Interview feedback

I recently interviewed someone for an open position I had. I’ll call this candidate “Susan” for the sake of the candidate’s privacy. Susan had a great background and had many of the skills I needed for the role I was trying to fill. I was excited to meet her in person. Once Susan came into the office, it quickly became apparent that Susan was one-dimensional in her career. She had worked for the same company for twenty years and didn’t have an opinion or skill set outside of that particular company’s methodology. I pushed her with several questions to think differently. Unfortunately, Susan seemed trapped in her old company’s paradigm. Susan had been laid off from that company over a year ago. She had nothing to fill the gap on her resume and continued down the only path she knew.

Although I didn’t hire Susan, I did provide Susan with feedback. How many other job opportunities had passed her by because she didn’t get that direct feedback? As a manager, or potential employer, how does it benefit you to not give feedback? How can feedback help both you and the candidate? What is your track record with difficult conversations?

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