Not hearing back

[Tybee]

The recent thread about reposting of jobs made me think of my experiences over the past several years. Someone said it was rude of an employer not to tell someone they did not get a job, but in my experience, this has been the norm for the past 10 years or so, much worse in last 5 years. At least half the time, no acknowledgment of any kind, even after an interview.
I was taking it personally, but my 36 year old son told me this was the new norm.

[Lainey]

I agree, Tybee. Years ago I ran into someone who had applied for a job where I was working. She never heard back after the interview, so I had to break the news to her that the job was filled. I didn't like being put in that position so I complained to our HR person that it was unprofessional (not to mention lazy, although I didn't say that) to not notify the final candidates of the outcome.
Never found out if they changed their practices, but there's even less excuse these days because a personal email would take only a few second to send.

[Float On]

Do we still send follow-ups thanking for the opportunity to interview?
I do. It actually once lead to an employer calling me to come back in and re-interview when the person they hired turned out to be a flake.

[Lainey]

Do we still send follow-ups thanking for the opportunity to interview?
I do. It actually once lead to an employer calling me to come back in and re-interview when the person they hired turned out to be a flake.

I don't think it would be a dealbreaker if you didn't send one, but yes, I think it's still good manners and also reinforces that you really want the position.

[Tybee]

Yes, Float, always have done so, and this does not seem to make the slightest bit of difference. I think it is because of the shift to computer handling of the job search.

[Tammy]

At my large hospital (~3500 employees) we contact every single interviewee with an answer on way or another. I can’t imagine just not giving them an answer.

Once in a while I get a thank you note after an interview - it’s quite unusual.

[ApatheticNoMore]

For one thing most jobs are going through a recruiter for me so if I heard a no it would be through a recruiter generally, the one that wasn't I got a no from the company. So do recruiters get back to you, oh maybe 60-70% of the time, you can always follow up.

Writing a thank you note is good but you have to be very on the ball and ask for business cards at the end of the interview so you have this contact info etc. (and if it's just a phone interview that doesn't apply obviously), so it's easy to forget. Of course there was one interview where they said they would take a month to hire or something so I asked if I thought my chances were good and got "I wouldn't say good ..." and this was an interview where they also picked apart my resume "I see you don't have this and that". Well gee thanks, you could just not hire me without picking me apart you know. No thank you for you.

[rosarugosa]

At my former employer it was considered absolutely rude and inappropriate not to notify an internal candidate. All candidates were supposed to get some type of canned communication, but it was a major faux pas not to notify an internal candidate, and hiring manager or recruiter was also expected to provide some useful feedback if asked.

[SteveinMN]

Of course there was one interview where they said they would take a month to hire or something so I asked if I thought my chances were good and got "I wouldn't say good ..." and this was an interview where they also picked apart my resume "I see you don't have this and that". Well gee thanks, you could just not hire me without picking me apart you know. No thank you for you.

Then there are the folks who want to know why they didn't get the position -- understandable, but a difficult question for those involved to answer on the spot. I think I'd rather know why I didn't get the job (or wasn't a frontrunner) whether it was because I lacked the experience they sought or that information simply wasn't prominent on my resume.

[iris lilies]

Then there are the folks who want to know why they didn't get the position -- understandable, but a difficult question for those involved to answer on the spot. I think I'd rather know why I didn't get the job (or wasn't a frontrunner) whether it was because I lacked the experience they sought or that information simply wasn't prominent on my resume.

or what if they think you are a dweeb? How does the hiring manager communicate that?!!! Haha. We all probably fear that, but most of the time rejections come from there being a better candidate in terms of experience and personal qualities.