How did the interview go?

Undoubtedly a question that we have heard on repeated occasions, even from people that we aren’t that close to.

Nor is it an easy question to answer, because maybe we come out with more questions than answers from an interview. We leave thinking about the company, imagining ourselves in there, in the work team, on the journey to the office, the possibilities that we will have, etc, etc, etc.

When we leave with more questions than answers, it will certainly not be easy to answer how it has gone and the typical answers will be: “I think it went well”, “I don’t know”, “well, I liked them”, “I hope, well”, “I didn’t like them”, “they didn’t say anything interesting to me”.

But have you ever received this question, at the end of the interview, directly from who is interviewing you? I don’t know why but it occurred to me to start doing it with my candidates some time ago and the truth is that the results have been more than positive.

We give the candidate the possibility of giving a last insight of how they felt and to be able to express it with total naturalness and sincerity. At the same time, a space is created to give feedback on how we viewed it, regardless of how the process progresses.

Many times we receive criticism for not informing the candidate of the state of the process, especially when they have not been selected. So, what better than being able to provide almost immediate feedback? Not only from the recruiters, but also from the possible leader or “technical interviewer”.

Those of us who are accustomed to interviewing, clearly have an almost instantaneous idea of ​​whether the candidate liked us or not, if they could move forward in the process or not, if they fit in with the culture of the company or not, etc. It is more difficult to clarify the “why” of this idea, but through dialogue it can be made clearer..

I can assure you that this exercise can give very good results as long as the feedback is honest, transparent and respectful. The candidate will be grateful, will have a good experience and will understand the reasons in case they were not selected. You will also have a few minutes to “vindicate” yourself if you feel that it has not been very clear or that you could improve some idea that you commented on.

Before expecting it from third parties, we also have to be prepared and honestly ask ourselves “How did the interview go?” I invite you to do this practice from introspection and thinking about the importance of continuous feedback.