How to Give Interview Feedback in 4 Steps [Common Mistakes Included]

In today's competitive job market, knowing how to give interview feedback is crucial for both employers and candidates. This guide will provide you with best practices, step-by-step instructions, and common mistakes to avoid, ensuring your feedback is constructive, inclusive, and effective. 

What is Interview Feedback? 

Interview feedback is a structured evaluation of a candidate's performance during the hiring process. It includes highlighting their strengths and areas for improvement. Providing feedback is essential because it helps candidates understand their performance and offers them a chance to improve for future opportunities. For employers, it enhances the overall recruitment process and employer brand. 

The Importance of Giving Interview Feedback 

Interview feedback goes beyond a simple "yes" or "no" decision. It's a valuable tool that benefits both employers seeking the perfect candidate and candidates looking to land their dream job. Let's delve deeper into how feedback enhances the recruitment process for everyone involved. 

Employer Advantages 

It’s true that a lot of employers think that they’re doing a favor by giving the candidates feedback after interviews. But the reality is different. Here are some benefits that employers can get by giving feedback to interviewed candidates -  

• Refined Hiring Process: Detailed feedback from interviewers helps identify strengths and weaknesses in the interview format itself. Did specific questions effectively gauge a candidate's skills? Was there enough time for in-depth discussions? Feedback allows employers to continuously improve their hiring process, leading to better candidate selection in the future. 

• Employer Branding Boost: Taking the time to provide constructive feedback shows candidates that your company cares about their experience. This builds a positive employer brand, attracting top talent who appreciate transparency and professionalism. 

• Commitment to Candidate Experience: Feedback demonstrates that your company values the time and effort candidates invest in the interview process. This fosters goodwill and increases the likelihood that even rejected candidates will recommend your company to others. 

There are more benefits for the employers but we’ve found these as some core benefits.  

Candidate Advantages 

Now, let’s look at the specific benefits that you’ll be giving to the candidates by giving them feedback after the interview - 

• Growth and Development: Constructive feedback allows candidates to identify areas where they excelled during the interview and aspects they can improve upon. This valuable insight helps them refine their interview skills, answer techniques, and overall presentation for future opportunities. 

• Increased Success Rates: By understanding what employers are looking for, candidates can tailor their approach to future interviews, making them stronger contenders. This feedback loop empowers them to land their desired positions. 

• Career Development Insights: Feedback can offer valuable clues about a candidate's fit within the specific company culture and role. This allows them to refine their job search strategy and target opportunities that align better with their strengths and interests. 

In short, interview feedback inhibits a positive and productive hiring environment. By offering constructive feedback, employers can optimize their hiring process and build a strong employer brand. For candidates, feedback provides a roadmap for personal and professional growth, increasing their chances of landing their dream job. 

Best Practices for Giving Interview Feedback 

Providing insightful interview feedback is an art. Here's how to ensure your communication is clear, constructive, and leaves a positive impression on both you and the candidate: 

• Timeliness is Key: Don't leave candidates hanging. Aim to deliver feedback within a reasonable timeframe, ideally within a week of the interview. This shows respect for their time and keeps them engaged in the process. You can offer feedback in different formats, tailoring it to the candidate's preference. Consider a phone call for detailed feedback or a concise email for brief updates. 

• Honesty with Kindness: Be truthful in your assessment, but remember, the goal is to provide constructive criticism, not tear someone down. Frame your feedback with empathy and focus on how the candidate can improve. 

• Specificity is Actionable: Vague comments like "be more confident" aren't helpful. Instead, pinpoint specific areas for improvement. For example, if an answer lacked detail, you could suggest providing specific examples to showcase their skills. In technical interviews, highlight particular skills or knowledge areas where they could strengthen their approach. 

• A Balanced Approach: Don't solely focus on weaknesses. Acknowledge the candidate's strengths and positive aspects of their interview. This helps build confidence and shows genuine appreciation for their time and effort. 

• Consistency is King: Ensure a fair and standardized feedback process for all candidates. Develop a structured feedback form or template that outlines key areas for evaluation. This ensures consistency and prevents any unconscious bias from creeping in. 

Try to keep these best practices in mind before designing your feedback.   

Step-by-Step Guide to Giving Interview Feedback 

Providing clear and constructive feedback after an interview is crucial, but how do you structure it effectively? Here's a 4 step guide to ensure your feedback is valuable for both you and the candidate: 

Step 1: Prepare Your Feedback

Don’t just try to build the feedback on the go. Even preparing the feedback takes a structured approach. Now, let’s go through the process of preparing the feedback.  

• Gather Your Notes: Before embarking on crafting your feedback, gather all your interview notes and insights. This includes the candidate's resume, interview questions and answers, and any additional observations you made during the interaction. 

• Review Job Requirements and Qualifications: Refresh your memory on the specific requirements and qualifications outlined for the position. This ensures your feedback aligns with the desired skills and experience needed for the role. 

If you didn’t have any notes then try to remember as much as possible. Try to adopt a chronological approach here. Like this, “At first, I asked the candidate to introduce himself/herself/themselves. The introduction was okay but needed to highlight more relevant information.”  

Step 2: Structure Your Feedback

The ideal interview feedback report will have 4 parts. Let’s try to understand what to write in which part - 

Introduction: Begin by thanking the candidate for their time and interest in the position. Briefly state the purpose of your feedback, emphasizing its aim to help them develop for future opportunities. 

Positive Feedback: Acknowledge and compliment the candidate's strengths displayed during the interview. This could include their communication skills, enthusiasm for the role, or relevant experience they highlighted. 

Constructive Feedback: Here, address specific areas where the candidate could improve their interview performance. Focus on actionable advice. For example: Instead of saying "Your answers were too short," suggest providing more detailed examples to showcase their skills and accomplishments. 

Conclusion: Briefly summarize the key takeaways from your feedback and offer next steps. This could involve thanking them for their time or outlining any potential future opportunities. 

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Step 3: Delivering the Feedback

The delivery process of the feedback is equally important as the structuring. A bad delivery can undermine all your effort and leave a bad impression. There are two parts concerning the delivery of the interview feedback - 

Method Selection  

Choose the most appropriate method for delivering your feedback. Consider factors like the length and complexity of the feedback, as well as the candidate's preference. Here's a breakdown of common methods:  

• In-Person: Ideal for detailed feedback discussions, allowing for back-and-forth communication. 

• Phone: A good option for providing a more personal touch than email, yet offering flexibility. 

• Email: Suitable for concise feedback or when in-person or phone calls are not feasible. 

Maybe you can use email for online interviews and phone for in-house interviews.  

Proper Communication 

Words matter. And in this case, the stakes are even higher. So, let’s try to understand what the proper communication should be while providing feedback after interviewing -   

Clarity is Key: Use clear and concise language that is easy for the candidate to understand. 

Unbiased Language: Be a bit cautious about the unconscious bias in the language. Don’t say anything that would stain your reputation.  

Specificity Matters: Always provide specific examples to illustrate your points on strengths and areas for improvement. 

Offer Solutions: Don't just point out shortcomings; offer suggestions for how the candidate can address them in future interviews. 

Step 4: Follow-Up

Keeping the feedback two-way is the key. Asking for feedback from the other side of the table can go a long way. But if you’re not comfortable with that, try the following methods - 

• Open the Door for Questions: Before concluding, encourage the candidate to ask any questions they may have about your feedback. 

• Offer Additional Support: Consider offering additional resources or support that could benefit the candidate in their job search. 

Now, the Follow-up is important because it could be a significant step in building your talent pipeline. 

With the follow-up, you are done with your interview candidate feedback process. Now, let’s go through some other important stuff.  

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Giving Interview Feedback 

From our experience, we’ve seen professionals having these common practices.  

• Vague and Non-Specific: This leaves the candidate confused and doesn't offer actionable takeaways. Always provide concrete examples and clear guidance. 

• Overly Critical: Focus on constructive feedback, not harsh criticism. Balance any critiques with suggestions for improvement. 

• Ignoring the Candidate's Perspective: Listen to the candidate's perspective and try to understand their experience during the interview process. 

• Radio Silence: Don't make feedback conditional on being offered the job. Make it a standard part of your hiring process for all candidates who interview. 
• Using generative AI: You might think that using AI in this is harmful and maybe you can think that you'll save some time in this process. But a big problem here is that generative AI like ChatGPT is found to create biased text. So, maybe don't go this way.  

Mistakes can happen but it’s better to avoid them. If you’ve already done any of the above, then don’t frown. Just be careful the next time. Now, it’s time for some inspiration.  

Examples and Templates for Interview Feedback 

We have gathered some example snippets for your interview feedback. Feel free to use any of these. Just fill in the blank spots by using your notes. Also, these examples are filtered through our inclusive writing platform. So, don’t worry about the language.  

• Positive Feedback Template: "Thank you for interviewing with us. We were impressed by your [specific skill or quality]. Your approach to [particular question or task] demonstrated significant [relevant ability]." 

• Constructive Feedback Template: "While we appreciated your enthusiasm, we felt that your experience in [specific area] could be further developed. We recommend focusing on [actionable advice] to strengthen your candidacy for similar roles in the future." 

• Mixed Feedback Template: "Your interview showcased your excellent [strength], which aligns well with our needs. However, we noticed an opportunity for growth in [area for improvement]. Consider [specific suggestion] to enhance your skills in this area." 

Try to come up with some templates like these. You can save a fair amount of time with this.  

Additional Tips for Effective Interview Feedback 

While the previous steps provide a solid foundation, here are some additional tips to elevate your interview feedback and make it even more impactful: 

• Encourage Two-Way Communication: Feedback shouldn't be a one-way street. Invite the candidate to ask questions and share their perspective on the interview process. This open dialogue allows you to address any concerns they may have and gain valuable insights into their experience. 

• Tailoring is Key: A one-size-fits-all approach to feedback doesn't work. Consider the candidate's background, experience level, and the specific role they interviewed for. Customize your feedback to highlight relevant strengths and target areas for improvement suited to their individual profile. For example, feedback for an entry-level candidate might focus on developing communication skills, while a seasoned professional might receive feedback on leadership qualities. 

• Feedback as a Learning Tool: Don't just view interview feedback as a tool for evaluating candidates; use it to improve your own hiring process. Regularly review feedback from interviewers and candidates alike. Look for recurring themes or areas where the interview format could be improved. This continual learning approach helps you refine your interview questions, structure, and overall process, leading to better candidate evaluation in the future. 

By incorporating these additional tips, you can transform interview feedback from a simple formality into a powerful tool for enhancing your recruitment efforts, strengthening your employer brand, and empowering candidates to grow in their careers. Remember, effective feedback is a two-way street that benefits both employers seeking the perfect fit and candidates on their job search journey.  

End Note

Mastering how to give interview feedback benefits both employers and candidates. Implement these strategies to enhance your feedback process and support candidate development. Share your experiences or questions in the comments!