Ever get this vague feedback? – "Your approach was not what we were looking for"

[Faux_Real]

I just had a Jedi mind trick kind of moment, with this really vague and confusing feedback from a recruiter for an open web designer position. I had a technical test to convert a PSD into HTML, making it as pixel perfect as possible. But have any of you fellow devs or designers ever gotten feedback like this?

“We thought that your attention to detail was fantastic, but your approach with HTML (coding) was not what we were hoping to see”.

I’ve already replied back to the recruiter for more details, but I’m not holding out hope to get a reply.

For some background, the only requirements were to make it Safari or Chrome compatible on OSX, and pixel perfect. An example of the result is here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/157221806/tech-test-Intercom/index.html

Have you ever gotten feedback like this before? I’m really bewildered by it, and of course there’s 100’s of approaches to take on converting PSD to HTML. (I did an initializr boilerplate, HTML5 tags, and CSS3 effects).

Is this “your approach was not was we were hoping for” a new feedback term floating around? Have you encountered it? And what does it mean? I’m always looking to improve my skills, and just don’t know what to do with such vague feedback.

[chrisburton]

Keep in mind that some companies “attempt” to hire people and give them a skill test. That skill test is actually a scam to get developers to code up designs for free. I’ve seen it quite a few times where people have complained about it on Twitter. When I had to do one for an agency I made sure it was one in which I could pick and had no affiliation with them.

[nixnerd]

Damn @chrisburton… that’s so grimy that anyone would do that. How do these people sleep at night?

@Faux_Real… I’d be hesitant to do any of these anymore.

[chrisburton]

How do these people sleep at night? – @Joe_Temp

Very easily because they don’t have to do the work. Just scam and get paid.

[nixnerd]

That’s so jacked up. I guess I’m on a different code of ethics than these people. I prefer to you know… actually work. And actually have a sense of achievement.

Why don’t these selfish a-holes just go straight to @Faux_Real’s house and take food out of his fridge? I mean… that’s what they just did. It’s infuriating.

[Faux_Real]

I understand where @chrisburton is coming from. I want to believe this company is not doing a scam because we were progressing along the interview process. Good points about picking tests with no affiliation, will definitely keep that in mind for the future. Any tips to search for companies that give these fake “tests” on Twitter or other places? I personally do background searches for companies on Glassdoor for employee ratings, salary and interview experiences.

@Joe_Temp – I’ve encountered this grimy practice in many other places, and always try to weed them out. Some big offenders I keep seeing include logo and branding contests, style “tests” to see if you’d be a fit, and “how would you improve this site and send us the code”.

Great feedback guys! I’m eager to hear if other have more feedback on that vague phrase about the “approach not being what we’re looking for” too.

[chrisburton]

I’ve witnessed it on Twitter a few years ago. You might be able to come up with something with a google search.

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