10+ Examples Of Interview Feedback You Can Use In Your Next Interview

Interviews are hard – and not only for the candidates! The managers who are taking the interviews often face anxiety too. And sadly, they way lesser avenues to solve and express it than the candidates. A successful interview leaves both sides satisfied.

As a manager, your goal is to get the best insights into candidates and judge their suitability for the role. Conversely, the candidate attempts to present themselves as the best fit for the job. However, sometimes they may not be the person you are looking for. In such a situation, giving the candidate appropriate feedback is crucial. It offers them various insights that are instrumental in acing their following interview.

In this blog post, we’ll give you some examples of interview feedback managers can use during interviews with candidates. From assessing interview skills to providing feedback on the interview experience, these examples of interview feedback will help create a positive and constructive interview experience for your candidates. So don’t wait – start using these feedback tips today!

What is Interview Feedback?

Interview feedback refers to the comments provided by the hiring panel to the candidates upon the completion of the interview. Hiring managers can share these thoughts in person or via email. Interview feedback is essential to ensure clarity in the candidate’s mind behind the decision’s rationale – positive or negative.

Interview feedback typically focuses on the decision made by the hiring panel and brings out related insights. These can include the significant points that shaped the decision, suggestions, appreciation for the candidate, and encouragement to help them move forward. Apart from assessing a candidate’s fit, interview feedback helps them evaluate their performance and builds transparency.

In addition, interview feedback helps build a great employer brand. Picture this: a company that provides interview feedback to all candidates. Even the rejected ones understand their weak areas and get suggestions for improvement. At the same time, accepted people begin a relationship where the organization visibly cares for them and establishes trust.

On the other hand, an organization that does not provide feedback after interviews leaves candidates wondering and deters them from applying in the future as they never know what transpired! By the way, it’s not just another metric. A whopping 94% of talent wants interview feedback, but only about 41% receive it any form at all – leaving along the quality issues, as per LinkedIn’s Talent Trends Report.

Read more: What Is A Feedback Sandwich? Pros And Cons Of Feedback Sandwich

Why Should Managers Provide Interview Feedback?

Apart from being helpful for the candidate, providing interview feedback is beneficial for the manager and the organization too in many ways:

• Helps in improving employer brand equity
• Shows engagement from the management
• Enhances the reputation of the company
• Crafting feedback helps you analyze better

Nonetheless, managers often shy away from offering feedback after an interview. Feedback to candidates who will not join your team is often considered a waste of time and effort. However, the absence of constructive feedback severely hurts any team. Hence, managers should adopt the practice of providing appropriate feedback to candidates. We are sharing a few examples of interview feedback to help you in this task.

What Does Good Interview Feedback Look Like?

The explicit aim of the feedback is to help the candidate learn their weak areas better and promote their growth. Hence, your feedback needs to take a constructive direction. You can start your feedback by clarifying your decision first. There can be several reasons not to select a candidate – from unsuitability with the role to a cultural misfit – knowledge of these will help the candidate choose the right opportunities for them.

Moreover, they will also identify areas that they need to work on. However, keep in mind to provide a balanced review. While highlighting the areas that need work, you should also point out their strengths and qualities, which will help them grab more opportunities in life. Remind yourself that the aim is to create a good experience and not make them feel wrong about their performance.

There is no one perfect way to give interview feedback, but there are some key things that you should keep in mind. First, feedback must be truthful and accurate. Second, it should be constructive – it shouldn’t just criticize the candidate without offering any suggestions or solutions. Finally, feedback should be timely – don’t wait too long to give your thoughts after an interview has ended. Waiting too long can cause resentment on the part of the candidate and hurt their chances of being hired by your company.

Also check the 10 Examples Of Positive Feedback That Employers Can Use for your team.

10+ Examples Of Interview Feedback You Can Use

When it comes to feedback, it’s always good to have a few examples of interview feedback ready to go. This way, you can give feedback that is specific, relevant, and concise. Here are some examples of interview feedback that you can use in interviews in different situations:

When the candidate in under-qualified for the role

• After a thorough discussion, we have decided not to move forward with you as your experience in this area is limited. The role needs in-depth expertise that you can build over the next few years.

When talking to a candidate about their limitations, the key is ensuring that your words do not demotivate them. While you have to underline that they are not up for the role, you can also try to help them achieve the requisite expertise. You can suggest skills that they can work on to help them draw a development roadmap for the near future. Candidates will appreciate such help.

Conversely, when the candidate is over-qualified for the role

• We have decided not to move forward with your application. You have a great experience in this area. However, that can constrain your motivation in this role.

While we typically see a lack of experience or expertise as a limiting factor, over-qualification can also impede productivity in specific roles. Over-qualified candidates may not bring the enthusiasm needed to grow in part. It is important to remember that the highest qualified candidates might not be the best always, have to ensure that their knowledge, skills, and abilities meet the requirements of the role.

When there is a mismatch between the CV and the performance

• We cannot move ahead with your application as we feel you are unfamiliar with the skills mentioned here.
• The candidate could not demonstrate the skills which are mentioned here.

During the interview, it is essential to note that the candidate displays the qualities they mentioned on their CV. Essentially, they are needed to ensure effective performance. And the absence of these skills will adversely affect everyone. Hence, if that is the case, note and identify the gaps. It will also help the candidate see where they are making errors.

Providing suggestions for future interviews

• We are not moving forward with your application. However, you have great potential to develop in this area. You can look into this more before your following interview.

While a candidate might not get selected for a particular role, they can undoubtedly derive some learnings from experience. If you help them exemplify the benefits they can gather from an unsuccessful interview, they will appreciate your team and management. Hence, in some cases, you can point out specific tips they can use to ace their next interview. Similarly, you can lead them towards helpful resources concerning their field.

To appreciate the effort in preparing for the interview

• The amount of effort you put in was commendable. We appreciate the enthusiasm and dedication you displayed throughout the hiring process.

Preparing for interviews gives a lot of anxiety. Therefore, appreciation for good preparation beats every other praise. When you see that a candidate has put substantial effort into understanding your team and the role, you can gather the first signs of their dedication and estimate exactly how much effort they will put in. Besides that, candidates who display enthusiasm are more likely to continue the same open attitude towards learning later on.

To praise their soft skills

• You displayed outstanding communication skills during the interview. Adding a bit of relevant experience to it will make you a great candidate.

Interviews are won over with both hard and soft skills. And if a candidate’s soft skills made a mark on you, say so! Soft skills are crucial for many roles. For instance, a technical team lead might initially see little merit in developing their soft skills. But later, their conflict management skills could save the day for the team. Ensure that your interview feedback extends beyond one particular area or core strength of the role. Instead, offer a thorough appraisal of all qualities of the candidate.

When they are a cultural misfit in your team

• You have a great profile. However, we feel that our values are incompatible, which can hamper team cohesion.

Here, the idea is to highlight that although you appreciate their efforts, the mismatch of core values would prevent them from excelling at their role. It can happen when the company and the candidate need to see eye to eye on specific critical values around which all the processes and plans revolve.

On the other hand, when they are a great fit in your company’s culture you can say

• We are glad to see that you will be a great fit for the company’s culture. We expect that you will get on with the team easily as our values are pretty similar.

While agreeing that there is a culture fit with the candidate of the company, you have to highlight which aspects of their personality and work ethic make them an excellent fit for the team. A great fit means they are more likely to understand and relate to your company’s methods and goals. Resultantly, they can contribute wholeheartedly to the team.

Highlighting their strengths

• Although we could not move forward with your application, you have displayed curiosity and a learning attitude throughout the process. This mindset is a great asset you have.

Not all interviews lead to success, and it’s okay! Yet, you can help the case a little bit as a hiring manager or recruiter. While providing interview feedback afterwards, ensure that you highlight the key strengths that can make them shine in any role. You can also highlight skills they can develop and suggest resources for the same. The critical idea is to ensure that your feedback adds positive value to the candidate’s journey.

If you feel they are not looking for the right opportunities

• Your strengths in these areas will make you a great candidate for this. You can look more into this to see if you are interested.

Sometimes, you may come across a great candidate who is not the right fit for your team. Their skills are impeccable, but they are not made for that role. If you find yourself in such a situation, the best thing to do is guide them in the right direction. You can suggest potential areas they can grow in while providing interview feedback.

Examples of positive interview feedback

• You displayed excellent problem-solving abilities, showcasing innovative solutions to the hypothetical scenarios presented. Your strong technical knowledge and enthusiasm for the role were evident throughout the interview. You would be a valuable asset to the team.
• You demonstrated their leadership skills by sharing specific examples of successfully leading projects and motivating team members. The articulate communication style and positive attitude left a lasting impression, making you a standout candidate.

Examples of negative interview feedback

• You seemed unprepared for some of the technical questions, struggling to provide in-depth answers. The responses lacked clarity, and appeared unsure. It would be beneficial for you to further develop your technical expertise before future interviews.
• Throughout the interview, the you exhibited poor time management, frequently going off-topic and using excessive filler words. This hindered the ability to effectively convey your qualifications and made it challenging to assess your suitability for the role.

A Few Do’s And Don’ts for giving interview feedback

Do:

• Give holistic feedback that encompasses their hard and soft skills
• Be sensitive to the feelings of the candidate
• Fight your biases and remain non-judgmental and objective
• Adopt a straightforward approach that justifies the decision
• Do not delay feedback; it is best to provide feedback close after the interview

Don’t:

• Focus only on criticism
• Give unwelcome feedback
• Draw comparisons. Every candidate is unique
• Be vague with general statements

How to make your interview feedback effective?

Now that we are sure of the value of interview feedback, we need to ensure that the interview feedback we provide is effective. Apart from the few do’s and don’ts enlisted above, there are a few more things that you can do. The key is to cover all the bases – make interview feedback holistic to make it effective. It includes using multiple criteria to evaluate, including:

Work experience

A candidate’s work experience holds priority in selecting them for a new role. It is commonly understood that candidates with more significant work experience will be more adept at their position. However, work experience is not the end of the game. The attitude of the candidate matters too. You might come across potential candidates who display a great appetite to learn and grow into the role more effectively than anyone with experience could have done. Ensure that your interview feedback acknowledges both their experience and attitude.

Hard skills

Hard skills are the objective skills essential to achieving a goal. They are tested and evaluated during the interview process by most companies, in addition to the certifications acting as proofs. As they are a crucial element in determining any potential candidate’s eligibility, it is essential to give them due attention in interview feedback as well. You can talk about their qualifications and skills in the context of the role to demonstrate a fit or a misfit.

Soft skills

While hard skills are good, soft skills make your job easy. A candidate with good soft skills will be able to carry out their job efficiently and maneuvering many chaotic situations smartly. Their soft skills must get due recognition. It includes skills such as communication, conflict resolution, negotiation, time management, and problem-solving, to name a few. Effective interview feedback needs to have an appraisal of all their skills, so ensure that you cover their soft skills and other relevant traits for the role.

Leadership ability

Many jobs need natural leadership ability to succeed. Not only that, leadership ability helps candidates grow exponentially in their careers in short periods. Therefore, if your candidate shows strong leadership ability, make sure to appraise that. It will help them build confidence. Otherwise, you can also suggest ways to help them develop leadership ability to become more effective in the roles they are looking at. All in all, ensure that you take note of all critical aspects of your candidate’s profile while sharing interview feedback.

Read more about the essential skills of a hiring manager here: 7 Top Skills Every Hiring Manager Should Possess

Free Template for Interview Feedback

By following the guidelines above, we can create a simple template for interview feedback that every manager can use. Essentially, your interview feedback should have the following:

• A clear decision: The beginning of your interview feedback should clarify the verdict. Whether a yes or a no, the idea is to be clear and sure about the decision, there is no need to keep the candidate in the dark about the decision until the end.
•  A rationale for the decision: Once your decision is finalized, you have to explain what led you to that decision. Here, you can weigh the pros and cons that made you pick or not pick the candidate. You can highlight the strengths that gave you the confidence to go with them.
•  An authentic and holistic appraisal: In result with the previous section, you should include an honest review of their knowledge and skills. Here, keep in mind to have every relevant aspect and remain objective.
•  Some relevant suggestions: Towards the end of your interview feedback, you can include suggestions to help the candidate grow. It can be in terms of recommendations or ideas that they can explore; the key here is to catalyze their growth.

Finally, make sure that the candidate is satisfied with the feedback! Check out more resources to become a better interviewer here:

• Top 5 Interviewer Skills That You Need To Master

Conclusion

Interview feedback is critical to ensure that you create the right hiring pipeline for your team. Whether you are an HR professional or a hiring manager, interview feedback is essential to the hiring process, as it helps you identify and improve your interviewing practices. Using the ten examples of interview feedback listed above, you can provide constructive feedback that will help candidates feel confident about their interview performance and improve their performance in the next one.

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