The importance of constructive criticism

The importance of constructive criticism

Many candidates walk out of their interviews extremely positive after being well received by the clients and having no concerns brought forward. Often they will leave an interview confident in securing the role and unfortunately the reality can be vastly different. After obtaining the bad news, the candidates are left confused and at a bit of a loss as to where they could have done better.

I believe that the candidates I interview and work with, benefit far more from my constructive criticism than a pat on the back, although I believe that both are important in order to maintain levels of confidence. Obviously, there is a fine line and some people are more equipped to handle rejection better than others. However, to allow them to grow and give them their best chance, honesty is paramount. It is then up to the candidates to reflect and implement any advice given to strengthen their weaknesses, to give them the best possible chance.

In a recent example; I had a candidate come in to meet me in our office, for an interview. We began discussing their experience and previous interviews they had attended and why they were unsuccessful.

It soon became apparent to me, that when the candidate discussed his experiences within his previous roles, there was a little bit of uncertainty and I found it difficult to understand exactly what he had actually done.

politely stopped him and said "I understand why you have been unsuccessful in your previous interviews. I have sat here listening to you explain your experience and feel you haven’t been able to articulate crucial elements of each role that highlight your strengths”. I got him to start over again and break down his responsibilities in each practice and then it became clear how experienced and suited this candidate would have been for each role he interviewed for. Unfortunately, he hadn’t received constructive criticism from an interview previously, be that from the client or recruitment consultant and he continued making the same mistakes. He became emotional after receiving my feedback as he had never been confronted with the hard truths before but then thanked me at the conclusion of the interview expressing his gratitude for my honesty. I shook hands with him and expressed my willingness to help, if he had any questions or required any advice, not to hesitate contacting me.

Later that week I received a thankyou e-mail with a much clearer and improved CV attached. I’m still uncertain whether we will identify his dream role but I can take comfort in knowing he is in a much better position to land a job, after receiving a dose of constructive criticism.

Not everyone will agree with providing this level of constructive criticism and the harsh reality is not everyone will take the advice given on-board. Yet I do believe we as recruitment consultants, potential employers or even friends for that matter, have a duty to at least try to help, even when it may be an uncomfortable conversation.

“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve” – Bill Gates.