How To Give Interview Feedback To Unsuccessful Candidates

It’s common for managers to be unsure about how to give interview feedback to unsuccessful candidates. Whether that’s due to limited management training in how to hire effectively or not having the right procedures in place, understanding how to give interview feedback is an important part of a successful recruitment campaign.

Whilst giving interview feedback is not obligatory, declining to do so can affect employer brand and make candidates think twice about working with the organisation again in the future.

What is interview feedback?

Before answering how to give interview feedback, it is important to set out what interview feedback actually looks like.

Interview feedback is either written by email or communicated via a phone call. The feedback covers the reasons that a candidate has been unsuccessful in securing the role or being moved onto the next stage in the process. Effective responses will provide pointers on what a candidate could improve on for their next interview. Typically, feedback isn’t longer than a few paragraphs and covers what the candidate did well, where they can improve and why the business decided they would not remain in the hiring process.

Why give interview feedback?

Giving interview feedback is not a requirement. Therefore, some businesses decide not to provide any. For businesses that use a recruitment agency, interview feedback will be contractually required. Recruiters use interview feedback to advise their candidates whether they’ve been successful or not and why. Secondly, they use interview feedback to gain insights into the organisation in order to present more relevant candidates in the future.

Interview feedback is an essential part of the candidate experience and employer brand. The way candidates are treated can change their perception of an organisation. This can have real consequences for businesses as the following statistics show:

• 66% of candidates say a positive candidate experience will raise the chance of them referring someone to the company
• 25% of candidates upset with their experience will discourage those in their professional network from applying to the same company
• 52% of candidates who were given feedback were more likely to continue a relationship with the company

Businesses who give interview feedback are more likely to keep a positive relationship with candidates that might benefit them in the future. If the new hire falls through, and the company wants to ask if other candidates previously in the process are still available but offered no interview feedback, they may not receive a favourable response. Furthermore, if a new position opens up in the future, the talent pool may be reduced if professionals have had a bad experience with the organisation’s recruitment processes and have told their peers.

How to give interview feedback: Points to include

In order to give interview feedback that is effective, companies should consider including the following elements:

• Thank the candidate for attending the interview and for their time
• Provide the core reasons the candidate was unsuccessful
• Give praise where possible
• Explain areas the candidate should work on and look to improve

It does not need to be lengthy by any means, however, providing pointers for areas to improve, is often very beneficial to candidates.

How to give interview feedback: Dos

Write notes during and after the interview

Note taking is an essential part of interviews as it can help managers jot down important information, key skills and first impressions that can help compare candidates and make hiring decisions. These notes are also vital to writing accurate and detailed interview feedback responses. By using these notes businesses can make their feedback responses personal and beneficial to the candidate.

Tell the truth tactfully

Remember to stick to why a candidate was unsuitable/ unsuccessful with strict references to the job requirements. For example, this may sound obvious, but there should be no mentions of their hygiene, personal attributes, or anything else irrelevant to the job. Mentioning anything outside of a candidate’s suitability in the role can seem unprofessional, or perhaps in some cases discriminatory. It is best to only mention why their skills or experience was unsuitable for the role.

Furthermore, refrain from being overly negative by using words such as “disappointing” or “shocking” in feedback. Utilise neutral fact-based language, such as, “You didn’t meet the required level of competency in *skill*”. Whilst businesses should be accurate in why a candidate didn’t get the job, it shouldn’t be insulting, condescending or open the company up to legal challenges.

Give real examples

Generic, cliché responses can often feel not much better than no response in candidate’s eyes. Where possible, businesses should include details of where they were impressed (such as mentioning experience on a certain project), and where the candidate needed more experience (such as on a particular skill or project type). This can help candidates view the experience as productive and the company they applied to more favourably.

How to give interview feedback: Don’ts

Be careful of what you say

This is often the fear most organisations have around interview feedback. There is a potential that interview feedback can be used as evidence in discrimination claims. While of course, a recruiter would not let an organisation give feedback that could lead to an employment tribunal, businesses who don’t use a third party in their processes may be more vulnerable to this.

A few years ago, a company lost a discrimination claim after a manager told an unsuccessful candidate that she would find it difficult to manage him because he was much older than her and had family responsibilities, despite him being the most qualified candidate. This is clear discrimination, and this feedback was part of the evidence in the claim.

Situations like this should not stop companies from giving interview feedback, as the benefits outweigh the challenges. But they should be careful of what they say the reasons are for turning down a candidate.

Don’t get carried away with the positives

Pointing out where a candidate did well or even exceeded expectations will help to smooth the rejection email. However, avoid sugarcoating too much. If there are only positives in the feedback it may confuse a candidate as to why they weren’t successful and won’t offer them any real help in how to improve in their next interview.

If you are looking to hire a new IT professional in your business, we are an award-winning IT recruitment agency, that can help you to improve your processes, secure great new talent and assist in giving interview feedback. Get in touch with our team here for more information and support.