Interview feedback
Interview feedback & Company Branding
We know clients spend valuable time creating & managing their recruitment processes and candidates devote a lot of time preparing for interviews.
It is widely recognised job seekers discuss their experiences during a hiring process – be it with friends, colleagues or online, and their opinions on how an employer interacts with them may impact their brand (Lisa Quast, Forbes, Jun 26, 2017).
Providing good interview feedback can reduce some of the negativity associated with the recruitment process. Feedback is important for a number of reasons 1) it’s a small but effective opportunity to positively promote your company culture, business ethics and attitude, 2) it can help applicants develop understanding, learn and improve performance and 3) providing solid feedback can reduce the liability for claim of discrimination.
Company culture and ethics are important factors when professionals are considering a new job, Glassdoor’s Mission & Culture Survey 2019 found that over 77% of adults across four countries (US, UK, France, Germany) would consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there. Even more interesting was most U.S. & UK millennials are more likely to prioritise culture above salary.
What a person reads on social media can affect their decision to accept an interview or job with an employer. According to a CareerArc survey, nearly 60% of candidates surveyed said they had a poor candidate experience, and 72% of those candidates shared that experience online or with someone directly. This statistic reiterated the importance for employers to receive positive on & offline feedback and if sharing great interview feedback can enable this it’s an easy win. Robert Walters Whitepaper 2012, ‘Managing your Recruitment Brand throughout the Recruitment process’, reveals 60% surveyed have attended an interview and not received feedback and 88% of professionals discuss their experiences of the recruitment process, therefore a lack of feedback or even as the whitepaper also discussed, a delay in feedback can negatively impact an employer’s brand.
Therefore, providing interview feedback is an easy way to reinforce your positive culture and improve your employer banding.
If you don’t have time to provide detailed feedback, these 3 questions are a quick solution to giving the interviewee something tangible to take away from the experience – it will take less than a minute to complete and will leave them feeling valued, informed and (even if they are rejected) positive about the experience:
- What was good about the candidate’s interview
- Why they were not successful?
- What advice would you share for any future interview?
A quick note on timing, Robert Walters Whitepaper highlighted that the majority of professionals (88%) expect an update on their interview within 4 days of it taking place and none of their respondents believe it is acceptable for feedback to take more than 14 day.
In an ideal world detailed feedback would be great but if you don’t have time please just share the facts as soon as you can; what went well, what wasn’t so good and what can they learn from this experience moving forward, let applicants finish the recruitment process with a positive experience.