Gary Will's WORKSEARCH:
Selling Yourself To An Employer
Chapter 21: (continued)
Reviewing the interview
From the book How to Prepare for an Employment Interview.
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[Chapter 21: continued from here
]
3. For each weak spot you identify, figure out how you'll do better the next time. This includes thinking of better answers to questions that you weren't prepared for (but don't spend too much time preparing answers to idiosyncratic questions that you'll probably never be asked again).
Should you ask for feedback if you don't receive an offer?
If you don't receive an offer and no clear signs of a poor fit were apparent to you during the interview, it's only natural for you to want to know what the real reasons were. You may think that the interviewer saw some flaw that you'll want to correct for future interviews.
Most interviewers won't take the initiative to share their reasoning with you. Rejection letters are usually cliché-ridden and without any helpful content-the same letter is sent to everyone. And interviewers rarely call rejected interviewees to provide feedback.
There are two kinds of feedback you can get from someone who has interviewed you but didn't hire you or pass you through to the next step. You could ask them 1) what factors influenced their decision, and 2) for suggestions on how you can do better in future interviews with other organizations. While they unquestionably are experts on the first subject, their opinions may not be so valuable on the second.
I believe you have to be cautious about the feedback you get from interviewers.
Trainer Brian Tracy says that most salespeople are averse to asking for critiques of their performance, and I suppose this may have something to do with my own reluctance.
But there's more to it than a desire to avoid criticism...[Continued here ]
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