I don’t wait for job interview rejection letters anymore
I can’t tell you how many resumes I receive for my open social media intern position that have zero social media or copywriting experience on them. And though I’ve made it a point to write thoughtful, encouraging rejection messages to these people — because 65% of candidates never receive a response to their application, according to CareerArc, and that’s pretty crappy— I have to wonder how thoughtful these people were in applying for this role. Do they honestly think they’d be a good match for this position? Do they aspire to learn these skills, really?
Based on my relatively small sample size of data, from my experience recruiting roles at various companies where I’ve worked, about 75% of people who apply for roles don’t fit at all. And according to this Little Grey Book of Recruiting Benchmarks from last year, 52% of people who apply for roles are under-qualified.
The Little Grey Book also says companies (with 100 employees or fewer) evaluate an average of 94 candidates per job opening. That tells me there are about 48 people sitting and wistfully hoping the recruiter will magically contact them, even though they don’t quite measure up to what the job requires.
That’s not realistic, and I’d bet most recruiters sit on the other end of this, jaded, prepared to send that generic rejection message, if any at all.
I recently went on a second interview for a media company, in New York City, that provides paid search and a host of other marketing services to big-name clients. I was initially contacted by the company’s recruiter — I didn’t even fully apply for this role. I began an application through the Taleo system, and once it parsed my resume into unintelligible characters all in the same box, I exited out of the window. A company with such a poor digital application UX probably doesn’t share my values, I surmised.
The recruiter emailed me saying she received my app, regardless. I went through the initial phone screening, using it as a practice interview, because I’ve been out of the job hunt game for some time. To my surprise, the recruiter got back to me two weeks later saying one of the teams wanted an in-person interview and they’d be able to meet the high salary requirement I threw at them for funzies.
This interview went great. The gentlemen I interviewed with did the one thing I rarely see interviewers or recruiters do — set the candidate up for success through asking storytelling questions like, “How did you accomplish x?” or “What insights have you found working with y?” rather than quizzing or interrogating. In this case, the interviewer shows the candidate they already buy in to what their resume says, and believe in that candidate. There’s no proving to be done in an environment of skepticism, and here the candidate can relax and truly be their honest and best self. The stories should reveal accurate capabilities and job fit, I believe.
Considering how well that interview went, I was sure I’d hear back with good news.
I got another email saying they’ve referred me to another team they think I’d be a good fit for. Still in paid search (the focus of my next career, I hope.) So I went in with my head held high, thinking if I got the chance to talk about all the super sweet audience development things I was working on, they’d like me just as much as the other guys.
Then came the quiz questions, and honestly, I’m not as great with on-the-spot answers when they involve situations I’ve never had personal experience with. But I’m a researcher and natural problem-solver, I told them, and if I had the chance to look, I’d find the answer. Here’s the problem with people looking for exact match experience: they fail to look at potential, agility, transferrable skills and culture fit. And those things go much further than exact-match tactical skills. You can train those. But you can’t train someone to be reliable, adaptable, resourceful or a fast learner.
As I walked out of the office, my heart sank. I knew I wasn’t the best fit.
They seemed to want someone with all the answers. I don’t have all the answers and I’m not going to lie and pretend like I do. I’m still learning — I always will be. And at this point, the thing standing in my way of being a good fit for this role is hard core volume of experience in this particular type of environment with the same goals.
Then I did something I’m pretty sure rarely happens. I wrote the recruiter after the interview and shared my honest thoughts. I told her I really like the company, but based on the questions they asked during the interview, I don’t have the exact experience in the volume that team is looking for. I told her my gut feeling says I’d be better suited for another team or role and asked her to share her thoughts.
I didn’t want to be a part of that group of 48, wistfully waiting to hear back, even though my chances of hearing back with a favorable answer might have been a tad higher, had they considered me teachable.
Truth is, regardless of any case I make for myself, bad fit is bad fit. It’s like the dating world. If the person doesn’t like you, they just don’t like you. And you know what? I don’t want to date someone who doesn’t like me or try to convince them otherwise.
So, I thought I’d take my “fate” out of the hands of the team and the recruiter — or at least weigh in.
There seems to be a cultural tendency for job seekers to put themselves at the mercy of someone else’s answer or response. We’re always waiting on someone else to decide “Do you like me still?” “Am I good enough, smart enough, valuable enough?” I’d like to ask those job seekers what they think about themselves. Look at the role and put yourself in the team’s shoes. What do you have to offer? Does what you have to offer match. If it’s a soft maybe due to limited information, request a phone chat to learn more.
This is my call to empower job seekers to consider if the role is a good fit for them, equally, as they consider whether they’re a good fit for the role. When we’re busy trying to live up to someone else’s needs, we often fail to ask if that person meets our needs. Sometimes, that means you need not be afraid to respectfully bow out when you notice red flags on your end, instead of waiting for acceptance or validation.
That’s the thing about fit. It’s not inherently good or bad — it’s all about match. If you’re not a good match for something, you will be for something else. Rather than wasting your time chasing bad matches, focus on the good ones. Be honest with yourself and your needs as an employee, otherwise you’ll end up in a nightmare of a role you’ll probably be looking to leave in a couple months.
