How’d you interpret this interview feedback?

Sandtree

Below is the feedback received from a 3rd round interview...

Thank you for your time the other day and apologies for the delays in coming back to you.

You have an exceptional CV but on this occasion we will not be progressing with your application. 

We wish you all the best for the future and maybe our paths will cross again 

Kind regards
ABC
Global Director of Transformation 

KatrinaWaves

I’d interpret it as someone did better at interview than you, but feel free to apply for other jobs in future. 

Not sure what else you can get. Not a lot of meat there. 

AskAsk

when i get a rejection, i tend to get these sort of responses.  always "on this occasion", so i always took it to be a standard wording that people use as a rejection, to give you some hope that it was just this occasion.

i haven't had 'our paths may cross again' mind, so i am guessing they are not ruling you out for future opportunities.

i tend not to read too much into rejections and i don't care for feedback to be honest.  i am what i am and they can either lump it or leave it.  i am not going to change to get a job.

Sandtree

AskAsk said:
i tend not to read too much into rejections and i don't care for feedback to be honest.  i am what i am and they can either lump it or leave it.  i am not going to change to get a job.

I generally don’t either and based on the interview I didn’t expect to get an offer (though HR said only one other candidate was offered a first round and that person didn’t make it to second)

Just a comment on the CV but not the interview seemed odd to me but probably reading too much into it.

theoretica

Seems like someone being very careful not to put in writing anything you could argue with or try to hold against them. Fairly common, I believe.

Savvy_Sue

There's all sorts if things it could mean, but probably the only way to get more insight would be by a phone call, asking if there's any advice the writer can offer.

For example
"I really wanted to appoint you but ...
My fellow interviewers didn't /
The MD has pulled the plug on this role /
The whole company is going down the tubes /
I was told to appoint an internal candidate. "

k12479

Possibly overqualified? 'Exceptional' is a slightly unusual choice of word. Otherwise, that's just a typical generic rejection rather than specific feedback.

Dakta

You asked for an interpretation on this interview feedback, so this is just my opinion.
which is that this isn't actually feedback IMO, it's a polite (and direct!) notification of the outcome, but it's not feedback. 
There's nothing really you can interpret or take away from it, the closest you get is the CV comment which tbh might just be politeness, or if you wanted to push it to extremeties it might suggest that whilst they see qualities in you, it's not matching what they're looking for, or someone appeared to fit it better. But we don't as it doesn't actually look like feedback per'se.

Could always go back and ask for some, in which case you might get something useful, I once did this after an interview, and whilst it was written on the application form that feedback would not be available I did get a helpful response. 

victor2

I was on the other side once and had sent out the standard polite "we will not be progressing" letter to a candidate I had interviewed, who was very good, but somebody else was better.

I received an equally polite request back asking if I could provide any more details about why he had not been selected. I felt for him, and composed a detailed response, highlighting where I felt there were potential weaknesses in his CV and interview technique for that particular job. Ran it by my MD, who heartily endorsed it, and sent it on its way.

That is about the best you can hope for. If they were genuine in their rejection reasons, they might take the trouble to respond.

[Deleted User]

It leaves the door open - They could call you up in x months time saying they have a position for you. Happened to me nearly 7 years ago, but I went without being wrote to at all after I sat 2 in depth interviews and the mind testing to just never be informed, wrote it off but in the weirdest of events just over 4 months on they got back in touch saying the job had become available again and would I boop along to interview number 3 - it later turned out they had to dismiss 'the better fit' taken on.

Marcon

It's a polite but clear turn down. I certainly wouldn't read anything into the 'paths might cross' bit.

As you say yourself, you're reading too much into a couple of lines.