A friend recently told me about a candidate who was interviewing for a role in his department.

The interview loop (or round of conversations) included four members of his team and himself.

After the first interviewer was done and had passed the candidate on to the next person, he told my friend that the candidate was not qualified and wouldn’t work out.

Hearing this, my friend pulled the candidate aside, had a brief chat to confirm what he had heard, and told the candidate he was cutting the loop short because it wasn’t going to be a good fit.

His team, and many coworkers, couldn’t believe he did this. They thought it was rude and impolite. They were concerned at the impression that was left and if the candidate’s feelings were hurt.

I disagree.

Having been a candidate myself, I’d much rather know as soon as the interviewing team does that it’s not going to work out. I don’t need to go through four hours of interviewing when they knew after 15 minutes that it wasn’t happening.

And further, if I could get cut off short and told why it wasn’t a good fit, that information is gold.

Too many job interviewers are reluctant, or flat out refuse, to tell a candidate why they’re not being hired. But as a candidate, I want to know so I can improve my presentation and approach for the next interviews. Also, that information may help inform the types of jobs I seek.

Our culture continues to move toward feelings at the expense of logic. And while we end up making ourselves feel better, it usually ends as a disservice to the person we’re trying to prevent from having hurt feelings.