I spent the better part of the last two months interviewing for this role at Handshake—consisting of six interviews with multiple team members up and down the org. The result? Completely ghosted without any sort of follow-up or feedback, and the cherry on top, the audacity to ask me for my feedback on their process.
For a company whose mission it is to democratize opportunity for students and early-career professionals, the lack of professionalism in the candidate experience is pretty ironic.
The company has an outwardly noble mission and positions itself as a champion for inclusivity and fairness. The team I spoke with were all knowledgable, engaging, and dedicated to the mission and definitely represented the values and Handshake well, however the overall treatment as a candidate ultimately reflects none of these values.
After dedicating significant time and effort to the process—researching, preparing, and engaging thoughtfully with the interviewers—it is disappointing to be met with silence. That disappointment which turned into disrespect when I received an email from Handshake asking for feedback on the candidate experience, the reasons they state as keeping in line with their values of “ask questions” and “inspired by high standards” A simple email or acknowledgment would have gone a long way in demonstrating respect for my time and commitment.
