How Dare You - Candidate Feedback

The Way We Work: Tales from The Office - Candidate Feedback

Dear Readers,
(in my OG Carrie Bradshaw voice—not the new one)

As a reminder, I told y’all I had to reimagine this channel into something more meaningful and impactful. Sure, the previous drops were full of info, but honestly? They were a lot of work, and I wasn’t using my creativity and storytelling muscles the way I wanted to—two areas I think we need more of in the workplace. Our stories at work matter.

So, The Way We Work: Tales from the Office was born.

These are fictionalized accounts of real events—things I’ve experienced myself or stories others have shared—reimagined by me so you can get a peek behind the corporate curtain. Or, if you’re already behind it, maybe you’ll see a part of the stage you haven’t looked at before.

I hope you enjoy them, as they marry two gifts I hold close: impactful work and writing.

Below is our second story—timely, given the chaos of hiring right now.

How Dare You

“She needs to be fired.”

Farrah read the sentence and sighed. As the Head of Talent Acquisition, one of her favorite activities was checking the recruiting inbox she set up for her team. It gave candidates a direct line to reach out—and unlike some of her counterparts, she wasn’t afraid of negative feedback… if it was constructive.

This wasn’t that.
The “she” in question? Was her.

She’d already seen the message in her own inbox. Now it had made its way to the team alias. She rubbed her temples.

A few weeks earlier, during the intake meeting for a Content Writer role, Farrah had already bristled at the hiring team’s insistence on a brand-new writing assignment to “test skills.”

Farrah hated unpaid labor, but stayed open.

Least. Favorite. Response.

“Okay,” she said. “Keep it under 30 minutes—something quick for a qualified candidate to complete and easy for you to assess. And let’s rethink this ask going forward.”

They nodded. But she knew they’d forget.
She wouldn’t.

After initial phone screens (Farrah took a few herself), one candidate stood out and moved on to the hiring manager interview. It went well. The candidate was passionate—borderline too passionate, but not a red flag.

“Great convo—let’s send the assignment!” the manager said.

Farrah followed up with the candidate, offering a two-day window to complete it, with clear expectations. The candidate responded enthusiastically.

Assignment sent.

Two days later, the team reviewed the submission when the candidate submitted it.
“It’s horrible,” the hiring manager said.
“Wrong tone, full of typos, just not what we were looking for. Bummer—we liked them.”

Farrah made a mental note: Liking someone is not a hiring strategy. But that was for another day.

She sent the candidate a note:

Farrah always tried to include measurable constructive feedback, even if she had to drag it out of the team.
And 90% of candidates appreciated it.
8% didn’t respond.
2%… responded like this.

The next morning, Farrah nearly spit out her coffee. The candidate had replied:

(It was two paragraphs.)

The rest was a meltdown. What began as frustration spiraled into incoherence.
Farrah thought about responding.

She probably shouldn’t have.
But she did:

That didn’t help. The next message read like someone had sat on a keyboard.

Okay. Stop responding.

The next day?
Same meltdown—now forwarded to the Recruiting inbox.

It was disheartening. But also… clarifying.

This is why the process exists. Continuous alignment for the right person - the most qualified, ready, open, accountable - for the role.

Later in a leadership meeting, Farrah told the story.

But still, she felt a little sad—like she normally did when rejections weren’t really failures.

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