Didn't Get the Job? You'll Never Know Why (opens in new tab)

In the UK (or any other country with data protection laws): a Subject Access Request will get you all interview notes and internal emails, the company has no choice in the matter.

There are legal risks involved with sharing anything in the US. As a result, you need a deep personal connection with the recruiter (usually predating the interview) to get any kind of feedback.

The EEOC push has benefits, but the danger is it reduces the efficiency that feedback could provide.

It's worth noting that headhunters can fill this role. Since they're only an intermediary, they frequently can get away with giving direct feedback.

This always bothers me when I'm interviewing. I've gotten the "better suited candidate" as well as the "lack of experience" and "not right at this time" excuses. How does that help me in any way as a job seeker? I am, in some way, "not right" for the position. How? Too shy, or too forward? Too young or too old? Experienced in the wrong technologies, or not experienced enough in the right ones? Or both?

This just leads to depressing frustration. I want to improve and be the right candidate, but I don't know how and no one will help me figure out how.

Luckily, I have a job now. But God forbid when I have to start the interviewing process again.

The hassle of job seeking can actually be a pretty good motivator for entrepreneurship. Why would one want to play the game of crafting CVs, studying for interviews and playing the interview game when all that isn't actually relevant to the work you want to and will be doing? You could be spending that time trying to develop or sell a product you actually do care about and if successful, will see decent return on your investment of time. And it's not like the interview game even matters, when in the end a nephew of the head of another department gets the job, no matter his 2.7/5.0 GPA.