Is culture fit just a legal loophole for biased hiring practices? Getting rejected for culture fit after a 5-minute conversation is basically just a polite way of saying we didn't like your face. I answered every technical question perfectly and had great rapport with the team, but the hiring manager decided I wasn't a fit.

likesmart
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It certainly is a kind of corporate speak for "someone didn't like you", which can be any number of reasons, unfortunately. Some managers might be racist, sexist, ageist, some don't like hiring ppl they perceive as a threat - smarter then themselves, more polished then themselves, etc. It's impossible to know, which is why so many corp HR ppl love to use the language. Sorry you had this experience.

likesmart

Dell Technologies-
Talk about AGE Descrimination. All people that were over 30/40 were let go or forced out.
Michael Dell gave a direct order to only recruit from College’s. I was a return employe, that slipped through the cracks.
I mentioned feeling a little age discrimination to my lead. She panicked and brought it to the site manager.

She pulled the site manager, (@&$:!) myself and the head of human resource, to discus this.
I thought I was getting fired for this. They all teamed up on me.
The site manager contradicted himself and said, “I’m fifty and couldn’t keep up with these young guys”
Stuck his foot in his mouth.
I walked out of a great job because of the site manager.
My previous manager and I had a call after the fact.
He was one that gave his all to Dell for over 20 yrs.
I was told they have had several lawsuits for age descrimination.

Dell lost an excellent employee with years of experience and a natural ability to do the job at a much higher level than his straight out of college recruits .

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Just like attitudes shape behavior, behavior shapes attitudes! Look no further than the manifestation of the behavior explicitly discriminatory with affirmative action. Culture as defined by the hiring agent was an excuse. Explore further perhaps other factors contribute such as earning online college credit or certification. degree.
Only 60 % of hiring agents consider online degrees! And with the advent of AI it will be worse!

likefunny

Didn’t like the face? Are you or interviewers were south asian?

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Short answer, yes. As Dentsu pointed out it's a broad term they can use for any number of reasons. I've gotten the "not the right cultural fit" rejection numerous times, and of course they never elaborate on it. In my case I suspect it's my age (55), but who knows maybe I wasn't woke enough or something. Even if you interviewed 6 different people for a role it only takes 1 or 2 of them to kill your chances. Not much you can do about it.

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Honestly yeah I think it’s a way to be ageist or ableist, gender discriminate etc etc.

likesmart

Completely agree with this! Dell Technologies is so full of Age Discrimination.

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The short answer: YES ABSOLUTELY! Is their easy way to reject the candidate, and they won’t tell you what that is because of the legal ramifications. There are many biases, to be honest is their lost. You don’t want to land at a place that doesn’t value you and what you bring.
Keep your head up and keep doing what you’re doing, the right opportunity will come, stay positive!!!

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I have decades of knowledge, I also have gray hair and a long beard. Im old to! In the last 6 months I've seen more discrimination in hiring than I've seen in 30 yrs. They always want to go in another direction or are looking for a manager now and not a tech. Didn't mention that in the interview. The big issue is money. I can higher a younger person at 20%-40% less than I may have to offer an experienced person. Plus they can train then to do it there way easier than someone with able established work ethic. Hiring now days is a political landscape. It's age and dollar based. And in some industries the more certifications you have, the better for them. It boasts there credibility and saves them money having to pay for your tests.

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It’s ageism, This is the new normal in tech

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The new normal for Tech will be job shrinkage! Psychology majors do not worry. AI cannot predict human behavior. Michael Deal bastardized our industry many years ago! You do not want to work there!

Your best option is either discrimination based on National Origin or Religion. National Origin cover location which could include cultural differences in that location. Culture includes religion, so always offer to begin each interview by asking the team to join you in praying to some lovecrafting god, like Cthulhu.

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Sort of. It's mostly to reject weirdos with no personality.

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Not necessarily. I see culture fit as more “you’ll put up with or be able to handle whatever bad parts of the job there are” kind of thing.

Maybe. Maybe not. It can be that but also, you should perhaps use this as an opportunity to be introspective of yourself as well. Maybe your answers to the technical questions weren't as strong as you perceived, maybe you made an offhand benign comment that was taken in the wrong way to one of them. The hiring process sucks now, I'll grant you that. Just make sure you're staying objective about yourself and not leaning on that to make yourself feel better, though, too. Use this as a learning opportunity.

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