Recruiters and hiring managers don’t really explain why I didn’t get the job. Why won’t they tell me, and how can I correct my mistakes if they don’t?

The short answer on this one is… lawyers. Because there are so many laws these days that can come back and bite hiring managers, the general rule of thumb to keep everyone safe from litigation is to give all candidates the same generic ‘thanks but no thanks’ rejection letter. Most companies expressly forbid providing any reasons for declining a candidate, because of fear of litigation. Most recruiters follow that rule as well. With that said, if you have developed a working relationship with a recruiter and she is going to be presenting you for future roles, she will undoubtedly coach you on how to improve your interview skills. Role playing can be a tremendous help in preparing for an interview.

Remember that even Oscar winning actors rehearse!

Hiring is a very subjective thing, and hiring managers make decisions based on all kinds of criteria. A candidate may remind them of their ex-wife’s new husband, or in some cases, even their current wife! The  point is, you just never know.

The candidate may have bombed the personality assessment and while it is illegal to base a hiring decision based strictly on that, many hiring managers place a tremendous amount of weight on those, but cannot say that is the reason. The competition may be intense with the hiring manager blessed with 5 incredible candidates, all highly skilled. Or the company may be dying to break into a highly coveted new client and a candidate has an existing relationship with a key decision maker within that company. You can literally drive yourself crazy trying to determine what went wrong.

Source - Read More at: www.execunet.com