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Steve
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« on: June 28, 2003, 09:45:09 AM » |
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I got to vent about this. I just received a rejection letter from a community college in New York City for an administrative position I applied for. "Thank you applying blah, blah, blah...we selected someone who more closely fits our needs..blah, blah, blah..."
What pisses me off is:
1. The qualifications and duties listed in the announcement were very general.
2. When I tried to get further clarification in the interview they couldn't answer my questions.
Now, I understand there will always be others who possess better qualifications (more experience, more education). I also understand that rejection letters are not easy to write, but I really get tired of this "don't fit needs" crap. If you interviewed 10 people who have the qualifications you asked for, they all met your NEEDS. They would all do a satisfactory job. The one you selected met your WANTS.
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anonym
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« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2003, 11:46:08 AM » |
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The words "qualified"/"not qualified" rarely appear in rejection letters any more because they can be challenged. "Needs" is much more ambiguous, and therefore difficult to challenge. In short, if challenged, a search committee can always manufacture some nonsense about amorphous departmental "needs" rather than have to justify a selection based on more quantifiable -- and thus comparable -- credentials.
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Anon 2
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« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2003, 04:42:52 AM » |
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I guess for me it depends on if I interview at a place. If I just apply then I feel lucky to get a rejection letter at all. If I get an interview I expect a letter, and while it would be nice to get a personalized one, most of the time I understand that the interview committee doesn't have time to give me individualized feedback. A few times (when I have been very close) I've gotten a rejection phone call. While, I appreciate the time and effort that goes into a phone call, I prefer the letter. I'd rather have my hopes quashed in private.
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Rana
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« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2003, 10:42:30 AM » |
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Yeah, I've gotten a number of those. Also annoying are the "fit" letters. Let's see, I'm at an X-type institution, with fields in Y and Z, applying to another X looking for Y and Z. Seems like a pretty good fit to me -- then I get the letter saying that I'm not what they're looking for.
I "prefer" the letters that simply say: "We had a lot of candidates, all of them wonderful, and it was really hard to make a choice. We wish we could have offered you the position, but we have decided to go with another candidate, who has accepted. Best of wishes to you ... blah, blah, blah."
Equally empty, perhaps, but at least you don't feel like a loser for having made the attempt, or wonder if you sent the wrong application to the wrong committee.
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Cat
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« Reply #4 on: July 01, 2003, 06:12:51 AM » |
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Actually, there is no suitable way to gloss over a rejection letter so don't bother. When I was job hunting, the only thing I wanted to hear was an acceptance phone call, period! Any other correspondence was irrelevant, so I wouldn't give those rejection letters another thought. Keep job hunting.
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Maria
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« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2003, 12:00:38 AM » |
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Rejection letters are much more palatable when you have an offer from another place. There's a line in a Roseanne Cash song that goes, "Give her one day of satisfaction for a thousand years of hope."
The worst rejection letter I received gave the "needs" spiel, and then offered a "booby prize": If you want to teach for us, please join the university's adjunct pool. Mind you, the university in question was on the other side of the continent. I was insulted.
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