The recruitment process can be time-consuming and challenging, but hiring staff is a necessary undertaking for most business owners and managers. Part of this process involves notifying unsuccessful job candidates and providing constructive interview feedback.
Sounds simple enough, yet this is an area of HR that many people struggle with. It’s difficult telling a hopeful applicant that they’re not being offered the job, even more so when they’ve reached the interview stage.
Below, 1st Formations share their tips on providing interview feedback and explain why it is important – not only to candidates but also your business image and reputation as an employer.
Am I legally required to provide interview feedback?
Employers are under no legal obligation to send rejection letters or provide interview feedback to unsuccessful job candidates. However, it is common courtesy to do so – and it should be done in a timely manner.
When contacting someone who did not make it to the interview stage, it’s best to send a neutral, standard response. Aside from being the most efficient approach, this will help you avoid using statements that may be discriminatory or disrespectful, or interpreted as such.
For any candidates who have attended an interview, it is better to send a more personalised rejection letter that provides constructive feedback. This will be helpful to the individual and create a positive impression of your business.
How to provide constructive interview feedback
Providing constructive interview feedback to unsuccessful job applicants might seem like a waste of your valuable time. However, an enhanced recruitment experience is in everyone’s interests.
The applicant will have a better understanding of the areas in which they need to improve, which can benefit them going forward. Moreover, this approach will help you to build a reputation as a trustworthy and respected employer with a good company culture.
But how do you provide insightful interview feedback that is beneficial to the applicant and leaves them with a good impression of your business? Here are our top tips.
Notify applicants in a timely manner
Whilst some applicants may have decided that the job or business is not the right fit for them, most of those who make it to the interview stage will be invested and hoping for good news.
If you are not going to offer the job to someone, you should notify them as soon as possible after making your decision.
Nobody likes to be left waiting too long to find out the result of a job interview. They may also have other potential job offers lined up, so telling them in a timely manner will enable them to make an informed decision.
Be honest
The point of giving feedback is to help the applicant understand why they didn’t get the job. To do this, you need to be honest and explain your reasoning.
Perhaps they don’t have the necessary skills, experience, or qualifications that you’re looking for, or it may be the case that they were unprepared for the interview or exhibited poor interpersonal capabilities.
Whilst you do need to be compassionate and mindful in your feedback, it will be of benefit to the applicant’s future growth and development to know exactly why they were not chosen.
Remain tactful
Whilst honesty is important, you still need to be tactful to avoid causing offence or damaging the applicant’s self-confidence for their continued job search and future interviews.
It doesn’t matter if you disliked them or if their interview performance was particularly poor, you should not be rude or condescending in your feedback. Aside from being unprofessional, it could lead to complaints and negative reviews of your business.
So, for example, rather than simply criticising their lack of relevant skills or knowledge, or even their personal conduct during the interview, present your feedback in a way that highlights which areas need improvement whilst also offering solutions.
Avoid generic phrases
It’s tempting to use generic phrases like “We’re looking for someone with more relevant skills and experience” or “There were other candidates more suited to the role.” But this type of feedback is ambiguous and unhelpful.
The candidate may believe that they are perfectly suited to the role, and they may already possess the necessary skills and experience, so where do they go from there?
Using clichés and empty phrases can seem impersonal or give the impression that you are trying to avoid providing honest feedback. Instead, be clear and specific, using real examples from their CV and interview performance.
Keep it concise
Whilst interview feedback should be candidate-specific and provide enough detail to be meaningful, you should try to keep it concise.
If it is exhaustive, there is a danger of information overload, and it could be interpreted as hyper-critical. This could do more damage than good.
Your feedback should explain why they were not chosen for the job, what they did well, the areas in which you feel they could make improvements, and some suggestions on how they might achieve this.
Highlight the positives
Feedback shouldn’t be all doom and gloom. Every candidate will have different strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to mention the positives and highlight anything that you were particularly impressed with.
Whether someone lacks the necessary skills or experience, or you simply had to make a difficult choice between equally great candidates, honest praise and positive feedback is incredibly useful.
Aside from softening the blow of being rejected for the job, it lets the candidate know what they are doing right.
Provide actionable tips
If you feel that the candidate needs to make improvements in certain areas, provide actionable tips that will help their future growth and development.
This could be specific qualifications, professional training courses, presentation, or communication skills workshops, gaining experience in certain roles, or simply enhancing their knowledge of a particular subject through self-directed learning.
Offering useful, practical advice or providing helpful resources is highly valuable to applicants and will leave them with a positive impression of your company.
We hope these tips on providing constructive interview feedback to unsuccessful job candidates are of benefit to you. For more business-related advice and guidance, visit 1st Formations Blog today.
