The Right And Wrong Way To Ask For Interview Feedback
So, you didn’t get the job and you are wondering why. Why not just ask the hiring manager? But, before you do it’s important to think about your strategy. You don’t want to put him/her on the spot by asking awkwardly phrased questions but most hiring managers would be happy to give you feedback if you ask the right way.
What you shouldn’t ask:
“I wondered if you could tell me why I was not selected for the job?” This is really difficult question for the interviewer to answer without the risk of insulting the candidate and rather than insult the candidate, they’ll probably just give the canned answer “we hired someone with more experience”.
I once interviewed a candidate who gave responses that violated privacy rights of the clients she worked with in her current position. The interview itself was very uncomfortable so when I received the email from this candidate asking why he/she was not selected, I would love to have been able to tell him/her that I felt that the responses were in violation of privacy rights and that had made me question his/her integrity, but I decided it was a can of worms I’d rather not open. So I just said “we hired the most experienced candidate.”
What you should ask:
“Thank’s for considering me for the position. I wondered if you would be willing to provide some feedback on how I might be more effective in my future job interviews?” This makes it much easier for the interviewer to answer in a constructive, non-threatening way. If it really was just that you did not have enough experience, they’ll simply say “you did great in the interview and I wouldn’t change a thing but we decided to go with a candidate with more experience.” However, if you blew the interview, they can tell you that in a more positive way.
I would have loved the opportunity to answer this particular question with candidate I mentioned. I would have told him/her that, while you do want to give specific examples when answering behavioral interview questions, you should be careful not to violate anybody’s rights because intentional or not, it may cause the interviewer to question your professionalism and integrity.
Have you ever asked questions like this after not getting a job you really wanted? What was your experience like?
I do not know if I agree with this one. Most people if they are asked in the way you suggest will offer positive feedback with an small “nugget” of why the person was not really selected. That does not assist the person as much as they need, especially if the failure was dramatic or the subject matter off limits as your scenario represents.
When I ask for feedback on my candidates, I ask for very upfront and direct feedback. Candor is needed in these situations. First and foremost, forget email and make a call. Email will get you nothing that the person will not want on paper. So if you are looking for the real reasons, pick up the phone and connect. Then you can dig into the issues, and really get to the heart of the matter. I have gotten to the nitty gritty of people’s hiring process through this method. Now sometimes it is rough and others smooth, I even found during this that their are some clients I simply fire due to why they did not like someone.
I prefer up front and in your face for this one. Mainly because in this market you cannot stand to make the same mistake twice and I am not sure a nice email is going to get you the truth you need.