I’m excited to host another guest post!
This is a post from Richard Munn of www.how2become.com, a UK website specializing in tips for individuals targeting public sector careers. Thank you Richard for writing this article for LifeToolkit.net!
As a former recruiter and of course also as a candidate, I can relate to the experience of going to a job interview and then waiting…and waiting…and sometimes getting a two line email, or a brief phonecall, or even sometimes nothing. So this blog post is about how you can get a better hint even during the interview, and then how you can maximize your chances to receive a more detailed feedback.
Not your usual job interview…Mr. Anderson.
How To Get Quality Feedback After Your Job Interview
An interview can be a testing experience, no matter how many times you may have been through one before. How you perform in an interview usually has a huge impact on your success or failure in getting hired. If you do impress enough in an interview, this usually reflects in you getting hired, or at least called for the next stage of the recruitment process. On the other hand, even if you fail to make the right impression, the positive side is that every interview you go through is therefore potentially a way to hone your skills and become better in giving interviews.
It is natural to feel curious about how your performance was perceived by the interviewers and getting their perspective on your strengths and weaknesses can be invaluable in this quest for performing better the next time. The only time you get a chance to ask interviewers for their feedback is right after the interview, but this also happens to be the worst time to ask for it, and you’re unlikely to get any useful answers at this time anyway! Unfortunately, it is not always easy to get information beyond a simple yes or no from recruiters. It is not unusual for companies to simply send an email with no further information about why your application was rejected.
The first step to getting feedback about your interview is to be observant about things the interviewers say and do. Theirverbal and non-verbal mannerisms might be indicative of the way your interview has gone. Some signs that the interview may not be going well are if the interviewer appears distracted and makes/answers phone calls during the interview, or if the interview is very brief. While this is by no means as helpful and even as accurate as getting direct feedback, it might help you understand how people are reacting to your interview performance.
If you have applied through an agent or external recruiter, you may be able to get feedback and information about your interview from the recruiter, rather than the interviewer. Recruiters are often in a position to ask for individual feedback, whereas individual candidates aren’t, at least not right after the interview. Request feedback from your recruitment agency and they may well be able to get more information for you.
Asking for feedback right after an interview is like a strict no no. No HR professional or recruiter is going to tell you exactly what they thought about your interview right after. However, this is not to say that you can never request personal feedback from a company. Many companies have a clear recruitment process, with a set number of days before they can let you know if you have been hired. Many interviewers also tell you when you can expect to hear from them during an interview.
If you do not hear from the company after the prescribed period, it may be a good idea to email your interviewer and request more information or feedback about why your application was rejected. In fact, sending a courtesy thank you email after an interview is always a good idea, as it helps you establish a personal connection, albeit in a small way, with the HR team and with the company. Doing this will make it easier for you to request feedback should you fail to hear from a company after your interview.
About Richard McMunn: Richard is the author of this article and founder of How2become.com, the UK’s leading training and recruitment website for public sector careers. The focus is on providing applicants with the knowledge they need to prepare for and pass selection processes for careers in the police, fire service and ambulance service . The website currently offers over 150 different titles. You can also find How2become on Facebook.
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