The importance of timely constructive feedback cannot be overstated. As an IT Staffing company we see both sides of this – not only are we seeking feedback on the candidates that we have submitted to our clients but we’re also responsible for providing feedback to the candidates that are seeking a position through us. That’s why – as a company – we always strive to keep an open line of communication with both our clients and our candidates. In this blog, we’ll be examining what poor feedback looks like and why any type of feedback – positive or negative – is important.
No Isn’t Enough
Passing along positive feedback is easy and can even be fun. Who wouldn’t want to tell someone that they’ve been selected for an interview or even better, that they got the job?! It’s the negative feedback that’s the challenge. It can be hard and at times even demoralizing to pass along bad news. But passing along a simple ‘no’ or ‘candidate is not a fit’ is not helpful.
As a company, when we receive unconstructive feedback we always follow it up with asking why isn’t the candidate a fit or why wasn’t this candidate selected. If it’s because of their technical skills we’ll present future candidates that are stronger in the areas the previous candidates were lacking. If it’s due to their personality or presentation skills, we’ll make a greater attempt at vetting the candidates and stressing to them the type of culture and/or work habitats they’ll be entering.
A simple ‘no’ though doesn’t help – we need to know why.
It’s a Learning Experience
And why do we need to know? Because it’s a learning experience for us. As alluded to in the previous section, when presented with constructive feedback we know exactly where we missed the mark and where we need to improve. For example, if the hiring manager likes to hire candidates who have served in the military that’s important information for us to know. That way, we’ll be able to focus our efforts on trying to find a candidate with past military experience. Without this knowledge we’re not only wasting our time but the client’s and the candidate’s time as well.
That example may be a bit specific but it serves to show that with proper feedback we’re better suited to provide our clients with better candidates in the future. Without constructive feedback we are likely to continue to miss the mark in all the same areas – wasting everyone’s time in the process.
How PSCI Copes
Here at PSCI, we’ve seen and dealt with it all. We’ve had hiring managers who were great at providing feedback and others who made you want to pull your hair out. We can’t pick and choose which clients we do business with based on that though – sometimes both good and bad hiring managers come from the same company. What we can control, however, is the line of communication with our candidates. We do our best to keep warm, each and every candidate we submit to a client. If we have news to share, we’ll share it, if we have none to share, we’ll share that too. When on the job hunt there’s nothing more frustrating than silence. That’s why we strive to keep our lines of communication open so that we keep our candidates interested in coming back.
In conclusion, feedback isn’t just about passing along a yes or a no. For it to truly matter it must consist of a why or why not.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
