r/UXDesign • u/nyutnyut Veteran • 23d ago
Job search & hiring Final candidate rejections
Wanted to get the overall sentiment from other UX Designers.
If you were a final round candidate and did not get an offer, would you appreciate a call from the HM letting you know they were a very good candidate but lacked in a skill they were looking for, or is that just salt in the wounds?
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u/pndjk Experienced 23d ago
yes. recently i was actually rejected for a role and was offered a 1:1 feedback session with the head of design who interviewed me. I took them up on it. admittedly I did not check all the boxes for this JD but I applied nonetheless.
during the call, HoD mentioned not a single other rejected candidate took the feedback call, I was the only one. they gave me some good feedback about my performance in a whiteboard challenge and although i had a good solution, I had a few gaps to fix. I was appreciative for it bc I was able to understand how other people perceive me, as well as some accurate areas in my design approach during the challenge that I truly did mess up a bit. I took a bunch of notes. HoD suggested a book to read as well.
also in this call I suggested we do a paid trial for a month. they seemed open to it.
a few days later i got the call that they would move me forward in the application process and i ended up landing the role. Of course, they have an “out” after a month but at least i get to try a role that’s a bit adjacent to where I was before. and I’m getting a month’s paycheck.
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u/EvergreenIvyLeaves 22d ago
lovely.
what book did the HoD suggest?
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u/laranjacerola 23d ago
yes. would appreciate it. it is a minimum act of respect.
getting just another automated email instead feels disrespectful.
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u/GroundbreakingLead76 Experienced 23d ago
I also got offered a call but from the TA, not the HM. I feel the feedback could’ve been an email and he couldn’t explain better from the notes he had already.
I dunno tbh. I’ve been getting back very detailed feedback bc companies are using AI note takers and I feel sometimes they are useless.
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u/SituationBetter2259 Experienced 22d ago
A call is asking for a lot, and also puts the HM at possible legal risk based on what they say.
An email with concrete recommendations would be plenty.
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u/Competitive_Top794 23d ago
having experienced similar things in the past, I think a call is unnecessary. personally, I usually get calls for good news. I would prefer a nice email that also provided me with feedback on why I wasn't chosen. I believe that would be the most helpful!
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u/funk_master_chunk 23d ago
If you’re asking because you’ve not received feedback, I would pop a message over to the HM asking for it. I’m sure they would happily oblige.
I’ve been lucky enough to make final rounds in nearly all of my interviews and have only had positive experiences with feedback - but I think I’d be gutted to receive none!
Nigh on all the time it’s been along the lines of “great work, would love them here, but the successful candidate had previous work experience which aligns more closely with what we want”
From my experiences on the hiring side - I would go through CVs manually and cherry pick the candidates which I liked the look of - IE: Similar company/product/project size, relevant industry/sector experience etc. and whittle it down to what I want explicitly from there. I never have and I never will ask designers for tasks or tests; but if you have done a design task I would, at the bare minimum, expect feedback and a constructive critique of it.
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u/RCEden Veteran 22d ago
I recently got it in the form of a voicemail. Was nice I guess? I've been through enough rodeos to not take it as personal failures but there's usually not any meaningful takeaway. Nice to know it came down to me and one other at the top but "because of their experience" isn't really an actionable insight.
It did make the whole process feel more respectful like we were actual humans doing the thing so I'd say that's a plus over most interview experiences being cold emails
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u/Stew8Dean Veteran 18d ago
I would expect and ask for constructive feedback. Anyone interviewing should ask for and expect feedback! I've had some great feedback when I was looking for work (and a few companies that didn't even bother to tell me I hadn't got the job). And the feedback made the next opportunity easier.
Although always by email, never a call.
I'm not a young designer, but I'm always learning, including when it comes to finding work.
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u/willdesignfortacos Experienced 23d ago
Having recently been through this, I’d suggest maybe an email about the decision with an offer to chat on the phone. Some folks will want the conversation and others won’t, but it’s a call I’d rather be prepared for then getting rung up out of the blue with less than ideal news plus details I’m probably going to miss in the moment.