How to Give Interview Feedback

Written by Tom Clegg on .

Giving interview feedback provides a better candidate experience. It allows candidates to know how they got on and what areas they can improve on. It can be difficult giving feedback, especially if the candidate was unsuccessful, however it’s a bigger disservice to not provide feedback.

If a candidate has been unsuccessful, sending a post-interview rejection email is imperative. It shows you value the candidate and their time and have invested your own time in reaching out to them to let them know how they got on and appreciate you trying to help them. This in return will enhance your employer brand and will translate into you having a strong candidate pool of candidates that might be suited for future roles within your organisation.

Your feedback is only useful to a candidate if they can act on it in the future, so make sure what you’re offering is instructive.

The purpose of feedback is to help candidates better themselves for future interviews. Feedback should highlight what they were good at, what they can build on. That clarity in feedback is key. If it’s too vague the candidate won’t be able to use it.

When giving feedback it is also important to convey your reasons in a positive way. Do not be too critical and start off by thanking the candidate for their time to meet with you. Be sure to also include the candidate’s strengths. This will give them confidence to know they have strong points and will encourage them to develop their strengths.

Considering your tone throughout your feedback is key, especially when you’re relaying information on the negative part of their interview and explaining what they could have done better. Neutral language and positive framing can help.

In most cases, a candidate will be aware that they didn’t get hired because you thought someone else was better. There is no need to tell them, especially if they went through a group interview. The candidate is not interested nor in need of knowing does that someone else have a more advanced degree or showed better leadership skills.

Providing interview feedback is an invaluable service for candidates and goes a long way in building an employer brand in your industry.