Interview Feedback

So why bother with interview feedback? Because interviewing is a skill. One of the most important skills you can possess. Feedback is one of the most effective tools you have to improve as a candidate. And I don't need to remind you why you want to do that, do I?

• Make the most of your career opportunities

• Get the salary you really want

• Be confident of finding the right work even when the economy struggles

The Importance of feedback

You can use your interview feedback to focus more on the things that work, and to eliminate those things that don’t.

Whatever the outcome of an interview, feedback is crucial. Perhaps the biggest difference between successful and unsuccessful interviewees is their understanding of the interview process, and how different aspects of performance affect the outcome.

Candidates who fail to use feedback to improve are doomed to continue to play the game of hit and miss, hoping they one day strike it lucky and get it right. I don’t believe in stumbling over success. Success is achieved through understanding, preparation and taking the right action. Interview feedback helps you to identify what the right action is.

“There is no such thing as failure-only feedback”

“If at first you don’t succeed, try again”. Sometimes the feedback you receive may not be positive, and the outcome may not be what you hoped for. We all meet with disappointment along the way but how you respond says a lot about your character. The best candidates take feedback from any setbacks and use it to improve .

In order to be successful at anything you have to be willing to face temporary setbacks and you often learn more from setbacks than you do from winning, because you are forced to evaluate a situation. So evaluate, improve, and then move forward.

Questions to ask yourself

By going through the process of asking yourself questions you will be able to clearly assess the position and your thoughts about it. Use this time to take stock so that if you are offered the position you can judge it on its merits, and to learn from the interview experience. Feedback is not just about you – but how you feel about the role too This isn’t a one way street. There is little value in being offered a job you don’t actually want. So I’ve included some questions to help you get clear in your mind about the role too.

1. How did it go? Give yourself a rating out of ten for your overall performance.

2. What went well? What areas did you perform strongly in?

3. What didn’t go so well? There is no such thing as a perfect interview, what areas were difficult? Where would you perform better if you were to sit the interview again?

4. How did you get on with the interviewer? Could you see yourself working with this person?

5. What do you like about the role? You have had a chance to learn more and ask questions. How closely does it compare to what you want?

6. What do you like about the company?

7. What reservations do you have? How can they be resolved?

8. What money did you discuss? This can help you anticipate the offer you might receive

9. How does the opportunity compare with your current job?

10. How does the opportunity compare with other opportunities you have?

Asking these questions will give you an indication of how you performed, and help you decide how you feel about the role

Interview feedback and learning from others

What if you could tap into the experiences of other successful people so you wouldn’t have to make the mistakes yourself? One of the keys to achieving success in any field is modelling excellence. This is the idea of learning what it is that makes people succeed and applying the principles to work for you. Think of it as the expressway to interview excellence.

Want to follow the methods that are proven to work? Well you are in the right place – right here on this site.

Click here to learn what it takes to achieve interview success

Want the job? Click here to learn about job offers

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