Such feelings of how the interview went agonize thousands of interview givers and it is very important you get feedback on the interview, for more often than not your hunches could turn out to be true and they need to be addressed ASAP – that is, as soon as possible.
But how to do you get that feedback? You cannot call the company directly. They may not be forthcoming? So where do you start?
If you had hired the services of a headhunter or a recruiter, they would ideally have been the right persons to provide you with the feedback. But what if you had approached the company directly, then how do you determine what are the points to keep in mind for future interviews.
1) Honestly Assess The Groundwork
To figure out where you're going off track, ask yourself if the jobs you are interviewing for are the jobs you want to do? Do you really deserve them? Do you have it in you to do justice to those jobs? Are you aptly qualified for them? Understand that just because you've been chosen for an interview doesn't mean you are a feasible candidate.
Assuming you are interviewing for the jobs that are the type which will suit your qualifications, your competence and your temperament, ask yourself, how prepared have you been?
While it may seem futile and silly, that I am posing these questions to you. You’ll be saying to yourself, I’d be a dumb head not to know what career to pursue. Moreover, with jobs so scarce and the competition so severe, I’d have to be an even bigger dumb head, to go under-prepared or not prepared at all.
Believe it or not, but these are the two reasons, they may seem apparent, but they are the cause of a majority of poor performance in interviews.
Please also remember that apart from the actual interview and what you say during the interview you are also being judged on other facets of your performance such as:
- What you are wearing?
- How you are groomed and the overall personality you present.
- How well-prepared are you?
- The weight of your answers and how relevant they are to the job you are seeking
- Your confidence levels and composure under pressure, do you buckle under it or stand up to it?
- You will be judged on how you score totally. You are a comprehensive package and every single aspect matters.
2) How to Get Feedback?
The most obvious and sure fire method of getting the exact feedback is by asking the company. But that wouldn’t seem right, would it? Well there are three other options and we are going to assess which method will give us an idea of how really god, or bad was our interview:
a) Self-Evaluation: Rewind the interview questions in your mind and answer them again. How do you sound? Would you like to change the answers to some of them or wished that you had said something else. Evaluate yourself honestly. Write down some of the answers and see if they were worth it? Do you remember any gaffes, any error of judgment that is haunting you? Rate yourself on a scale of one to ten. Be in the interviewer’s shoes, how much would he give you?
b) Coworker Evaluation: Get a trust friend or someone who is well versed in these matters, your former teacher or a well meaning parent and ask them to be the interviewer and get them to interview and assess you. Give them a list of the questions asked and ask them to make up some of their own along the way. It may be a mock interview but don’t belittle it by taking it lightly. Ask someone to videotape it? Ask your friendly interviewer to honestly appraise you. View the video and now you be the judge. What do you see?
c) Expert Evaluation: There are career services firms that offer interview training. They are pretty expensive, but since they are professionals and know the real-world of recruitment, it is one investment that could be worth every penny that you put into it. I would really recommend it for anyone who is really low on confidence and self-worth.
3) Ask the Hiring Company
Like I told you before, the definitive feedback is from the interviewers who have rejected your candidacy. Will it look good, will they provide you with the feedback, is it possible to get it from them? The answer to all three questions is “Yes.”
Just keep these things in mind.
- Know When To Ask: The ideal time to ask is when the interviewer tells you sorry you are not wanted. He will not be very happy bringing you this news and knows that you will be disappointed. He will be sympathetic to your needs and may tell you where you went wrong. However, if the information is via mail and over the phone, call up immediately to cash in on the sympathy value.
- Frame Your Enquiry Appropriately: Never adopt an alleging tone and ask why you weren’t given the job. You’ll antagonize him. They can only choose one and you are not the only one facing rejection and subsequent disappointment. Instead, thank him for taking the trouble to call and that you respect their decision. Then politely ask, if he could fill you in the details about where you went wrong and to point out your weak spots, to enable you to rectify them so that you don’t repeat them again.
- Strike the Right Tone: Don’t sound aggrieved or hurt. Don’t get into an aggressive mode. Don’t question or dispute the interviewer’s contention. Be polite and mention that you were looking forward to working there and the news comes as a disappointment and would they be kind enough to consider you, if any opening comes up.