Ask HN: Using GDPR to request post-interview feedback | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Using GDPR to request post-interview feedback

4 pointsmaephisto6 comments

Most of the employers do not offer feedback after a candidate is rejected, mainly due to "legal concerns". However, most of them are using recruiting tools to manage the process, including notes on interviews, thus, issuing a GDPR-backed data portability request should get you those notes. Did anybody try this? Did it get you the results you were looking for?

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I don't think notes about you is your personal data. Of course your name and surname is, but interviewer opinion about your experience and behavior is his. If you request information about you they will tell which recruitment tool they used but that's it.

[stupid comment]

You might have a point here. However, there's a couple of articles online that say otherwise: https://www.xperthr.co.uk/faq/do-job-applicants-have-the-rig... https://recruitment.software/gdpr-the-end-of-handwritten-int... https://elliswhittam.com/blog/give-feedback-job-applicants/

It's quite a unclear topic imho, that's why I'm curious if it was tried and wether it worked or not.

Also, quoting friom the GDPR, art. 4

"‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;"

I guess interview notes would fall into this category as well. it's related to a identifiable `data subject` and related to his traits. e.g. "John Smith is bad at math and he hates pencils"

No. Under the GDPR they will tell you that they stored your name and surname (as in sentence "John Smith is bad at math and he hates pencils"). They will not send you the sentence they will just inform you that they used your name in it. If you ask them to remove your personal data then they are obligated to remove your name from that sentence but that's it, the sentence can stay because it doesn't says who hates pencils, it's just says that there is a person that is bad at math and hates pencils. It's like me saying "A white, old guy who was US president sent me a letter", it describes quite a bit but it doesn't identify anybody even thought it narrows the list quite a bit.

That's a bizarre interpretation which isn't compatible with the law as it's written or enforced.

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