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Comment by sebkomianos | Hacker News Reader

I can speak from the other end of this communication - that of the candidate - and say that I would really appreciate some kind of feedback from the startups that have rejected me so far.

I am actually going to write a blog post about this during the weekend - will pingback!

EDIT: "But somebody who spent a day interviewing with you deserves more than a form letter."

This. Exactly this.

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I agree that a one-day interview deserves some feedback.

I disagree that said feedback is provided during a rejection letter.

I suggest to you as a candidate, to ask for feedback when they ask you if you have any questions for them... At that point, they can say you did well in this area, not so hot in another, etc. But its up to you to ask.

Then ask them! "Hey guys, I'd really appreciate some feedback on how to improve. I won't get defensive and could really use your advice -- please be honest!" This can go a really long way.

That's the actual funny part: They get back to you with the same b*llshit, just using different words.

It's always a good idea to ask for feedback in a thoughtful way, put people at ease, and communicate that they won't have to deal with emotional fallout. When people do that, I always take the time to give good feedback. If people still give you a BS response after that, they're just jerks and you shouldn't be paying attention to their feedback anyway, even if you got it out of them.

You should! Have you gotten any feedback so far? As somebody on the other side of the equation, I really have no data on what most other startups are doing.

I have had quite some interviews for my age[1]; both with startups and with mid-sized companies and the number of them that gave me actual feedback is minimal.

[1] Yes, you could say that I enjoy finding interesting-looking companies and send them my CV even if they are not actively looking for someone.

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