What would I tell HR if they asked me for feedback?
Often on the Internet there are recommendations for job seekers to ask employers for feedback after an interview. This helps candidates understand what they need to work on to make a better impression in the future. But what about the other side?
I haven't heard of employers asking candidates for feedback. Occasionally, feedback still arrives in the direction of HR in the form of dissatisfied comments: “Call back if you promised” and “You don’t need to remind me about your vacancy ten times.” However, feedback is not always about negativity and some significant actions. When communicating with a candidate, a significant role is played by nuances that are barely noticeable, but can affect the overall impression of the company.
In this article, I will talk about what stood out to me when communicating with recruiters and what, in my opinion, could be improved to make our interaction more effective and enjoyable.
Background. Preliminary Study
Now I am looking for a job and go through a lot of interviews or communicate about a vacancy without reaching the interview stage. Over time, I accumulated wishes for HR, and I became curious: how will they know what the candidate liked during the interview and what he didn’t like? After all, none of the recruiters ever asked me for feedback.
I understand that processing feedback requires separate time, which may not be available during the period of active recruitment. But how do recruiters get feedback and do they need it? I asked this question in one of the communities, which includes HR specialists.
As it turned out, sometimes HR managers still ask candidates to share feedback on the interview process. They can always do this or in some individual cases – for example, if a candidate was suitable for the position, but refused the offer. In addition, recruiters analyze case studies from interviews in communities, read articles on the topic and professional literature. There is also the opportunity to seek detailed feedback from a more experienced HR person with extensive experience.
I’m glad to know that feedback from candidates is still interesting to recruiters. However, I think that some points may be awkward to talk about or seem too small to talk about. Therefore, I decided to summarize my observations and share them with the community. Perhaps someone in the recruiting industry will find them useful.
My experience and recommendations to HR
In the vast majority of cases, my experience with HR and hiring managers has been positive. It was interesting for me to communicate with professionals in their field, get acquainted with different companies and discover something new about myself in the process of communication.
However, after going through a series of interviews, I came up with the following recommendations that I would like to give to the hiring party. Here I mean not only recruiters and HR, but also any specialists who, by occupation, are involved in hiring.
1. Let's be as clear as possible
Clarity will prevent possible misunderstandings, save time for you and the candidate, and reduce the likelihood of speculation on both your part and the candidate's. This is a very voluminous point, so it is likely that you will be able to supplement it with your own suggestions.
– Clarity on the purpose of the call
Sometimes HR people send a standard message asking you to call back during business hours at the specified phone number. Several questions arise at once:
– Will this be a telephone interview or do you just want to arrange an interview in the future?
– what do you mean by working hours?
– is there a time during the day when you are definitely busy and it’s better not to call?
– Clarity on interview format
Will this be a video interview or an audio interview? Will this be an initial interview with a recruiter or directly with a future manager (this also happens)? Approximately how long will the interview take?
If you know the answers to these questions for yourself, then the applicant must either guess, or ask you questions, or act according to the circumstances.
When I first started looking for a job, I thought a Zoom call automatically meant a video meeting. I cheerfully connected to the first zoom interview via video, but it turned out that the recruiter did not expect to communicate via video and did not prepare as she would have liked (in terms of makeup and hair styling). I am still grateful to this girl that she nevertheless turned on the camera and we communicated as equals.
After that incident, I began to clarify the format of the interview, but recently I decided to ignore this and did not ask about the format. As a result, during the interview with three company representatives, I was the only one with video. I didn’t feel awkward, but at some point I realized that I had no one to look at when talking. As a result, I looked either at my video or, more often, at the avatars of my interlocutors. However, the feeling that I was in an aquarium was still present.
– Clarity on the composition of interview participants
Warn the candidate if there will be more than one person (other than the recruiter) at the interview. This is especially important during a face-to-face interview, but it also makes sense online. If a candidate understands how many people will be interviewing for what positions, this reduces the stress of having to accommodate more participants as the meeting progresses.
I had a situation when I arrived for an in-person interview, HR escorted me into the office, and upon entering it, I saw three employees of the company. I think before, when I was just starting to look for a job, this would have really thrown me off track. This time I got my bearings pretty quickly, and we talked with interest.
– Clarity on issues to be discussed
Somewhere I saw a recommendation for candidates to ask in advance how they can prepare for the interview and what set of questions will be discussed during the interview. I used this advice only once and I'm very glad that I did it then. This was probably the only time it was useful to me in my job search. Perhaps it is more relevant for representatives of other specialties (mine is project management).
2. Check job requirements before posting
The advice seems obvious, but it is important not to forget about it.
I usually do not apply to jobs that include travel opportunities. However, one day I missed the mark and sent a response to just such a vacancy. I was invited to an in-person interview, where, however, not a word was said about business trips. I clarified, and it turned out that this position does not involve any business trips, and if they do occur, then only at the request of the employee. Agree, for some this criterion could be critical, and the company could miss a suitable candidate.
3. Treat the candidate as an equal
What are you thinking now? That an employer should not look down on a candidate? It seems that this has not been a trend for a long time, especially in the IT field. Here I want to talk about the other extreme.
A couple of times I encountered an almost ingratiating attitude from recruiters towards me. One day, the HR manager’s excessive enthusiasm for my experience led to the illusion that I was completely satisfied with the employer. I even forgot that the interview involves a stage where they will also ask me questions (and not just praise my experience).
It’s nice when HR emphasizes your merits and sees how you could be useful to the company. At the same time, there should not be a feeling that I did them a great honor by agreeing to an interview, and they are immensely grateful to me for deigning to communicate with them. This approach artificially lowers the company in my eyes, although its goal was probably different.
Respect the candidate, acknowledge his experience, ask clarifying questions. But don't forget that you are an equal participant in this process. I'm sure many would like to work for a company they respect. Communication as equals contributes to the creation and maintenance of just such respectful relationships.
4. Ask questions
During the communication process, recruiters ask a lot of questions, it’s true. But it happens that the question seems to be implied, but not asked.
For example, after the phrase: “We have reviewed your resume and would like to talk with you in more detail,” it is logical to ask the question: “Are you ready to call?” (or other similar). If there is no question, then I get the feeling that I should take the initiative and start asking questions (for example, “Okay, let’s call when it’s convenient for you?”). In the ritual of invitation to an interview, the pace, it seems to me, is set by the inviting party. It is especially important to ask a question that “accelerates” communication at the beginning of interaction.
To be honest, when I receive an affirmative message without a question at the end, my first instinct is to respond: “Okay,” “So…”. It sounds unprofessional, so I don't write it that way. But this is an indicator that dialogue is not being formed. But you and I want dialogue, right?
5. Address the candidate in a non-impersonal manner
It's not a common occurrence, but it does happen. It happens that the employer does not seem to communicate with me, but talks out loud.
How is it shown? The phrases are not addressed to me personally, but as if into the air. For example, the question “Will it be convenient to call?” instead of “Would it be convenient for you to call?”
Of course, some similar phrases may sound natural. But if the whole speech is structured in this way, then there is a feeling that it’s as if I don’t exist at all, and the person is talking to someone abstract.
6. Respect your interlocutor and acknowledge his presence in the dialogue.
Pay attention to the wording of questions
Everyone knows Carlson’s phrase, which took the “housekeeper” Miss Bok by surprise: “Have you already stopped drinking cognac in the morning?” Try to avoid such questions.
I was once asked what didn’t suit me at my last job. On the one hand, if I’m looking for a new job, I can assume that the previous one didn’t suit me in some way. On the other hand, situations can be different, even to the point where people move and companies close. At the same time, such a wording of the question has a slightly negative connotation and presupposes the absence of a neutral answer.
7. Give the candidate a chance to breathe.
… and put things away.
I had two different experiences with offline interviews. In the first case, the company representatives gave me time to put my things away and take a seat at the table before the interview began. In the second case, the recruiter started telling me how the interview would go without waiting for me to get a seat at the table.
Not all people are multitasking, not everyone is comfortable listening and remembering in which compartment of the bag they put the pen at the same time. You will also show your respect if you wait until the candidate is ready to fully engage in the conversation.
Conclusion
In this article, I have listed some points that can make communication between HR and candidates more pleasant and effective. Some of these nuances seem insignificant, others are more critical (for example, checking the requirements in the job description).
None of these points became an obstacle to my communication with the company. Some of them, however, shaped my attitude towards the hiring party even before the interview.
Whether you listen to my recommendations or not is everyone’s business. For me, feedback is an important element of communication, so I'm glad I can share it.
I invite you to dialogue too. What would you like to tell HR if you were asked for feedback? And if you are looking for employees yourself, what would be important for you to hear from candidates about your work?
