't get a full time teaching job, consider subbing, or being a TA or Title 1 get yourself in the door. Also take at least one college level course in education to show that you are interested in keeping up in your field.

No. It sucks. Especially when it's a private organization and it's only their own internal policies -- not any public law or policy -- that require due diligence interviews and the person with the hiring authority knew s/he was never going to hire anyone other than the internal candidate.


My dh took three vacation days off of work (necessitating rescheduling a lot of work and then working like a dog putting in lots of extra hours on on his return playing catch-up ) to do an interview and they basically told him at the interview that he didn't have a chance because of an internal candidate. they told him to just "sit back and enjoy the time off visiting our organization. Oh and by the way, since you're here..." They wanted to pick his brain about a technical topic on which he's a national expert -- basically they wanted free consultancy for the cost of his plane ticket and hotel room instead of paying his consultancy fee. He said if we could have afforded to buy a one way ticket out the next day, he would have been gone. Instead, he had to play nice for hours with people who had no interest in him except to try and screw him out of a consultancy fee and used a job interview as a bait and switch. 

IME, most of the time there is no constructive feedback to give. You (universal you) were a solid candidate, presented well and would be a great fit. But we met with five others that were equal and then you have to start sifting the very fine differences. Slightly more experience, someone has a personal connection with one of the other references, etc.

The biggest mistake is getting too excited about the job before you actually get the offer. You did get positive feedback in the interview (you're speaking my language, we think alike) and I don't think there is too much more an interviewer can give you.

The last time I was laid off I applied for tons of jobs, got a few interviews but no offers. I contacted a few places I'd applied to just to see if the job was filled so I could cross if off my list. With one job, the hiring manager had done all the interviews, shortlisted and was down to two finalists. They were very different candidates and this manager and I ended up talking for a half hour about the pros and cons of each. By the end of that conversation I had a formal interview with him set up and ended up getting the job. I wasn't even in the first cut of interviews. Weird things happen in the hiring process.

 

The things I've bolded are minimum qualifications.. if you are applying for an entry level "no skills required" or "no experience necessary" these bolded points will put you ahead. But you are interviewing in competition with professionals.  At the professional level these are a basic expectation; everyone will be exhibiting the same characteristics. At this level they are looking for what makes you stand out... what skills, knowledge or traits to you bring to the job that exceeds what anyone else can do in a tangible way.

It's great you were on the same page, thinking what I was thinking; but realistically anyone that has spent time in a philosophy of education class can probably get the same responses from them. What can you do to take them into the next chapter?

And, no, all the prep work, essay writing and getting ready for each interview is not fun. Yes, a lot of them have a pre-determined outcome but not all of them do.. and it is possible to give an interview that will knock a predetermined internal hire off the pedestal.  So don't give up. Keep applying and keep up the courtesy, genuine smile, eye contact and all that other jazz. 

Just accept every job isn't meant for you. It's horrible, but what else can you do?

Your answer to what you can do beyond teaching that grade sounds too personal to me (but I'm not a teacher). Excepting for coaching track, those aren't related to your teaching position. It's nice you are well-rounded, but perhaps they might have wanted more professional/teaching-related answers. For example, "I have taught algebra in the past and really enjoy mathematics, and I'd happily teach in that subject area again".

Honestly it sounds like you are too much of a pleaser and saying yes to everything.....that is NOT what they want. They want you to know your own boundaries and not say yes to EVERYTHING.

 
That was not the correct answer. I'm sorry.

I am a department head and sit on the hiring panel with other school administrators. I kind of see where you appear to be. Don't be defensive, you've asked: you're trying to be everything to everyone. It's poor practice in teacher. Be good at what you're good at and OWN it. If you're a SpEd person, show how you inclusive practices are valuable to them in the K5 group. 

I also don't know this, so this may not apply. The best interviews and most hirable candidates in teaching are those who answer the question directly, succinctly and with an on-point example. Not rambly and diffuse. If we've asked about how you plan, talk about that and ONLY that until asked something else.

If I was asked that question (and I teach 4th grade), I would reply: "My skill set is directed at late elementary students and I have very strong emergent and developing language literacy pedagogy. My greatest asset to the school is in that direction."