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Challenging recruitment decisions

Andre
I wanted to ask that if as a candidate I either do not have full professional confidence in the person(s) making the decision, felt they let unnecessary personal / subjective factors influence their choice of candidate, or simply feel that they got it wrong, in terms I was the strongest candidate and they took the wrong or a weaker person etc. 
Although this can be a professionally sensitive and often a potentially embarrassing area for discussion, and I also recognise that legally, no one can force an organisation to take them (unless there is evidence of open discrimination which in case would be settled at an employment tribunal):
* Is it professionally and ethically  considered the right or moral thing to do to, to challenge the judgement of an interviewer(s) and ask to take the matter higher up to their superiors to either review their decision or offer me the opportunity of a second interview with a different person(s)? 
* Is it normally the case that once a company have decided that they do not wish to employ you (for whatever reasons), it is usually very difficult to try and get them to reverse that decision or have a change of mind? 
Answers I have received in the past in relation to this are:
 
Hi Andre,

To answer both of your questions:

1. There is no benefit in challenging the judgment of an interviewer and taking your case to their superior. Remember: you are the outsider in an interview situation. Companies will stand behind their employees' decision. And you will appear to be a troublemaker who will make their lives difficult should they hire you. 
2. Once they have decided not to hire you, it is impossible to get them to change their mind. The best you could hope for is that you get a call back, based on someone else not taking the position you applied for. In that case, you would be called back because they saw something they liked. Complaining about the process will not make you someone they like.

It's tough, but you have your take your knocks and move on to the next opportunity, hopefully having learned from each interview. And it's important to always remain courteous, not matter how you feel you have been treated because, as I say, you never know when someone else might turn down a job and it is then offered to the next preferred person in the queue.

Hope this helps. 
What are all thoughts on the matter, bearing in mind that we all have monthly outgoings to cover so if one does not get a job, it always has certain consequences and a knock on effect? 
Parents
  • Hi Andre

    Can I share an experience with you that may or may not resonate?

    We interviewed a candidate. On paper they were fab, first impression - fabber, first 10 mins of the interview - even more fabber. Great skill, clearly competent - all fine, I was getting a bit excited about this one.

    Then, they take out a notepad - fine, I like this to be honest. I then notice 4-5 pages filled with questions, with spaces underneath them - hmm.........

    What came next was THE grilling of a lifetime (and I've led an audit by PWC and KPMG one after the other). Me and the hiring manager were inundated with question after question, some very long, more like philosophical questions. It all got a bit 'oppressive' for want of a better word and quite intense/heavy/deep, especially as we had to wait to continue as they wrote our answers down. We rejected them as we felt it would be like throwing a grenade into a fairly relaxed team. As it happens I did get an email from them suggesting we'd made a mistake, which made us even more certain we'd done the right thing.

    I mention this as I notice you posted a lot of questions recently that I have found so interesting to read on the Community and they have been really thought provoking as they have been quite deep IMO, but if you lean towards that technique in interviews that could be a potential reason. I do like it when a candidate turns the tables but too much and it can be a bit off putting.
  • in reply to Samantha

    Hi Samantha,

    I believe that a candidate has every right to 'question' an employment decision. However, you are unlikely to get them to 'change their mind.' Rather you may end up being classified as a 'troublemaker' if you ask in the wrong way. I believe it is beneficial to ask the interviewer what was missing or what you could do better in future interviews.

    It is normally very difficult to get a potential employer to change their mind. However, if your post interview question/s to them reveal an area in which they desire expertise that you have but have not made evident, then there is a chance that they may invite you to discuss these points, and put you back into the mix.

    Any thoughts as its all about trying to get into the labour market or if your personality did not fit with theirs on the day?

    Andre.

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  • in reply to Samantha

    Hi Samantha,

    I believe that a candidate has every right to 'question' an employment decision. However, you are unlikely to get them to 'change their mind.' Rather you may end up being classified as a 'troublemaker' if you ask in the wrong way. I believe it is beneficial to ask the interviewer what was missing or what you could do better in future interviews.

    It is normally very difficult to get a potential employer to change their mind. However, if your post interview question/s to them reveal an area in which they desire expertise that you have but have not made evident, then there is a chance that they may invite you to discuss these points, and put you back into the mix.

    Any thoughts as its all about trying to get into the labour market or if your personality did not fit with theirs on the day?

    Andre.

Children
  • in reply to Andre
    Oh I do agree asking for feedback or providing a bit more info after the interview can be beneficial, but if you're getting a rejection email its highly likely they have already offered someone else so I'd say the chances of them changing their mind are slim to less than none.

    Obviously it depends on how competent the interviewer is, but for me if someone hasn't made their skills that we desire evident, that are essential to the role and they'd know this having seen the advert/heard what we want/researched our business to know they might have that special something extra that we'd not considered, then it wasn't a very good interview, so the answer would still be no. But I'd certainly feed that back to the candidate, to go into depth a bit more re: their skills.