Feedback Lost — Job Search
A Concise Case Study of a Binary Outcome System
Every human interaction creates some level of feedback by default. But many interactions, even today, remain essentially binary. When feedback is limited to a single binary outcome, systems under perform and fail to evolve.
In a society where freedom and free markets have come to dominate most aspects of life, examples of binary systems are not very common. Their lack of growth or evolution leave them fossilized processes.
Fortunately, at least for our purposes today, fossilized processes remain in many pockets of our world. These processes most often involve outcomes that are considered rewards in themselves. As a result, the need for feedback is often overlooked.
As you read this article, think about your own products and services. Have you designed binary systems? Do you even know what one looks like? Well here is a great example to learn from:
Applying for a Job
The binary nature of this feedback system is not lost on the average college graduate or recently unemployed worker. The average employer, however, is getting all the feedback they need. Perhaps this is how it should be? After all, applying is free and employment is lucrative.
The laws of feedback… don’t actually exist as a branded term outside of physics. But if they did, or if they soon will :), they would tell us that systems that offer only binary feedback to one party are slow and inefficient. That these systems will quickly be replaced should a more balanced system arrive.
Job Postings
In days gone by, job postings were a fairly binary feedback system as well. Companies listed opening in the local paper, in store windows, and on electronic bulletin boards up until the last decade or two. This process either attracted applications, or it didn’t.
The internet and even some of those early bulletin boards brought the technology to fix things. The combination of employer’s interests, employer’s money, and available technology meant that the change was nearly instantaneous. Job listings were among the first things to hit the internet, definitely beating pornography… although possibly tied with prostitution.
Today we have Monster, Dice, Indeed, CareerBuilder, and GlassDoor just to name a few. Each platform competed to have more listings, better search, but also better streams of feedback. This is true for both those who post and those who apply.
Resumes
The preferred format of job applicants since the days of Da Vinci, resumes are another prime example of what can happen when technology finds a better way. Today, LinkedIN has supplanted resumes in many ways, specifically because of feedback. I have written at length on this topic before, so click on the link if you want a deeper dive.
LinkedIN is only a step in the right direction for resumes. New technology and new services will likely continue to displace the doc and pdf formats that are popular today. The cloud may deliver hosted resumes that could collect feedback for candidates. The cellphone may provide a suitable platform for both sharing and collecting feedback. Or perhaps secondary services like this will allow candidates to solicit feedback outside of the actual application process. What ever comes, it will need to provide the highest feedback for the lowest price.
Interviews
Let’s face it, interviews shouldn’t be binary, but they most often are. Either they hire you or they don’t. If you use a headhunter, you may get some feedback-indirect and twice removed. If you meet with a hiring manager or HR leader who actually cares and doesn’t fear HR violations or legal reprisal, you might even get some useful feedback. But probably not…
The fact is, honest feedback is hard to come by. Employers have little incentive to provide it and, given our ever litigious society, more and more reason not to. Worse yet, technology is not going to fix this, at least not very soon. One can imagine a candidate with Google Glass or an iPhone app that attempts to interpret visual and auditory feedback from the interviewer… but then convoluted feedback is worse than none at all.
Secondary services are the most likely answer. Colleges, employment services, and other organizations have been attempting to fill this gap for years. The results are mixed at best. Cost and time are critical elements, but relevance is possibly the most. Feedback from a college professor will not be the same as a typical hiring manager and feedback from free services is rarely personalized because the incentives and feedback are just not aligned.
More on alignment in a future post. For now, do your best to avoid creating binary feedback systems. If you find that you are already in possession of one, consider employing cost effective technology to address the issue.
Thanks for reading! If you looking for a cost effective service to provide you with better feedback around your interviewing skills, check out our partner Corsairs.Technology.
Feedback Lost is a ongoing series provided by Corsair’s Publishing. We seek to provide engaging content that is both thought provoking and entertaining. Other articles on related topics can be found within our other Medium publications.
