[wkimeria]

Have you tried contacting them to ask? Some companies are open to it. A couple of years ago I interviewed with a number of companies. Two companies I really liked rejected me after a full round of interviews.

It hurt, but I decided to try something. I sent an email with something along the lines of "I am disappointed that you decided to pass on me, but I respect your decision. I know this is a big ask, but I'd really like some feedback on how I can be better at what I do".

Surprisingly, both companies agreed to meet with me again (via Zoom), and the feedback sessions were about 1/2 hour each. I just sat back and listened (and at the end, thanked them again for their time). In one case, it was with the hiring manager, in the other it was with the recruiter. What I learned was very valuable, and these two companies are definitely on my list to work with again. With one company, what sank me was that they felt I did not have the technical depth for the role (and I was impressed with how detailed their feedback was). With the second company, they felt that I did not have leadership experience of the breadth that they needed.

Now, granted, it is pretty rare for companies to invest time in a candidate that they have already rejected (unless they figure this is someone they would love to recruit in the future when they had more experience or for a slightly different role), but it is possible if you send an email thanking them for the opportunity and phrase the request for feedback as a growth opportunity for you that they might be open to it.

Also, I know that some people state that companies do not do this for legal reasons but truth be told, unless the company is rejecting you for an illegal reason, this is a non-issue. It is more an issue of how much bandwidth the company is willing to spare.

[isbvhodnvemrwvn]

There were two things in your post that I'd like to highlight:

- they decided to have this session, but via a call, not e-mail - it's psychologically safer this way for the hiring manager who might be doing that against company guidelines

- you passively listened to the feedback - that's the way, DO NOT try to argue - it's extremely unlikely to benefit anyone

[wkimeria]

Oh yes. Absolutely. Sit and listen to the feedback. If you do not agree with it, DO NOT ARGUE!! (for context, I agreed with 80% of the feedback. The 20% I did not agree with, I did not argue, just made a mental note to be better at explaining myself in the future).

[wkimeria]

I also left out one piece of info. I am pretty senior (Staff Engineer), so it is possible that companies are willing to invest that level of effort for more senior engineering roles and less for more junior roles.

Also, being rejected sucks (I've been in the field 25+ years, I have been rejected by a lot of companies), but contextualizing it as "I was not right for the role" rather than "I suck" (which used to be my go to), has been hugely helpful.