Let's Talk: The Need For Better Interview Feedback
Over the past six months, I’ve been applying for jobs and attending interviews. During this time, I noticed a common issue that made the entire process frustrating: the feedback loop, or rather, the lack thereof. From not hearing back at all to receiving feedback five months later, the experience was less than ideal.
The speed and quality of feedback were so poor that it was difficult to determine how to improve. I’m not claiming that I was perfect in all of those interviews or that I’m entitled to detailed feedback. In some cases, I failed so obviously that I knew what I needed to improve before the interview even ended.
In the age of automation and AI, it seems absurd that I had to assume I wouldn’t be invited to the next round if I didn’t receive an email after a week. For initial or brief calls, I understand why detailed feedback might not be feasible, but an automatic email after a week shouldn’t be too difficult. If a role is filled or other candidates are moved to the next stage, it should trigger an automatic email to inform the rest.
While I wasn’t too concerned about the interviews where I only spent an hour or so, I believe that if I’ve invested three or more hours in interviews for a role, I should at least receive a generic email in response. Ideally, I would expect constructive feedback or at least an indication of any red flags they noticed. Some companies even asked me for feedback on their process while I was still chasing them for feedback on my performance.
This is the main point of my post: the feedback loop. I struggled to see how I could improve in most of my interviews. Without feedback, it’s hard to know what went wrong and how to improve, whether in hard or soft skills. We are all here to improve ourselves, but without knowing our mistakes, improvement is challenging.
Interviewing is already a guessing game. Timing, the interviewer’s mood, or their preference for another candidate can all affect the outcome. Without even a single point of improvement, candidates might become dismissive of the company or the interviewers.
Due to the lack of feedback and poor interview experiences, there are companies I would never want to apply to again. I’m fortunate to be in a position where I can ignore certain roles, but it’s disheartening and discouraging for candidates and wasteful for companies. Few companies can afford to throw away potential future relationships.
Having now accepted a position, I can reflect on the process more objectively, and it’s clear that things need to change.
Takeaways
When interviewing candidates, always provide at least one line of feedback, whether they pass the round or not. Interviews are stressful, and candidates may not always present themselves accurately. I’m not asking for help, but I’d like to know what didn’t work for the interviewer.
Rejection emails should always be sent. If a candidate is rejected at any stage and there’s no feedback, at least send an email. If you want to keep the candidate as an option in case current candidates don’t work out, send an email explaining the delay.
In cases where I assumed I didn’t get the role, only to be asked for another interview three weeks later, I had to rearrange my schedule. This led to stretching myself thin and failing multiple interviews, wasting both their time and mine.
People have their reasons for applying; let’s help them by giving something back. If all we do is take, there will be nothing left, and we all lose.