Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

The first explanation of what “not a good fit means.”

I apply for a job. I interview face-t0-face with a team of persons. Several days later I receive the form email stating, “sorry, you are not a good fit.”

What does that mean? I have two main explanations. This post will give the first and the next post the second.

The first explanation for “not a good fit” is that a person is not the right

• race
• religion
• gender
• age
• veteran status
• disability status
• culture

Ouch. This is a bit ugly and more than a bit illegal, but hey. You can’t prove anything in court, and since you are unemployed, you can’t afford the legal challenge.

Almost all the above “you can neither inquire nor consider” items are plainly asked on all job applications. Someone requires this information for some reason, and certainly these items are considered.

“Not a good fit?” Too bad for you. That’s a fuzzy answer, and persons hide behind the fuzz with, “we really can’t put it into words, you know. Good luck to you. You have great qualifications and we’re sure you’ll find a job real soon now. Be sure to continue looking on our careers website and…”