[mosqutip]

This always bothers me when I'm interviewing. I've gotten the "better suited candidate" as well as the "lack of experience" and "not right at this time" excuses. How does that help me in any way as a job seeker? I am, in some way, "not right" for the position. How? Too shy, or too forward? Too young or too old? Experienced in the wrong technologies, or not experienced enough in the right ones? Or both?

This just leads to depressing frustration. I want to improve and be the right candidate, but I don't know how and no one will help me figure out how.

Luckily, I have a job now. But God forbid when I have to start the interviewing process again.

[recursive]

The companies you are applying to are not trying to help you as a job seeker. They are interested in satisfying their own requirements.

If companies provided fine-grained feedback on specific deficiencies, it would inevitably create an opening for an argument about those items, which they have no interest or motivation to do.

[jacques_chester]

Job hunting is like online dating. If you get emotional about any one person or job in advance, you will become miserable. Nobody owes you anything and you can be rejected for any reason.

Be smart, be prepared to apply widely, and take the view that rejection is the default case.