{"id":8709,"date":"2021-02-16T09:29:20","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T09:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/careers\/?p=8709"},"modified":"2021-02-16T09:29:23","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T09:29:23","slug":"f-is-for-feedback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/careers\/f-is-for-feedback\/","title":{"rendered":"F is for Feedback."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sian, our Careers Advisor, has put together some thoughts on types of feedback, and how you can use it to improve performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cCongratulations.  Thank you for coming to the interview \u2013 we absolutely loved meeting you and were impressed by your preparation and your skills and would like to offer you the job.  When can you start?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how we always hope the interview plays out.  Sadly it isn\u2019t always the case and instead you get to hear or read the words: \u201cUnfortunately on this occasion, we regret to inform you \u2026\u2026\u201d.  But wait.  Before you hang up or hit delete \u2013 try and get some FEEDBACK.  Why didn\u2019t you get the job? Was it you or was it them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the application stage and pre-shortlisting for interview stage of most company\u2019s recruitment processes you are pretty unlikely to get any feedback (albeit that\u2019s where our CV360 tool<\/a> can help you, but that is another story for another day).  However, if you are unsuccessful at a face-to-face or phone interview or assessment centre, the key thing is to recognize that you haven\u2019t so much been REJECTED, you have been REDIRECTED! And whilst it might not feel like it at the time, you are one step closer to closing in on the right job for you. Feedback is key. You will get and give feedback throughout your life but here we are talking specifically about interview (or assessment centre) feedback and how to use it to your advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many employers and interviewers will offer unsuccessful candidates the chance to get feedback \u2013 very few people will take them up on this offer \u2013 after all, what\u2019s the point, you didn\u2019t get the job anyway!   But hang on, all feedback is potentially valuable and you need to get it if you can.  Any insight into your performance or your preparation and choices can only help you be better prepared and better able to nail it next time you get the chance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same way that every online purchase and every trip to a bar or restaurant (ahh, happy days, remember those?) will result in a request for feedback: \u2018How did we do today?\u2019 \u2018Would you recommend this to a friend?\u2019 \u2018How was your driver\u2019s personal hygiene?\u2019, by asking for feedback in the job-market you get to improve your \u2018service\u2019, your \u2018product\u2019 and hopefully your chance of getting hired.  You need to make yourself lucky \u2013 and acting on the feedback is one way to do just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feedback can come in various guises:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The polite but unhelpful feedback<\/strong> \u201cyou were great, there wasn\u2019t really anything you did wrong.  It was just that on the day they felt that another candidate would be a better fit.\u201d.  This is the toughest one to deal with \u2013 you can press for something\/anything more helpful, but ultimately the message is that you just weren\u2019t lucky enough on that<\/em> day at that<\/em> time.  Don\u2019t dismiss the role of luck entirely – if they happen to have an office netball team and the other candidate is an ex-county player then sometimes that can be the only difference.  They can\u2019t (or won\u2019t) tell you that you didn\u2019t get it because you can\u2019t catch, but at least you know it wasn\u2019t something you did wrong \u2013 persevere and you will succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The non-commital feedback<\/strong> \u201cwe just felt that overall, the other person would be better suited to our needs\u201d.  This isn\u2019t helpful \u2013 what does it even mean? What was it that separated you?  Did you mess up completely or was it a close-run thing? The only way is to try and find out.  Ask. A polite email back to them saying that you are disappointed with the outcome but would it be possible to have a quick telephone call to better understand what you could improve upon can often allow them to expand on this.  If they say yes, you get to better understand what really separated you; if they say no, you are no worse off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highly specific<\/strong> \u201cwe felt that the example you gave about how you dealt with a wild squirrel in the stationery cupboard wasn\u2019t quite right\u201d.  This is annoying (a squirrel in a stationery cupboard would be!) \u2013 you\u2019ll certainly know to pick a better example next time, but it does seem a bit lame and unfair.  A polite email can again unblock this; the poor squirrel may just be a convenient excuse for something else that they didn\u2019t want to tell you.  The more you can find out, the better \u2013 the only way is to ask them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of preparation<\/strong> \u201cyour examples of teamwork and adaptability were weak\u201d or \u201cyou didn\u2019t seem to have a thorough grasp of what the job entailed day-to-day\u201d.  This is almost certainly your fault and is avoidable. Preparation is everything when it comes to interviews.  Learn from this or it will happen again. Look at the Hub, and potential  Interview Questions<\/a>.  You need to unpick the job advert and have worked examples for all the skills they mention; you need to do your best to find out as much as you can about the job, the company and their industry.  Treat it like an exam \u2013 it will be time consuming but if you get it right you need never do it again! Importantly, preparation isn\u2019t about learning facts \u2013 their board members, share price and number of employees or hours spent looking at their homepage \u2013 it\u2019s about knowing how their business runs and how you will fit into their culture \u2013 get under their skin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stylistic fail<\/strong> \u201cwe would have expected you to use the STAR method for responding to our competency based questions\u201d.  This is about preparation again.  There is a lot of material out there and you were probably told this information and their tips and preferences somewhere in the interview papers or on their website.  Do your research, look at their Company mission statement and their Vision and Values, watch the videos from previous graduates \u2013 the clues are out there.  Get it right and you have made yourself luckier!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking for feedback isn\u2019t always easy and accepting it can be even harder.  It feels awkward to ask and you feel vulnerable when you have it \u2013 why would you want to know what you did wrong? Let the Careers and Enterprise Hub help.  Amongst the resources you have free and unlimited access to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n