Requesting interview notes

BigPhil

I had an unsuccessful interview last week and I was wondering if I would be legally entitled to request a copy of the interview notes from the company that I interviewed with? As far as I know they have to keep a copy of your record and interview notes for a period of 6 months but I am not 100% sure about that.

Btw they did send me a rejection letter giving the usual 'we found a more suitable candidate' line but I would rather know exactly where I fell down instead of ringing the company and listening to some rehearsed HR excuse.

BC

I'm not aware of any requirement to hold the notes for 6 months.

If the employer was covered by the Freedom of Information act (http://www.foi.gov.ie/bodies-covered-by-foi/) then you may be entitled to the interview notes. Otherwise I assume its at the discretion of the employer.

BigPhil

I wasn't sure if it applied over here but I think they have something like that over in the UK under the data protection code.

It was a long shot anyway, companies would never leave themselves open for potential discrimination cases by sending people interview notes........and even if they did they would most likely be an edited version.

Nody

Data protection act on written information the company has on file of you. Having said that the notes will not show where you failed but rather what you answered, the actual reason for not choosing you would not be written down on a piece of paper in most companies. That is something the interview mentions to HR verbally and hand over the notes saying what your answers where to the questions.

Serafijn

Have you tried emailing or calling the recruiter to ask for feedback?

I feel it's a bit drastic to demand the interview notes when in fairness they probably did just find a better candidate. Either that or their recruitment budget got cut along with most other companies around here at the moment!

snellers

not 100% sure of Irish law but you definately can request the interview notes - Nody you may be surprised what gets written down during interviews - employers are expected to retain comprehensive notes of all applicants -

The Hill Billy

You'd be better off lifting the phone & asking for feedback. The interview notes - if they haven't gone into the bin by this stage - could well be of no use & just contain doodles or references to your responses.

I don't know if you are "legally entitled" to them, but if you do start banging on about your legal entitlements just to get some feedback, as sure as shít stinks you'll never get a job there in the future.

How Strange

There is a legal onus on all employers to keep notes about interviews. The notes usually only mention what replies the candidate gave to questions he/she was asked. A candidate is entitled to have a copy of these notes but I would say they won't reveal why you didn't get the job.

Why do you want the notes? Do you feel you were discriminated against or treated unfairly? If it's just a case that you're smarting because they didn't pick you then I'd say you're way OTT by asking for notes.

Ring HR and discuss it with them. As for feedback on how you performed at your interview.

BigPhil

Well I didn't mention this for a reason because I don't want to make a big deal about it (or make it the main focal point for peoples responses) but I have a stutter and after going through a dozen or so interviews in the last while and never getting anywhere in them I just wanted to see what people really though of my speech and if it really swayed their decisions. At this last interview I was actually very confident and my speech was actually very good so I was pleased how it all went so I was actually quite surprised at the rejection because IMHO I was perfect for the role (it was an entry level IT role with lots of shift work so it wouldn't have been the most popular job out there).

Anyway, I have called HR in other companies for feedback and it is honestly like talking to a robot programmed with a bunch of clichéd answers because after all they would never openly admit to discrimination (btw I am not saying that I have ever been discriminated against I am just saying that it sometimes happens). I just though if I could shovel through the proverbial bullsh*t, so to speak, and see the actual interview notes for myself to actually see peoples reactions for myself (if there were any?) so I could maybe say/do something different for other interviews in the future. I don't think there would be any harm in that would there?

herya

Most likely you wouldn't find the kind of information you're looking for in these notes. Notes are basically a record of of the questions and what you have said at the interview. They are used to resolve disputes if any arise. They don't have to contain any comments they may have about you, to include such comments would be to expose themselves to the risk of various problems if the notes were seen by somebody else. Even if they found your stutter a problem it would never be put in the notes. Why to risk a discrimination lawsuit?

BigPhil

You are probably right, it was always a long shot and I never wanted to see the notes to use them as evidence in a lawsuit or anything like that, I just wanted to see what the interviewers thought about me because all three of them on the panel were furiously writing down notes and maybe because I found it alittle distracting I was quite curious to see what they had written.

I guess after alot of rejection I finally though I had nailed it just to denied again. Ah well, I guess everything happens for a reason so I'm sure there will be better and brighter opportunities for me in the future.

herya

BigPhil wrote: »

I just wanted to see what the interviewers thought about me because all three of them on the panel were furiously writing down notes and maybe because I found it alittle distracting I was quite curious to see what they had written.

Ah but it's only human, who wouldn't like to see notes taken concerning them

If you'd like to get some serious feedback you may want to pay closer attention to HR people you meet applying for jobs, some of them may be more approachable than others and even if they don't take you they may be able to talk to you later and give you some useful feedback/tips.

Serafijn

I feel your pain here. Job hunting can be a soul-destroying process. I remember a while ago before I'd really decided what I wanted to do, I was in a job I hated and desperate to get something better - anything at all!

Every interview I went to was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and then when the recruiter called me to say 'sorry we went with someone more exerienced' it was back to square one.

It just happens that way sometimes. Turns out when I did finally get another job it was great and really kick-started my career, so was worth the wait in the end!

There's no real way of knowing why you didn't gt a particular job but I doubt that your stutter came into it. And if it did then it wouldn't be written down anywhere (HR are careful about these things) and you probably wouldn't want to work there anyway.

Just stick with it, keep your chin up and you'll find that elusive perfect job sooner or later!

Good luck

The Hill Billy

How Strange wrote: »

There is a legal onus on all employers to keep notes about interviews.

What piece of legislation demands that employers must keep interview notes? I've conducted dozens of interviews over the years for clients (including some large corporates with very specific HR processes to follow) & not once have I ever been asked by their HR function to retain any notes from an interview.