What is good employee interview feedback?
Examples of employee interview feedback can be quite helpful for your candidates as well as for HR. For many candidates, the interview process can be terrifying, depressing, or just plain scary. Examples of feedback from interviews might help candidates get better and land the positions they want.
Fortunately, candidates can feel more knowledgeable, in control, and confident going into their next round of interviews with the aid of examples of constructive comments. Actionable information can allow applicants themselves and people in HR to improve the experience, even if they didn’t exactly reach the mark the first time.
Examples of feedback from employee interviews are important, and this post will dive further into the topic.
The value of interview feedback
Constructive interview feedback examples are a great way to boost a candidate’s confidence and interview process understanding, as you might imagine. Even if they weren’t able to secure the position of their choice, the interview feedback they received could help them learn from the experience and improve as a candidate moving forward. This is perhaps the reason why 91% of applicants said they greatly valued comments. They might land their next job as a result.
Feedback is advantageous to more than just the applicant. Examples of interview comments from both successful and unsuccessful candidates help create a positive candidate experience. In essence, it will provide prospective workers a positive impression of the company. This is crucial because HR is one of the main ways that the public interacts with a business. Additionally, it showcases a great company culture, where the candidate witnesses principles like honesty and integrity—which are commonplace in corporate culture declarations—being lived out.
Studies have indicated that 52% of applicants who received comments during their interview were more inclined to stay in contact with that organization. Therefore, even though the candidate you are now interviewing may not be hired, they may return for a second chance.
The advantages of giving feedback during interviews
The following are some advantages of giving feedback during an interview. These could assist HR or improve the applicant experience.
- Broadens HR’s expertise in locating qualified applicants.
- Encourages applicants to submit new applications for open positions inside the organization.
- Supports the employment branding of the business.
- Aids in exhibiting a positive business culture.
The various forms of feedback received during interviews
Negative criticism
Feedback that isn’t helpful doesn’t improve a candidate’s performance in the interview. Non-constructive criticism is typically too harsh, ambiguous, or useless for the candidate to learn anything from. For instance, it might contain unrelated performance-related comments or unrelated personal criticism for the candidate.
Constructive criticism
Being constructive, or providing “constructive feedback,” is an example of positive feedback. Its goal is to assist the applicant in enhancing their interview performance. It gives the candidate clear, concrete suggestions for their next interview. Rather than weakening the candidate, it supports and elevates them. Examples might be as simple as highlighting miscommunications or making recommendations for improved workplace role models.
Constructive criticism is typically linked to greater outcomes than non-constructive criticism. Positive feedback examples, for example, might contribute to a better overall applicant experience by offering the candidate something of value in the event that they are not selected for the position.
The importance of getting applicant feedback
It is crucial for your HR procedures to ask candidates for their opinions. Candidate feedback might help your company’s hiring procedure run more smoothly.
Several useful methods consist of:
- Establish expectations beforehand. Inform candidates in advance that their input is crucial.
- Pay attention to the criticism that you receive. Make it a priority to hear comments and consider recommendations carefully.
- Offer several avenues for input. Let the contestants decide how to reply. While some people might choose to reply via email once the interview process is over, others might want to respond in person right away.
These are just a few ideas for how to include candidate input in your hiring procedure.
Examples of feedback from interviews
- Interview feedback given to applicants throughout the hiring process
For many potential employees, the first obstacle is the screening interview. Prior to the main interview, screening interviews weed out any candidates that are inappropriate or underqualified.
Say this:
- Thank them for their time. It can still take a while to submit an application, amend a resume, and go through a screening interview. Express your appreciation for the candidate’s time.
- Give constructive criticism throughout the interview by emphasizing the candidate’s strengths or showcasing their suitability for the screening interview, which is the first round of the interview process.
- Inform them that there are additional rounds of interviews ahead of them and that this is just the first one.
- Provide them with any relevant details about how to get ready for the first interview, such as an outline of the interview procedure or any business facts that would be of interest to the candidate.
- Inform them if the technical paperwork they submitted was sufficient or if additional information is required in order for them to move on to the primary interview.
Things not to say:
- Do not allow the candidate to assume they have the job just yet, even if they have done well up to this point. Tell them right away that they still need to finish the main interview.
- If they don’t pass at this point, try not to be too harsh on them. If they notice another role that suits them, encourage them to reapply.
Example phrase for screening interview feedback:
We would like to extend an invitation to you to participate in the following round of interviews since we believe your credentials and experience align well with our requirements. Prior to the interview with the recruiting manager and the team leader, there will be an assignment to finish. There will be one final interview with the department head if you make it through this round.
- Interview responses for rejected applicants
Giving rejected applicants feedback on their interviews can be a difficult undertaking. Here are a few strategies for handling this situation.
Say this:
- Tell them straight up that they didn’t receive the job. However, don’t forget to highlight the positives, such their accomplishment of getting to the interview stage.
- Make a sandwich with “good news.” To boost their confidence, give them some constructive criticism after some nice, constructive interview feedback. Finally, give them some more positive support.
- Let them know they are invited to submit an application for another position and wish them luck in their employment quest.
- Give specific instances of their areas for improvement throughout the interview rather than general criticism like “motivation” or “communication.”
- If you don’t think their talents fit the position, let them know and, if at all possible, point them in the direction of other positions you think they might fit into.
Things not to say:
- Don’t give unhelpful criticism. Avoid talking about anything unrelated to their actual performance.
- Don’t be critical of their lack of technical proficiency or suitability for the position.
- Don’t criticize their application or their resume.
Example of feedback from an unsuccessful interview:
“We appreciate you taking the time to apply for this position, but at this time, you have not been selected for the position. We believe that the skill set you offer is not what we were searching for. But we think you would be a great fit for [X], so please apply if you see a position open.”
- Interview evaluations for hiring managers
It’s possible that hiring supervisors are not accustomed to receiving criticism. However, HR can help them get better in an interview and offer a better candidate experience if they hear examples of favorable interview feedback.
Say this:
- Tell the truth about the hiring manager’s strengths and areas for development.
- Consider the interviewee’s reaction during the process and the measures used by the hiring manager to ease the candidate’s anxiety.
- Give them some helpful feedback for their next interview; for instance, you could tell them to look at the candidate more or give them adequate time to answer questions in order to make the interview more engaging.
Things not to say:
- Refrain from criticizing hiring managers personally. This serves no more purpose than giving candidates inappropriate criticism.
Example wording for hiring manager interview feedback:
“Because you were taking a lot of notes during the interviewee’s responses, there were moments when I couldn’t tell if you were actually listening to their questions. If you had maintained greater eye contact, the interview would have been more interesting and the person being interviewed would have felt more comfortable.”
- Interview feedback for those that made it through
You’ve finally discovered the right applicant, and now you’re prepared to break the wonderful news to them. Here are some pointers on how to inform them about their job offer and the aspects of the last interview that went well.
Say this:
- Adopt a direct approach. Inform them that they were hired right away and emphasize some of the excellent points they made in the CV or during the interview.
- Describe what you thought stuck out and what they did that paid off.
- Continue to offer helpful critiques. Interviewing is still a skill that needs to be developed, even if they were successful. You might use this as a time to point out any weaknesses they may have and discuss how you can assist in strengthening them.
Things not to say:
- Don’t leave things unclear. Inform them right away if they have been given the job offer and why.
- Avoid being ambiguous. Provide them with feedback on their resumes and the qualities they demonstrated to land the position.
Example feedback from a successful candidate interview
“We are happy to inform you that you were hired and that you passed the interview. We appreciated the way you shared your experience with us. You were informed, precise, and articulate in your communication.”
How HR can effectively provide feedback on interviews
There are a few interview feedback dos and don’ts, as this article demonstrates. Most importantly, it’s important to be clear, concise, and avoid being overly general. As an HR professional, this straightforward, sincere communication style can help you build rapport and inspire confidence.
Feedback for candidates
Candidate feedback that is truthful, clear-headed and exact is the most valuable. Feedback that is general or ambiguous, such as “more experience required” or “need to improve communication,” is of little help to candidates. This will not help them get ready for their next role.
Feedback that emphasizes particular behaviors, such the way a candidate communicates while responding to a question or how well they perform on an exam, is significantly more useful in highlighting their strong points. Technical interview feedback samples are therefore more useful.
Additionally, feedback that is biased or subjective must be avoided. For instance, comments that just discuss someone’s background—whether it be professional or not—are immoral and of no benefit to anybody. One way to lessen unconscious prejudice is to refrain from making assumptions about the background of others.
Comments for the hiring manager
Feedback to hiring managers must be given honestly, openly, and without ambiguity, just as it is to candidates. Everyone must be aware of their actions and areas for improvement.
When assessing someone following an interview, empathy is essential. Giving role-specific comments and suggestions for improvement is a more compassionate approach than giving general counsel. That’s because constructive criticism adds value to the hiring process.
Important lessons learned
- Empathy: Empathy is the ability to put oneself in another person’s position. Think about what feedback you want to receive and offer it to others.
- Practical insights: Information is useless if it cannot be put to use. Feedback that can be put to use is sympathetic, useful, and grows your company.
- Clarity: Providing clear feedback helps the hiring manager and candidate; providing ambiguous information does not.