USING INTERVIEW FEEDBACK TO SECURE THE NEXT JOB OPPORTUNITY

Being told that you did not get a role that you have been interviewing for is a major disappointment to any candidate. Interviewing involves a lot of time, effort and energy. And if a candidate truly wanted the job, a great deal of emotion is also invested into the process. It is never easy to hear “you didn’t get the job” and it often results in self-doubt and a decreased sense of confidence. This is a very natural reaction to any form of rejection. However, I strongly urge candidates to absorb this feedback and to use it to their advantage, incorporating it into future interviews in order to avoid making similar mistakes and to ultimately get the job! You might have concerns or doubts about some pieces of feedback. My advice is to review the feedback, reflect on it, and to work on those pieces which seem fair, accurate and valid.

As a recruiter, one of the most difficult parts of my role is telling candidates that they are not moving forward in an interview process. Relaying any type of negative feedback can also be very difficult. However, it is an incredibly important part of my job and I try my absolute best to turn feedback into constructive criticism that can be used to more strongly position a candidate’s experience and to better prepare him or her for the next set of interviews for another role. Interview feedback can range from “he or she did not do a good job of explaining career moves” or “he or she spoke negatively about a former boss” or even “he or she did not make eye contact during the interview.” These pieces of feedback are never easy to hear, especially if you took a lot of time to prepare for the interview, but USE them to improve your performance and to get stronger and better for the next opportunity. 

Trust me- any door closed eventually results in one open if you take the time to really understand why it was shut in the first place.