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5 Reasons Employers Don't Tell Why They Didn't Hire You

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Nancy & Theresa - if there is such a law, it would be a state law that is specific to where you reside. There is no federal law saying that you have to be told why, or even saying the company has to give you notification. It is not uncommon (although a horrible practice) for companies to just NOT contact rejected candidates after an interview.
Now I only know the policies in the states I've hired for, but I also know some states, or even cities, can have specific requirements for businesses, so you'd be better off contacting a local employment lawyer.

Stells of TX 5:22PM April 30, 2012

Can somebody answer Nancy of PA's question please? She asked "Someone told me it was a law that the company has to tell you why you didn't get the job. Is this true?"
I also would like to know, and where does the law say this?

theresa of NV 2:28AM December 07, 2011

Someone told me it was a law that the company has to tell you why you didn't get the job. Is this true?

Nancy of PA 5:01PM November 10, 2011

I know all about flimsy lawsuits. But the fact is that if a potential employer were to say 'you were lacking in this area' that gives the person no more ammunition than they would have had had the employer said nothing.
If a person were to try to misconstrue what was said into a lawsuit..well.. the fact is these lawsuits are thrown out. Like many aspects of society, things get blown way out of proportion.
There are protected classes (age, gender, etc) and there are things that are not protected.
how far do we take the fear of being sued? not give people directions? don't even talk to them?
it is a sad reflection on our society, and dare I say it... pretty gutless.
can anybody tell me of just one instance in the country where somebody sued successfully where they were given a reason for not being hired that had nothing to do with a protected class?

John of PA 9:54AM June 23, 2011

It is a tough situation when we see deficiencies in external candidates that were factors in them not being selected and then not providing them constructive feedback for the reasons so well-stated by Alison.
For internal candidates, HR professionals owe it to them to counsel them on areas that they need to work on. Thus, we provide needed guidance to employees to work on their development; it is a service that we need to provide to them.

Jim Watson of MI 10:04AM May 30, 2010

It is true and for #5 there are those selective few who will share with you why they didn't select you. It comes down to they know what they are looking for and go based on what others opinions of who the candidate will be interacting with. If that person doesn't like, say goodbye to the position.

vh of NY 3:11PM May 26, 2010

....and they only had one opening.
That's often the truth, in a nutshell.
Don't sweat it.

Employed of IL 4:10PM May 24, 2010

Thank you for writing this, Alison! I've been on both sides of the desk and I know that when I was a hiring manager, there were candidates where "awkward" was certainly the issue.

Ed of NJ 2:28PM May 24, 2010

I've noticed a trend lately of companies (including the one I work for) using those exact reasons for not telling someone why they are being "laid off." Eliminating a person's position seems to be the popular way to get rid of a problem employee without dealing with the fall out described in your article.
I know this is not a new strategy, I used this in a reduction in force to eliminate people that should have been terminated for the examples given in #3 over 10 years ago at another company.
The worst is #2 - debating the decision.

Donlyn Jones of TN 2:12PM May 24, 2010