Most candidates applying for a role in an organization have the intent to present themselves in an ideal manner — professional, open-minded, and engaging.
This is because the candidates want to help recruiters make a solid hiring decision, and get insightful positive feedback in return.
Given that the average response time to a candidate query is a whopping 24 business days, companies still have a long way to go when it comes to developing a memorable candidate experience and recruitment process.
What’s the solution?
It’s simple — hiring managers need to document interview feedback and deliver it quickly. In this post, we will learn everything hiring managers and companies need to know about interview feedback through examples.
Let’s get started!
| Table of contents |
|---|
| What is interview feedback? |
| Why it’s important to document positive interview feedback |
| 17 best positive interview feedback examples |
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What is interview feedback?
The term “interview feedback” is precisely what it sounds like. It is feedback that one can share after conducting an interview process.
In our context, “interview feedback” essentially refers to the record of a job interview that usually an interviewer consolidates during the hiring process. It is a gold mine for candidates applying to different companies.
The interview feedback consists of insights about the candidate’s performance in the interview, hiring recommendations, and how the recruitment panel reached its decision to hire or not hire the candidate.
The length of the interview feedback document depends on the number of rounds/stages of the recruitment process.
Why it’s important to document positive interview feedback
There are several reasons why we recommend companies to share positive feedback with their candidates during recruitment —
1. Make better hiring decisions
Documenting a hiring process in order to develop a detailed picture of the candidate’s performance helps hiring managers collect adequate proof to support their hiring decisions.
Use the interview feedback to identify the pros and cons of each candidate and use the insights to compare all applicants.
2. Give interviewees helpful information
Candidates must be applying and giving interviews at several organizations.
Documenting the interview feedback helps candidates improve their performance during interviews and strengthen their ongoing job search. It can prove to be a major boost to their career development.
3. Analyze interview process performance
It is crucial to refine the recruitment process in order to bring in a competent workforce. Interview feedback developed by a company’s hiring team provides the organization with key insights regarding recruitment process performance.
The better the recruitment process, the more refined will be the talent acquired.
4. Develop brand reputation with positive feedback
Candidates only want interviewees to be honest with them. If a company provides them with interview feedback, it shows that the organization is committed to the candidate’s career growth and development.
Interview feedback is a perfect opportunity to leverage word-of-mouth and build positive brand sentiment.
17 best positive interview feedback examples
Here are some excellent interview feedback examples of how companies should deliver positive or constructive feedback.
1. “The candidate presented exceptional knowledge and understanding of the industry, which was also reflected in the submitted assessment. However, the candidate found it challenging to use the frameworks and workflows standardized in our company.”
2. “The candidate showcases strong technical and communication skills, which are highly desirable in our industry. We suggest discussing the candidate’s career and personal goals to ensure we develop an engaging and growth-centric work environment.”
3. “The candidate not only meets the skills and experiences required to perform optimally but also expresses a keen interest in getting acquainted with the company culture and work environment.”
4. “The recruitment team made a decision not to appoint the candidate for the applied role. However, we are open to considering the candidate’s application for any future vacancies.”
5. “The recruitment team made a decision to not move forward with the candidate as he/she lacks the skill sets and experience required to perform the role optimally.”
6. “Since the candidate demonstrates extensive experience in the field, we have come to the conclusion that the role isn’t challenging enough to keep him/her motivated for long.”
7. “The recruitment team marked that the candidate found it challenging to showcase familiarity or comfort when inquired about the following skills — .”
8. “The candidate is suggested to review information related to [role/skill/industry] to make it easier to express his/her experience or opinion more confidently when applying for future roles.”
9. “The recruitment team appreciates how the candidate demonstrated his/her ability to adapt to our company’s culture and work environment, and also how his/her personal values map with those of the company. The candidate will be an excellent fit for the organization.”
10. “The recruitment team acknowledges and appreciates the level of preparation and intent shown by the candidate for the interview. We want to thank him/her for the time and effort put in.”
11. “The candidate performed excellently during the interview and effectively showcased his/her technical skills. The work sample shows how the candidate applies his/her skill set for efficient problem-solving.”
12. “The candidate has great communication skills and knows how to articulate past work experiences and contributions clearly. His/her proficiency in communication will make it easier to overcome the challenges of the role.”
13. “The recruitment was highly satisfied with how the candidate demonstrated his/her priorities-balancing and decision-making skills. The candidate also walked us through his/her thought process.”
14. “The recruitment team felt that the candidate’s body language was quite reserved and closed off, making it difficult for the panel to judge whether or not he/she was engaged in the interview. The lack of eye contact was concerning. The candidate is suggested to maintain eye contact to reflect confidence in his/her candidature.”
15. “The candidate is suggested to follow the STAR model of an interview when responding to questions. This will help him/her develop specific answers with clear results to make it easier for the interview panel to better understand his/her contributions.”
16. “The candidate has an educational background that will provide him/her an advantage when performing the role. However, he/she lacks the required work experience. We suggest the candidate apply to internships and gain relevant fundamental work experience before reapplying.”
17. “While the candidate answered all our questions to the best of his/her ability, he/she didn’t have a question to ask the panel at the end of the interview. The candidate is suggested to prepare and plan ahead and come up with insightful questions to ask interviewers in the future.”
The best structure for writing interview feedback
A strong interview feedback document should be structured in a way that provides the best value to candidates. Here’s how you can document interview feedback —
- The hiring manager can begin with the decision to hire or reject the candidate for the role. Provide them with a definite (yes or no) answer.
- Mention the strengths showcased by the candidate during each round of the interview. The strengths should be mentioned in bullet points and must be briefly explained.
- Mention the candidates’ weaknesses and why they were not considered a good fit for the company. When mentioning weaknesses, we highly recommend providing them with areas where they can improve.
- Lastly, you can summarize the entire interview experience and where the candidate stands in terms of the interview process. Also, mention the interview rounds or formalities left in the recruitment process.
Best practices to follow when delivering interview feedback
A company devoted to delivering interview feedback should follow these best practices to make the process more effective —
- Make sure the candidates feel appreciated for the time and effort they have put into the interview process. Leading with empathy and compassion will go a long way.
- Develop purposeful and effective interview feedback so that candidates know which part of their candidature they can improve to ensure better interview performance in the future.
- Ensure clarity and a sense of direction when communicating the interview feedback. Since feedback can be quite overwhelming for candidates, vagueness in it will only make things worse for them.
- Providing interview feedback in person is more effective than handing over sheets of paper. This is because talking to the candidate live opens the window for constructive discussion.
- The hiring manager should do away with comparing candidates when sharing interview feedback. Instead, managers should provide interview tips to rejected candidates and ask them to share their feedback (candidate feedback) as well.
Final thoughts
Impeccable talent acquisition is a crucial pillar that has to bear the weight of a growth-centric organization.
After all, to build a successful company, one has to onboard the right talent — a process that can be highly time and effort-intensive.
Therefore, much thought should be given to how you design the candidate experience and the overall recruitment process.
With the help of this guide on documenting constructive interview feedback, you will be able to put your best foot forward in developing an enriching candidate journey.
Did you find this guide helpful? Stay tuned for more informative posts in the future.